Red Hat Bugzilla – Bug 7089
install hangs after 'linux updates' on ThinkPad 770Z
Last modified: 2008-05-01 11:37:52 EDT
When I with the boot-RHEA-1999_044.img image (because the RH6.1 shipped one does not work for ThinkPads). I then insert the RH6.1 CD and type: linux updates at the LILO. The kernel boots and makes it up to printing: running /sbin/loader It then accesses the CDROM for a bit and hangs. I am running on a ThinkPad 770Z.
Interestingly enough, if do not have the RH6.1 CDROM inserted when I enter 'linux updates' the installation process get farther along. For example if I wait until the ``Installation Method'' screen, insert the CDROM and select local CDROM, I am able to continue. But all is not well because when it asks me to ``Insert your updates disk'' (where I insert the a floppy with updates-RHEA-1999_045.img), it reads the anaconda updates, accesses the CDROM, attempts to start up and X server and hangs ... It does identify the cyber9397dvd chipset, tries to setup on a 640x480 mode, but fails with a: error opening security policy file /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xserver/SecurityPolicy and the X server hangs. So the install (booted via linux updates) hangs early on if the CDROM is inserted AFTER the boot disk is read (no, I am not booting off of the CDROM) and before the 'linux updates' is entered. However if you delay the CDROM insertion until after the installers gets going, you hang in the X server.
If I withhold the CDROM, boot from the boot-RHEA-1999_044.img image and type: linux updates text insert the CDROM near the ``Installation Method'' screen, insert the updates-RHEA-1999_045.img updates disk when requested, the installer avoids the X server hang up runs into another problem. When I select ``Upgrade Existing Installation'' it says: You don't have any Linux partitions. You can't upgrade this system! On my disk I have: P 1 hda1 ext2 /boot P 2 hda2 FAT32 /c P 3 extended E 5 hda5 swap E 6 hda6 ext2 /var/tmp E 7 hda7 ext2 /var E 8 hda8 ext2 /home E 9 hda9 ext2 /tmp E10 hda10 ext2 / E11 hda11 ext2 /usr/local
I have seen this behavior on the IBM ThinkPad 600e as well. It stalls at: running /sbin/loader I have also been able to get the installation process further along by not inserting the RH 6.1 CD until absolutely necessary... I've never gotten past just after the updates (updates-RHEA-1999_045.img) disk is read.
The hang during an update if the cdrom is in the drive is a known problem for which we will be releasing an update here in the near future. The hang on the ThinkPads after reading the updates disk is a new one on me. I will check around and see if I am able to replicate this in the lab. As for the system telling you that it cannot find a linux installation to upgrade, I am betting that the extended partition that you have is type "f" If this is the case, then we have found the problem. There is a known bug in the installer which prevents it from seeing past a type "f" partition. There are a couple of ways to take care of this. One, you can wait until we get the next updates disk out which will fix this problem. Or you can convert the extended partition from type "f" to type "5" which will allow you to perform the upgrade without any problems. After finishing the upgrade, you can convert the partition back to type "f".