Compaq DS10 User Manual

Linux Installation and Configuration Guide for AlphaServer  59 

ECG513/0100 

 
AlphaServer ES40 Console V5.5-68, built on Jul 21 1999 at 17:02:39 
P00>>> 

2. Determine what devices your system has installed. In particular you will need to note your 

installation device (a floppy and/or CD-ROM), and your target disk drive. Entering the 
command "show devices" as shown below will print out the information about your system: 

P00>>>show dev 
dka0.0.0.4.1               DKA0                       RZ2ED-LS  0306 
dka100.1.0.4.1             DKA100                     RZ2DD-LS  0306 
dka200.2.0.4.1             DKA200                     RZ2DD-LS  0306 
dka300.3.0.4.1             DKA300                     RZ2DD-LS  0306 
dqa0.0.0.15.0              DQA0                COMPAQ CDR-8435  0013     
dva0.0.0.1000.0            DVA0                                
ewa0.0.0.6.1               EWA0              08-00-2B-C4-56-8E 
pka0.7.0.4.1               PKA0                  SCSI Bus ID 7 

In the output above, the first line shows that DKA0 is a hard disk, DQA0 is a CD-ROM, and 
DVA0 is a floppy drive. 

Also useful for inspecting the computer configuration is the "show config" command, as 
shown here: 

P00>>>show config | more 

3. Configure the system SRM parameters to boot from your installation device. The commands 

for configuring to boot from the floppy device are shown here: 

P00>>>set bootdef_dev dva0 
P00>>>set boot_file vmlinux.gz 
P00>>>set boot_osflags "root=/dev/fd0 load_ramdisk=1" 
P00>>>show boot* 
boot_dev             dva0.0.0.0.0     
boot_file            vmlinux.gz       
boot_osflags         root=/dev/fd0 load_ramdisk=1 
boot_reset           OFF              
bootdef_dev          dva0.0.0.0.0     
booted_dev                            
booted_file                           
booted_osflags

                        

 

4. Insert the boot floppy into the drive. 

5. Boot the system using the "boot" command. The result should be that the system boots from 

the floppy. You will eventually be prompted to replace the BOOT floppy with the RAMDISK 
floppy. 

If during this process you encounter a problem, such as due to a typographic error in the setting of 
the SRM parameters, you will probably be stopped with an "aboot>" prompt. The best way to 
deal with this situation is to reset the system using the reset button on the front panel. Then using 
the SRM commands, correct the mistake, and repeat the "boot" process. 

SuSE’s installation program is flexible. While it allows for autodetection of devices and autoload 
of device drivers, it allows you to override the automatically configured parameters. Compaq’s 
testing this Solutions Guide was performed using SuSE Version 6.1. 

The software installation process requires that the system be rebooted at two critical places in the 
process. The first time is just after completing the partitioning of the disk, and the second happens