[UCLA-LUG] Question About Sat Install Fest

[Joshua Uziel]

* Chen, I-Chuan <I-Chuan@mail.law.ucla.edu> [000411 15:52]:
> 1) Is it true that you need to install Linux (or the version that you're
> installing on Sat) on the first 8 GB on the hard drive? 

Due to a limitation in the x86 BIOS, the machine is only capable
of booting from the first 1024 cylinders of the disk.  This is
because the original int 13h functions used only had 24bits for
addressing the disk blocks.  Later, there were additions made in
a document called the EDDS (Enhanced Disk Drive Specification)
that added new int 13h functions capable of addressing by far
more disk space (I can't remember if the value was in terabytes
or petabytes)... even with this addition (found in pretty much all
BIOSes from 1997 and beyond), a PC must use the older functions
for booting for backwards compatability.

This is easily cured, though.  Make a small /boot partition within
the first 1024 cylinders (typically 8.4gb), and the rest of the
installation can go anywhere else on the disk.

> 2) Is it okay to just bring my box to the Install Fest on Sat? I have a 19"
> Mitsubishi monitor that weighs about 55 pounds that I would rather not move
> (especially since I don't have a car and it's a 15 min walk to Boelter). 

Yep, there should be no problem there... there should either be
extra monitors, or a monitor can be shared for the installation.

The only thing that cannot be guaranteed as a result is a properly
working Xwindows setup, since settings with your monitor cannot
be tested.  Things *should* be ok, though... or you can setup X
for yourself (not too hard).

> 3) I need Red Hat 6.0 (or another type of Linux that uses the same kernel)
> for my CS 111: OS class. Will you be installing something like that? My TA
> told me that anything higher than Red Hat 6.0 would not work for the CS
> projects that I need to do this quarter.

Yep, there should be no problem using a older 2.2.x kernel with 
a more recent distribution (in this case RH 6.0's 2.2.5 with
RH 6.2).  The only issues are the bugfixes and security patches
that are lost in doing so... but unless there was a bugfix that
directly corresponds with your machine (I can give an example
that the 37.5GB IDE disk in one of my machine won't work with
anything newer than 2.2.14), it should not impact your classwork.

Good luck. :)

-- 
Joshua Uziel, Senior Linux Consultant, Linuxcare, Inc.
415.354.4878 tel, 415.701.7457 fax
uzi@linuxcare.com, http://www.linuxcare.com/
Linuxcare. Support for the revolution.