[ale] Compaq partitions on servers

[Jeff Hubbs]

I'm not quite sure what you're saying ("DOS version" of what?).  

In order to have BIOS setup capability for that machine (and you almost
certainly want that), you need to have either that Compaq maintenance
partition or the diag/setup floppies.  Weird proprietary partitions on
drives give me the creeps, so I choose to hang onto the floppies.  

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rod Young [mailto:development at combiz.net]
> Sent: Friday, May 04, 2001 12:11 PM
> To: Jeff Hubbs
> Cc: ale at ale.org
> Subject: RE: [ale] Compaq partitions on servers
> 
> 
> Thanx for the wealth of info. I had already installed debian 
> by bypassing 
> it( their bios based OS install keep asking for floppies). I 
> am wondering 
> if I should just download the dos version. If I don't need 
> that partition 
> I could just wipe it. Tho I might just check out the new version. I 
> wonder if you could flash it with LOBOS or XOSL?
>  
> 
> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Original Message <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
> 
> On 05/04/2001, 10:12:29 AM, Jeff Hubbs <Jhubbs at niit.com> 
> wrote regarding 
> RE: [ale] Compaq partitions on servers:
> 
> 
> > Rod -
> 
> > I've run into this before.  It's a rather troublesome thing 
> that Compaq 
> was
> > doing for a number of years called the "maintenance 
> partition."  It was a
> > separate partition with its own filesystem type, and the 
> deal was that if
> > you hit the right key at the right spot in the bootup, a 
> GUI utility for
> > BIOS config would launch from that partition.  If you hunt 
> around enough 
> on
> > Compaq's site, you can download floppy images, burn 
> floppies from those, 
> and
> > boot to those floppies for making BIOS changes - then you 
> can nuke that
> > partition on the disk drive, replace the drive, or whatever 
> you want.
> 
> > That partition "exists" for real on the drive, but it's not 
> available to 
> you
> > from Linux.  Linux' fdisk can nuke it and it may even allow 
> you to create
> > one.  One utility that is available on the floppies (if you 
> make them) is
> > the ability to create a new maintenance partition, format 
> it, and load 
> the
> > GUI utils into it.
> 
> > When you boot it to Linux (even via tomsrtbt, if you 
> haven't actually 
> gotten
> > Linux on it yet), check the dmesg to see if the kernel 
> detects one of the
> > buggy CMD640 or RZ1000 EIDE chips (see 
> http://mindprod.com/eideflaw.html 
> for
> > a treatment).  This is a problem that hurts the operation 
> of most any
> > multitasking OS on pre-1997 PCI-bus machines.  I have had 
> machines ball 
> up
> > under Linux and NT both on account of this problem.  If you 
> gather and 
> use
> > junkers like I do, you have to watch out for this.  There 
> is a kernel 
> config
> > setting that will include a workaround for the CMD640 that 
> MAY correct 
> the
> > problem when you recompile, but apparently many of these 
> chips are also 
> just
> > plan wired up wrong on the mobo.
> 
> > The safest bet, if you find that you have one of these 
> buggy controllers
> > (the page I linked you to above says that as of 10/95, ALL 
> versions of 
> those
> > two chips are defective) is to simply not use it.  I have an AT&T 
> Globalyst
> > 630 at the house (Micro Seconds was selling them by the 
> truckload w/o RAM 
> or
> > disk for $20) and I simply dropped a SCSI card and disk in.  On that
> > machine, the secondary controller was ISA-bus, so I put the 
> CD-ROM there; 
> if
> > you absolutely had to put an IDE disk drive in, that's 
> where it should go
> > even though it would be slower.  Alternatively, it's a good 
> excuse to 
> work
> > up a diskless machine.
> 
> > - Jeff
> 
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Rod Young [mailto:development at combiz.net]
> > > Sent: Friday, May 04, 2001 9:45 AM
> > > To: ale at ale.org
> > > Subject: [ale] Compaq partitions on servers
> > >
> > >
> > > What is this for? I have a Prosignia 300 (old p150). It has three
> > > partitions(FS, swap, & compaq).
> > > Boot up shows the compaq partitionas SDA4 even tho there are
> > > only three
> > > partitions. Any ideas?
> > > --
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> > > in message body.
> > >
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