Mandrake 8.0 install - signal 11 error??

[ddarsie]

Am trying to install mandrake 8.0
The install disk starts to boot. Sometimes the progress line only gets an inch or two, sometimes 6 inches or so, and others moves onto section where dialogue appears stating progress. When that happens, it exits shortly into the process when trying to establish communications with CDROM drive, stating unable to esatblish communication, signall 11 error.

Can anyone tell me what is happening?
Burned the install CD twice, get same problem.
If it sees the CDROM at the beginning, how can it not find it later on?

I'm a total newbie.
My system:
Matsonic MB; Cyrix 166; 32MB EDO memory
Maxtor 8GB hard drive
Toshiba XM-5302TA CDROM
S3 Video board

[fallenang3l]

Maybe your boot disk is corrupted? Buy a fresh one and try again, maybe that will help :).

[demian]

First of all, if you have another distro, try that one and see if - at some stage of the installation - you get unpredictable errors. The fact that you are getting different errors at seemigly random points in the installation progress (in this case when the very first blocks of data are loaded into RAM) indicates a hardware problem. To make sure it's not the actual disk you are using I suggested to try a different distro. (You might want to think about a different distro anyway as the system you described can't really make use of all the fancy bloat that comes with MD8).

Signal 11 sometimes indicates problems with bad RAM (see http://www.bitwizard.nl/sig11 ) Note that if your box worked fine before with windows installed it doesn't mean that the hardware is flawless (see the sig11 FAQ above)!!

[ddarsie]

>Maybe your boot disk is corrupted? Buy a >fresh one and try again, maybe that will >help .

Am now downloading the iso again.
Have another spare system that is a P133, also with 32 MB memory. Bombs with same signal 11 at same point using a floppy bootdisk (can't boot from CDROM on that unit.

You may be right. But also suspect memory problems may be the answer (see below)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
First of all, if you have another distro, try that one and see if - at some stage of the installation - you get unpredictable errors.
<<
Hmmm. May try that, but first....

>>The fact that you are getting different errors at seemigly random points in the installation progress (in this case when the very first blocks of data are loaded into RAM) indicates a hardware problem.
<<
RAM may be the answer. That SIGNAL 11 FAQ certainly points that way, and it is old EDO memory in both systems


>>To make sure it's not the actual disk you are using I suggested to try a different distro. (You might want to think about a different distro anyway as the system you described can't really make use of all the fancy bloat that comes with MD8).<<

Any suggestions re less bloated distro that is newbie friendly? I'm mainly doing this for server for tiny network athome, and getting that network configured was a problem when I tried DragonLinux 6 mos. ago.


>>Signal 11 sometimes indicates problems with bad RAM (see http://www.bitwizard.nl/sig11 ) Note that if your box worked fine before with windows installed it doesn't mean that the hardware is flawless (see the sig11 FAQ above)!!
<<
Thanks for that reference.

And thanks to both of you for the very fast and hopefully helpful responses

Denis

[eXtremist]

I had that problem with Mandrake 8. I re-burned the CD at 1X (I know.. uGh) and it worked perfectly.

[ddarsie]

Originally posted by eXtremist:
<STRONG>I had that problem with Mandrake 8. I re-burned the CD at 1X (I know.. uGh) and it worked perfectly.</STRONG>

I tried that last nite, no luck. Am downloading the iso for 3rd time :(

[Molecule Man]

You might try Vector Linux (http://www.ibiblio.org/vectorlinux). Fairly newbie friendly and very small. If the total 8gigs are being devoted to Linux, then dowload the extras like KDE and GNOME. Vector was designed for old pentium systems like that.

[Big_daddy]

My kids' PC cannot use CD's I burn on my other PC. That may be your problem.

My solution will probably be to install a new CD drive.

[Harvey]

signal 11 stuff is hardcore. I had that once. no idea how I fixed it, I think I ended up changing distros

[ddarsie]

Hey all, thanks for all the suggeations. It was a bad first download. Install went partially OK, then I messed up the hard drive portion and had to bail out (reset).
When tried again it says I have errors in hdlist. I think I messed up. Is there a way to erase the hdlist, which I believe is written to the Boot record? Would /MBR do it from FDisk? Would /MBR then require new HD foramtting from scratch?

Secondly, I may well try the vector Linux distro.

Lastly, has anyone heard of a hybrid called Smoothwall taht is meant to provide server functions only (no other function is possible)?

I have to say the Mandrake install was smooth as far as I got.

Denis