[GLLUG] redhat 7.3 install problem on Compaq computer

Thu, 27 Feb 2003 12:13:21 -0500

I would think that any core hardware in a 5yr old machine would be
supported by versions even older than 7.3. :)

I have gone from 7.0 through 8.0 and every rev. in between on my P3
Armada E500, which is probably quite similar to your Presario.  I had
some problems with a USB mouse I use with my docking station and various
wireless cards under 7.3.  All of these problems went away when I went
to 8.0.  The down side, as I said previously, is that it requires more
disk space, and I've only allocated 2GB for whatever Linux distro I want
to run on my laptop. :-\  But, that said, I've been happy with it
otherwise.

PaulM

-----Original Message-----
From: Yao-Ying Chien [mailto:chieny@pilot.msu.edu]
Sent: Thursday, February 27, 2003 11:21 AM
To: Melson, Paul
Cc: linux-user@egr.msu.edu
Subject: RE: [GLLUG] redhat 7.3 install problem on Compaq computer

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your reply, AND the links.

The Presario was quite old: P-III 450MHz, a desktop made in 1998 (?).
450Mhz sounds a P-II to me, but the case says P-III). Shouldn't RH 7.3
take care of such an old computer?

I got mixed reports about RD 8.0. One is that, from the google search,
similar install problems were reported on RH 7.1-8.0, SuSe, Mandrake 8.
The others complained that that RH x.0 is unstable, and is worse than RH
7.3. ==>  That's why I was hesitate about RH 8.0.

OTOH, many people thought RH 8.0 was great. ==> What are you guys'
experiences?

Anyway RH 8.0 will be my next try. Beside, I have been curious about RH
8.0.

Many thanks,

Yao

>http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6291
>
>I don't know if you've got one of the newer Presario laptops, but you
>may find this article useful.
>
>If you can get lm_sensors (http://secure.netroedge.com/~lm78/) working,
>you can find the CPU temp that way.  But since you're having trouble
>getting through the install, that may not be feasible.  There's also
>gp_Temp for Win32, which you can get here:
>http://www.benchtest.com/downloads/index.html
>
>Though, if I had to guess, CPU temp isn't the issue.  It's been my
>experience that Windows is much more sensitive to CPU overheating than
>Linux is.  Good luck!
>
>PaulM
>
>PS - RedHat 8.0 is out, and includes support for some newer hardware.
>It requires more disk space than 7.3 does, but I've found that it fixed
>a lot of the USB and PCMCIA support issues that were present in 7.x.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Yao-Ying Chien [mailto:chieny@pilot.msu.edu]
>Sent: Thursday, February 27, 2003 9:25 AM
>To: Mike Rambo
>Cc: linux-user@egr.msu.edu
>Subject: Re: [GLLUG] redhat 7.3 install problem on Compaq computer
>
>
>Hi Mike,
>
>Thanks for your wonderful reply, I will try your suggestions. And you
>are right that "they attached a plastic shield to the power supply to
>try and make the p.s. fan draw air past the cpu heatsink".
>
>The same computer is also running Windows 2000 pro for months
>continuously. Does that rule out the memory, CPU heat, reseating, hard
>drive? Or Linux has higher standards for hardware?
>
>One of the suggestions I found from google search was,
>
>  boot: Linux noubs
>
>I tried, but it didn't work.
>
>How do I know the temperature of CPU? Any favorite softwares?
>
>Many thanks,
>
>Yao
>
>
>>Yao-Ying Chien wrote:
>>>
>><snip many symptoms>
>>>
>>> Sounds hardware issue?
>>>
>>
>>That's exactly what it sounds like to me - and I'd look at memory
first
>>and foremost. Also try reseating any/all cards including any riser
>cards
>>that may plug into the main board (or the main board if it plugs into
>>the riser). Check that your heatsink is affixed to the cpu solidly and
>>that the fan is running (if any). I used to work for a Compaq
>authorized
>>servicer, and though I don't recall which models were involved at the
>>time, I do recall they had a tendency to cut corners to lower costs.
>>They'd do strange things like not putting fans on cpu's which clearly
>>needed them and then just attaching a plastic sheild to the power
>supply
>>to try and make the p.s. fan draw air past the cpu heatsink. How hot
>>does the cpu get?
>>
>>1) memory
>>2) reseat everything
>>3) cpu heat
>>4) if all else fails do a bad block check on your drive(s)
>>
>>BTW, reseating can often mean more than just unplugging and
reinserting
>>one time. As oxidation on the contacts is usually what you're fighting
>>it is good to shove the cards in and out of the slot several times -
>the
>>friction of repeated actions will generally be enough to clean off the
>>oxidation for another year or so.
>>
>>
>>--
>>Mike Rambo
>>mrambo@lsd.k12.mi.us
>
>
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