[Ham-Computers] Puppy Linux hard drive install problem

[fkamp at comcast.net]

Dale Miller wrote:
> 
> fkamp at comcast.net wrote:
> 
> >Got it figgured out.  Errr..maybe not completely
> >figured out as I am not sure as to the details,
> >but I did get it to work.
> >
> >I was getting a stage 2  Error 2.  This has
> >something to do with the media not being read
> >properly.
> >
> >I checked my declarations in the bios for the hard
> >drive and found the MODE entry set to AUTO.  MODE
> >can be set to AUTO, NORMAL, LBA, AND LARGE.
> >
> >I changed the MODE entry in the bios from AUTO to
> >NORMAL and it works now.
> >Grub comes up, gives me a few options, then boots
> >Puppy.
> >
> >I have had this happen before.  Not recently but
> >in the dim past I remember this being a problem
> >for me with other software.  Looks like I need to
> >research those four MODE entries.  Find out when
> >and why they need to be used.  I thought I knew
> >that stuff, guess I did not understand all I
> >though I knew.
> >
> >Regards,
> >Frank Kamp
> >K5DKZ
> >_______________________________________________
> >Ham-Computers mailing list
> >Ham-Computers at mailman.qth.net
> >http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/ham-computers
> >
> >
> >
> First, don't you have a larger harddrive to work with?
> Linux is better on at least a 2 gig drive, but more is better.

Nope.  I agree, more is better.  I also believe
that just enough to do the job is best.  My
situation is that I have a bunch of old 540meg
hard drives that are perfectly good.  If I need
more storage later, I can always add another
drive, but for what I am doing, I think the puppy
will be perfectly happy in a 400meg partition.

> 
> A 540M drive will only need normal.
> LBA is Logical Block Addressing
> Large would probably be DMA but it depends on the system board.

Okay but that does not really explain what is
going on and why.  I am still surfing to find some
understandable explanation of HD modes.  Why all
the modes and when do you use one or the other. 
My most significant question is why wont AUTO
work?  Must not be true AUTOmatic.

> 
> Ok the larger the hd the better with linux, and for that matter any OS.
> Your going to want room for more programs and at least a 512M swap is
> better.
> If you have 512M of memory you really don't need swap, unless your going
> to run alot of programs at once.

More memory is not an option.  I know it is cheap
by todays standards as compared to ram price in
days gone by, but I am trying to get the most out
of what I have.  I have a lot of obsolete
computers. Puppy is the first version of Linux
that appears to be able to make those obsolete
machines useful again.  Right now I have it
running on an old AMD-K5 motherboard delivering a
blinding 199 bogomips with 128meg ram. 
Applications are every bit as responsive as the
stuff running under XP on a newer Dell Dimension. 
That newer Dell will run puppy at 3200 bogomips. 
Makes me wonder why the Dell is so slow when
runing XP. What is XP doing that wastes 3000
bogomips?

I guess it is not so much what you have as how you
use it.  I dont need some clutzy software dragging
down otherwise capable hardware.  I do want some
good software that will make my old computers
appear to run applications faster.  Looks like the
puppy is doing that.

Regards,
Frank Kamp
K5DKZ