Topic: Installer appears to hang at the "Choose a Language" screen.

[cpuffalt]

All,

I opened a bug ticket for this in the bug tracker a few days ago but haven't gotten any input so am hoping someone on here might have an idea on how to further diagnose this problem.

I'm trying to install SME 8 on a Foxconn nT-A3550 with AMD Brazos cpu but after typing "sme" to begin the installation (from an external USB CD drive) I can't proceed further as the installer appears to hang at the "Choose a Language" screen (or at least doesn't respond to keyboard input.)  I've also tried the "sme noprobe" option with similar results and I'm unsure what to try next or how to further diagnose the issue.

One thing that is likely atypical about this installation is that I don't have an internal HDD installed in the server as I'm trying to install onto a 16GB SD card (the machine has an SD card slot built in).  While this may seem laughable, the server is used at home as a personal mail server so 16GB is plenty of space.

Thanks,
Corey

[janet]

cpuffalt

CentOS 5.8 (which sme8 uses) has limited support for SSD devices.

My guess is that the OS does not support your hardware, including SSD, chipset & drivers etc.

There were some recent posts about SSD's & the indications were that you need to use CentOS6.x for a wider compatibility with hardware, which means you may have to wait until sme9 comes out.

Try installing CentOS 5.8 & see what happens.

Also try installing CentOS 6.x & see what happens.

Doing these "tests" will help determine which versions of CentOS support your hardware (if at all).

You really do need to research hardware & software (OS's) compatibility BEFORE buying equipment.

I suggest you ask the tech support people who sell that product re what versions of Linux are supported.

[purvis]

The 16g drive is a SD flash drive and not a SSD drive from the poster.
I would think the SD drive is hooked up to a USB interface.
I suggest the original poster to install a cheap used hard drive to the internal hard drive interface and see what happens and then write back.
I and likely others would like to know how this works for you.

[janet]

purvis

Sorry I thought the original poster was referring to SSD's.

From what I remember reading here (meaning IIRC), install to removable media (memory chips etc) is not supported.
Install to removable USB hard drives is possible.
I think there was reference to this in bugzilla, so search there also for more info.
Warnings & precautions were introduced to try & prevent installs to attached USB backup (hard) drives.

[purvis]

I agree that it is a bad thought to install on usb. I can just see somebody wiping out their data on a usb backup drive.
That in itself is just not worth it.  Hard drives are now cheaper than a quality SD flash drive. Plus most of the performance is just not there with most all SD flash drives.
If you poster wants a drive that is quiet and not hot and does not generate heat. Try the INTEL 520 SSD drives. My INTEL 520 SSD drives stay pretty much at near room temperature.

[cpuffalt]

purvis is correct.  I'm attempting to install to an SD card, not SSD.  I could go with an SSD but neither performance nor reliability are top concerns for me.  Low price and low power usage are my primary goals.  As I noted in my original post this is just used for my personal email and will be backed up in any event.

I tested with the CentOS 5.9 DVD Installer as suggested by Mary and got the same hang.  Will try again later with an internal HDD and report back.

Thanks,
Corey