Fedora 8 installation problems

[walde_s]

Hi,

I am very new to Linux so please bear with me.

I am trying to install Fedora from the Fedora-8-i386-DVD on my HP-Compaq 6715b laptop (Dual core Athlon 64) and I get the following problems. I resized the Windows XP NTFS primary partition with Partition Magic. HP have a recovery primary partion installed and I want to leave a primary partition to install a third OS at a later date. This means that I can only have one more primary partition for Fedora. From Windows disc manager I created an extended partition for Fedora and a primary partition for the third OS.

Problem 1
The installation does the hardware probe for the graphics adaptor and appears to see the correct "ATI Technologies Radeon X1200 family" adaptor. However the X windows server fails to run and the installation reverts to text mode.

Problem 2
Due to problem 1, I am installing in text mode and I try to edit the extended partition I created to add an entry for /boot and an LPM which will contain the / mount partition and a swap partition. However when I try to create the /boot of 200 mb I get an exception from Anaconda telling me I can't install a primary partition, even though I made sure the "Force to be a primary partition" option was unticked. It does the same thing if I try and create the LPM in the extended partition.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

[stoat]

Hello walde_s,

I understand you to mean that you have three primary partitions (Windows, recovery, empty third one) and one extended partition. You want to install Fedora in the extended partition and another OS in the third primary partition later on. Consider this: Make sure that the extended partition has no logical partitions in it yet. It should be completely empty and contain only free unallocated space. Try the Fedora installation again and choose the partition layout option to Use free space on selected drives and create default layout. That should create a small ext3 boot partition and an LVM physical volume filling the extended partition as /dev/sda5 and /dev/sda6.

P.S.: That computer may have a "special" master boot record related to that recovery partition. Many laptops are provided with a system restore feature that is entered by pressing keys during booting. Those features often depend on the code in the master boot record in order to work. If you allow Fedora (or any Linux) to install GRUB in the master boot record, that feature will be broken. Sometimes that situation can be fixed and bring the feature back, but it is not as simple as fixmbr with an XP CD. So first read about your computer and find out if this applies to you. If it does, then consider one of the several alternative ways to boot Linux without changing the master boot record, or make the decision to forfeit feature.

[walde_s]

Hi Stoat,

Thanks for the reply.
That is exactly what I am trying to do. I have an empty extended partition in which I am trying to install Fedora. The other three primary partitions are for Windows XP, a recovery partition and an empty partition for another OS.

I have chosen the custom installation rather than the "Use free space on selected drives and create default layout" because I don't want to put anything in the MBR which will stop the normal Windows XP or the recovery partition from booting.

I was trying manually to create exactly what you said was needed, which was to make a small /boot logical partition and a large LPM inside the empty extended partition. I will then create a logical partition for / and for swap inside the LPM. After the installation I will install grub in /boot to give me the multi boot option on startup.

It was while trying to create these logical partitions within the empty extended partition, using the text mode of the installer, that I got the errors from anacconda about not being able to create a primary partition. The installation process seems to assume that any partition I am trying to create will be a primary. I have made sure that the "force to be a primary partition" option is not selected. Do you know if there is any way of forcing the partition I am creating to be a logical rather than a primary partition please?

[stoat]

Originally Posted by walde_s

Do you know if there is any way of forcing the partition I am creating to be a logical rather than a primary partition please?

Sorry, no I don't. All I have ever had to do was select unallocated space in the extended partition for a "New" partition or select an existing logical partition to "Edit". So I am out of ideas for that.

Originally Posted by walde_s

I have chosen the custom installation rather than the "Use free space on selected drives and create default layout" because I don't want to put anything in the MBR which will stop the normal Windows XP or the recovery partition from booting.

What about choosing the partition option Use free space on selected drives and create default layout and then checking the boot loader option Configure advanced boot loader options and then choosing to install GRUB in the first sector of the Fedora boot partition? Maybe that would install in your extended partition and spare your MBR at the same time. You could then boot Fedora with the XP boot loader.

Or, do you really need LVM at all? That's great for spanning a system across multiple drives. But to me it's not so valuable on a laptop. What about trying to create just boot, root, and swap partitions for Fedora in the extended partition manually by selecting Create custom layout? Maybe you would have less trouble creating those in your extended partition. And of course, you would still choose to install GRUB in the first sector of the Fedora boot partition as already mentioned.

Originally Posted by walde_s

After the installation I will install grub in /boot to give me the multi boot option on startup.

Okay. But just remember that choosing to install no boot loader at all during installation will result in no grub.conf file being created. That option is strictly for when you intend to directly launch the Fedora kernel and initial ramdisk using another Linux system's boot loader. Otherwise, you will be faced with having to create a grub.conf from scratch. Only the Fedora installer (aka anaconda) or your typing hands can create a grub.conf. And without a grub.conf, trying to install GRUB after-the-fact with the GRUB shell or grub-install will not result in a working boot loader.

[walde_s]

Originally Posted by stoat

Or, do you really need LVM at all? That's great for spanning a system across multiple drives. But to me it's not so valuable on a laptop. What about trying to create just boot, root, and swap partitions for Fedora in the extended partition manually by selecting Create custom layout? Maybe you would have less trouble creating those in your extended partition. And of course, you would still choose to install GRUB in the first sector of the Fedora boot partition as already mentioned.

Hi Stoat,

Thanks for this. I did as you suggested and created three logical partitions in the extended partition. Made these /boot, / and swap. I installed the grub loader but in the /boot not in the MBR.

I can now boot Fedora, which is a big step forward, but only in text mode. I have downloaded and installed the driver for the ATI X1200 but it will only work when I type "startx" from the text prompt. Still at least Fedora has installed correctly and runs.

Thanks for your help.

[stoat]

If you haven't seen it already, maybe you can get an idea here for the video card:

Howto for fglrx (Ati driver) , XGL and Compiz / Beryl

P.S.: I am curious how you decided to boot Fedora with GRUB in the boot sector of the Fedora boot partition. NTLoader+BOOTPART/dd? NTLoader+GRUB4DOS/WINGRUB? Boot disk?