🚀 go-pugleaf

Mike Pellatt <mike@mpellatt.demon.co.uk> wrote in article
<slrn6lqj94.oo4.mike@mpellatt.demon.co.uk>...
> On Sat, 16 May 1998 00:34:50 +0100, Tom Bird <hamster@nospam.demon.co.uk>
wrote:
> >Linux won't talk to my Promise caching IDE controller (VLB) that I just
got
> >to upgrade my main Linux box.  I have put 4Mb of RAM on it and it works
> >fine in Win95 with no modifications.
> >
> >Linux though refuses to mount the file system (I think the error was
'read
> >beyond end of device' or something similar).
> >
> >There is not a specific kernel (I think).
> >
> >Slackware 3.something with 2.0.0 kernel.
> 
> What size is the hard disk ?? Is it over 1GB ?? If so, this may be
> something to do with LBA (Logical Block Addressing) used to map
> drives with >1024 blocks so that the BIOS can address all of the
> disk. IME, sometimes Linux [1] gets (very) confused over this if what
> the BIOS tells it and what the partition table tells it disagree.
> 
> That's the first thing I'd investigate. But maybe there are known
> problems with the Promise controller - someone with that knowledge
> may be along soon.

Pretty mundane stuff - 260Mb HDD (Seagate) and even when I cut the
controller down to it's basics (it has an onboard BIOS that kicks in after
the RAM count) by disabling all caching and the faster disk access code -
basically making it like a normal VLB disk controller it still didn't
start.  It works no problem in 95 with a definite speed increase.

The card (I'm just running the machine with a normal VLB ATM) I have it
here - it says DC4030VL-2 on it and has loads of ROM chips (3) with (C)
1993 Promise tech. they are P3402-E,  P3402-O & P3402-X.

It has two IDE interfaces and two (!) floppy interfaces.

My next course of action would be to try a different mobo.  I'll do that
when I can be arsed but I suspect that as the thing works perfectly with
the existing controller that there is some incompatibility with Linux (like
I said, 95 was fine) and I'll have to look into a new kernel (I'm going to
go RedHat as soon as 5.1 arrives).

TB