Re: RedHat Install on Vaio Z505CR/K fails - HELP!

[David Beutel <david_beutel@example.com>]

--- Phil Cummins <cummins@example.com> wrote:
> When I reboot, I just get a blank screen
> with "Missing Operating
> System". These are basically my only options with
> Lilo, aren't they?
> In any case I am at this point pretty desparate for
> suggestions. Note,

The HDD might be disabled as a boot device in CMOS.

> however, that I can't boot off any rescue disk as
> yet, because it seems
> that the kernel I boot from must be able to support
> the USB floppy (the 
> prepackaged rescue diskettes I've tried fail when
> they try to unpack
> the root partition from the floppy, and I'm guessing
> this is the problem). 

Your BIOS may support a USB legacy emulation mode that
provides USB FDD access via the BIOS FDD interrupts at
runtime.  This is not necessarily the same thing as
USB FDD boot support.  You might have better luck with
a boot floppy that has *no* USB support, so it can
continue using the emulation.  If the software you're
booting reinitializes the USB controller then it
defeats itself.

> I guess I will start the process of creating my own
> boot disk for this,
> but I am worried that this is not going to solve my
> problems...
>    In any case, any suggestions will be gratefully
> appreciated.
> 
> -- Phil
> 
> P.S. I don't know if it's relevant, but it came with
> Win2k pre-installed,
>      which I (happily) wiped in the course of the
> Linux install. Also,

W2K uses ACPI.  It takes some effort to make a laptop
work with both W2K and legacy operating systems.  A
laptop BIOS does not necessarily support both (e.g.,
for booting, hibernation, or other power management). 
Does your manufacturer claim that your model supports
any other operating systems?

> unlike 
>      previous Z505's that seem to have a special,
> small partition reserved 
>      for hibernation purposes, this one only had two
> FAT32 partitions set 
>      up on its 20G disk.

It might have been using a hibernation file now
instead of a partition, assuming you booted W2K at
least once and gave any auto-configuration utilities a
chance to run.  It might be BIOS-supported, or it
might be W2K-supported.  The latter might be via W2K's
ACPI.  I don't know whether Linux supports W2K
hibernation.

11011011

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