Installing on a K6 - problems with Stage 3

joelg · n00b Joined: 23 Jun 2004 Posts: 3

I've decided to convert my Windows 2000 K6 machine to Gentoo Linux, but I've run into two problems:

1) I get an EOF error when untarring the Stage3-x86-2004.1.tar.bz2 tarball from the Universal Live CD. Anyone else have this problem?

2) I haven't downloaded another Stage3-x86-2004.1.tar.bz2 from the Internet because when I do, it's unusually slow (I'm on a cable modem), and throughout the download, I get "Dropped Frame" errors from FTP, which I assume means I'm having problems with my networking and they would corrupt the download. Other computers on my wireless home network connect fine to the Internet, and this computer did as well under Windows 2000. Gentoo correctly loads the Orinoco wireless module on boot.

To get networking to work at all, I had to boot into SMP when using the 2004.1 Universal CD (a problem noted on many threads). (Knoppix CD boots fine with networking on this machine.)

I assume I should be using the x86 Stage 3 tarball for a K6. Is this a correct assumption? I tried using the Pentium3 tarball, but got "Illegal Instruction" when I tried to chroot.

Also, is the correct value for the "march" USE variable "i586" or "K6" in the make.conf file? According to make.conf.example, "K6" has problems.

Thanks very much for any insight into these problems. I sure would love to get gentoo working on my computer. If not, I'll try (gasp!) Mandrake.

Joel

lib_one · n00b Joined: 13 Jun 2004 Posts: 42 Location: Mid-Ohio

joelg -

Hey. Don't have any specific answers, but can tell you that I have been having troubles w/ a universal-x86-2004.1 / stage3 install on my K5 box.
I have gone through four attempts w/ varying degrees of success (and still don't have it right :roll:

). Where did you get your tar? Download? or did you order it? What are your partition sizes? Got enough room? The EOF error sounds fishy. Have you had it repeat?

Use i586 in make.conf.

Try and try again. Sometimes it just doesn't seem to go right the first time through.
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joelg · n00b Joined: 23 Jun 2004 Posts: 3

Got the x86 tarball off the Universal 2004.1 CD, which I downloaded from a mirror. The Pentium3 tarball off the same CD untarred fine, but I believe it's the wrong tar for the K6.

Joel

joelg · n00b Joined: 23 Jun 2004 Posts: 3

Having re-read the Alternate Installation Guide (http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/altinstall.xml), I'm going to install Gentoo via the Knoppix bootable CD (http://www.knoppix.org/). I know networking works under Knoppix on my machine, so I'll be able to download the x86 stage3 tarball from the Internet.

I installed Mandarke Linux last night, but decided to give Gentoo one more try because Emerge makes life so much easier once the system is up and running.

I'll report my success in this thread so that other K6 owners can see what I did.

Joel

A_lightsaber · n00b Joined: 16 Jul 2004 Posts: 2

I am having a simalar problem with chroot and illegal instruction on a amd-k6. It is was with the i686 tarball though. As soon as i changed to the x86 one, it worked.
I think that the different tarballs have different instruction sets, such as mmx, sse, 3dnow, and so on. If you try to give an instruction that the processer dosen't have, it gives the "illegal instruction" that we are getting.

Aggamemnon · Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2004 10:28 pm Post subject:

I had all maner of trouble installing on a 450 Duron.

It turns out that the chip is an i586 (as it is a K-2) not an i686 - but anyway I did a stage 1 install on it and now it works OK...

(fingers crossed)