New install -- HD not detected

shawndubya · n00b Joined: 12 Oct 2003 Posts: 31

i have a one-HD system that I want to install Gentoo on. I boot with the CD and it loads ok, but is strange that my HD is set to hdb and not hda (there is no /dev/hda). But I continue, then when I try to boot my machine, it says:

Non-System disk or disk error
replace and strike any key when ready

If I boot from the grub disk, it only sees fd0. But if I again boot from the CD, I can see the HD.

Any ideas?

shawn.

HackerBunny · Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2003 6:09 pm Post subject:

It almost sounds like your HDD is set to slave by the jumpers/cable. Just install Gentoo but where ever you see a

hda, it's really hdb
hd0 is really hd1

You can do a permenant fix if you aren't too far into the install if you take out your HDD and make sure the jumpers are set to master and that the HDD is connected to the last part of the ribbon cable, not somewhere in the middle.

If that doesn't work, I dunno. But when you change your HDD configuration that way, make sure you auto detect it in your bios or your system won't boot untill you do.

This is the same for CD Roms and multiple floppys.
_________________
~I'm not using linux to be cool, I'm using it to show the people wanting to use linux that I'm cool and know their OS better then them.~

z-lite · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 04 Aug 2003 Posts: 76

I'm not 100% sure about this but hda represents the master drive on the primary controller, and hdb is the slave drive on the primary. As for your grub disk problem, I am still too new to Linux to help. gl

HackerBunny · Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2003 6:16 pm Post subject:

Wait, it sounds like you finished installing the system.... Odd, odd I must say. Try the switching the cables/jumper setting (jumper is easy, the label is on the HDD. CS = Cable Select Slave or SL=Slave and MS or Master = Master)
If it still doesn't boot, you may need to start over sadly... Cause that means you never compiled any of your stuff onto the cd, which surprises me in how you got into the chroot. It sounds like a simple grub problem though and you but hd (0,0) instead of hd (1,0)

I use Lilo, it works sooooo easy.
_________________
~I'm not using linux to be cool, I'm using it to show the people wanting to use linux that I'm cool and know their OS better then them.~

shawndubya · n00b Joined: 12 Oct 2003 Posts: 31

Good call on the master/slave, I just took a look, and it IS set to slave! (If you couldn't guess, this is an old PC I got and am trying to throw Linux onto). I may still have problems getting grub to work, but that explains hda/hdb mystery ...

shawn.

shawndubya · n00b Joined: 12 Oct 2003 Posts: 31

Yup, that was the problem. To answer your questions, I did finish installing the system, it was just that I installed everything on my slave HD (the only HD). The grub bootdisk must just look to see if there is a master disk, and if there is not, does not look any further. If it had looked for all disks, it would have seen hd1 and I could have booted. Although I'm happier having this figured out!

Thanks again!

shawn.