Tiny Core Linux
Tiny Core Base => TCB Q&A Forum => Topic started by: Tejas on March 11, 2012, 06:26:24 PM
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Clapped out computer, HD gone (hda), no Bios support for USB boot, run out of CD-R, 64 MB ram. Installed TC using floppy and usb stick. Now can't find /dev/cdrom. Mount tool did not detect cd. Tried /dev/hdb unsuccessfully, /dev/disk also. Anyone know 'mknod' command to create /dev/cdrom? Would like to use cd's containing graphics.
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It will be /dev/sr0. Try V4.4rc3, as it has drivers for older ide interfaces.
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It will be /dev/sr0. Try V4.4rc3, as it has drivers for older ide interfaces.
/dev/sr0 did not work. Will give V4.4rc3 a shot, if by that you mean a Tiny Core version. Is it in a special repository?
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Hi Tejas
You can find it here:
http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/4.x/x86/release_candidates/
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Hi Rich
Thanks for the interest. V4.4rc3 is also a no go Also noticed TC cannot mount a reiserfs filesystem on USB. However have DSL loaded from CD on IDE controller and drive is /dev/scd0 under DSL.
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Hi Tejas
For reiserfs support you need the filesystems extension.
Open a terminal while running Tinycore and enter dmesg > dmesg.txt
Attach the dmesg.txt file to your next post, maybe someone can spot why your CD drive is not detected.
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Attach the dmesg.txt file to your next post, maybe someone can spot why your CD drive is not detected.
Hi Rich
Might have stumbled upon a plausible explanation, which sheds light upon the prolonged boot process and may also be a clue as to why CD drive not detectedit seems that the newest kernels (specifically the ata_piix module) are now thinking that certain ATA chipsets also support SATA drives...then attempts to probe for all SATA drives, and since there are no drives and in fact no SATA bus, it has to wait for the SATA bus reset commands (SRST) to time out.
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Hi Tejas
I think your sound card may be the cause. You could try rebooting without the card, or try using the
boot code noisapnp
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Hi Tejas
I think your sound card may be the cause. You could try rebooting without the card, or try using the
boot code noisapnp
Hi Rich, too much hassle to take out card, especially when not really necessary . No joy with 'noisapnp':( Maybe 'dmesg' from other Linux flavours could provide a clue?
(DSL can't remove boot CD, Plop is a rescue o/s)
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Hi Tejas
Clapped out computer, HD gone (hda),
The HD was physically removed from the machine, right? And the lone CD drive has its jumper set to master, right?
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Clapped out computer, HD gone (hda),
The HD was physically removed from the machine, right? And the lone CD drive has its jumper set to master, right?
Hi Rich, computer has not been touched at all. HD remains there, jumpers not interfered with, all left as is. HD gone west! Lone CD just hanging there :)
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FWIW, I had to disconnect the hard drive when it died to get booting from CD to complete on an older PC of mine (Compaq Deskpro, Pentium III). This was even though the extensions and backup file were on a USB stick and no TCL files were on the hard drive.
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I'm not clear whether the CD-ROM was working with PlopLinux (which I assume was release 3.7.15). If so I wonder how your system would get along with a more recent version of that distribution (e.g. release 4.2.1 with kernel 3.3.1).
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Hi Tejas
If the hard drive is not functional, I would disconnect it, especially if it is on the same cable as the CD drive.
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FWIW, I had to disconnect the hard drive when it died to get booting from CD to complete on an older PC of mine
Nice to know, others in same boat :)
I'm not clear whether the CD-ROM was working with PlopLinux (which I assume was release 3.7.15).
[root@rescue ~]# uname -r
2.6.27.7-ploplinux
[root@rescue ~]# uname -a
Linux rescue 2.6.27.7-ploplinux #2 PREEMPT Tue Nov 25 19:47:17 GMT 2008 i686 pentium2 i386 GNU/Linux
[root@rescue ~]# mkdir cd
[root@rescue ~]# mount /dev/hdb cd -tiso9660
mount: block device /dev/hdb is write-protected, mounting read-only
[root@rescue ~]# ls cd
boot index.html KNOPPIX lost+found
[root@rescue ~]# umount cd
[root@rescue ~]# mount /dev/hdb cd -tiso9660
mount: block device /dev/hdb is write-protected, mounting read-only
[root@rescue ~]# ls cd
Directions Images
[root@rescue ~]# mount
rootfs on / type rootfs (rw)
none on /proc type proc (rw)
none on /sys type sysfs (rw)
none on /proc/bus/usb type usbfs (rw)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,mode=620)
/dev/sda3 on /media type vfat (rw,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1)
/dev/loop0 on /sbin type squashfs (ro)
/dev/loop1 on /lib type squashfs (ro)
/dev/loop2 on /usr type squashfs (ro)
/dev/loop3 on /bin type squashfs (ro)
/dev/sda1 on /s type reiserfs (rw)
/dev/hdb on /root/cd type iso9660 (ro)
/dev/sda1 on /root/s type reiserfs (rw)
...If so I wonder how your system would get along with a more recent version of that distribution (e.g. release 4.2.1 with kernel 3.3.1).
I'll give it a whirl.
Hang on a sec though, but isn't one of the tenets of TCB to rescue old computers from the scrap heap? I'm not too hot on h/w, being a s/w man myself :(
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Thanks for those details. This at least shows that an older kernel (from the 2.6.x phase) is able to handle your hardware configuration. In addition to the suggestion I already made regarding testing with the latest PlopLinux release I'd like to recommend to add TC 3.8.4 (from here (http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/3.x/release/)) and TC 4.3.1 (from here (http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/4.x/x86/archive/4.3.1/)) to the "test program". In either case I guess it would be sufficient to download the smallest ISO file (i.e. "MicroCore" or "Core") as you won't need a GUI to test how well the respective kernel (and the modules contained in the initrd) can cope with your hardware situation.
The rational for this suggestion is that TC 3.8.4 used a newer kernel (i.e. 2.6.33.3) than the one found in your older PlopLinux release. And TC 4.4 introduced a slightly later kernel (i.e. 3.0.21) than the one used previously in the TC 4.x series, plus some kernel configuration amendments that could well play a role in your case.
I realise that this might sound like a lot of testing being required, but I really don't know how to get to identify where things "broke" without going through this process.
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Thanks for those details. This at least shows that an older kernel (from the 2.6.x phase) is able to handle your hardware configuration.
Not only 2.6.x phase, but also 2.4.x.dsl@antq:~$ uname -r
2.4.31
dsl@antq:~$ uname -a
Linux antq 2.4.31 #6 SMP Fri Oct 21 15:15:54 EDT 2005 i686 unknown
dsl@antq:~$ ls /cdrom
KNOPPIX boot index.html lost+found
dsl@antq:~$ mount
/dev/root on / type ext2 (rw)
/dev/scd0 on /cdrom type iso9660 (ro)
/dev/cloop on /KNOPPIX type iso9660 (ro)
/ramdisk on /ramdisk type tmpfs (rw,size=46936k,size=42595k)
/proc/bus/usb on /proc/bus/usb type usbdevfs (rw,devmode=0666)
unionfs on /KNOPPIX/bin type unionfs (rw,dirs=/ramdisk/bin=rw:/bin=ro)
unionfs on /dev type unionfs (rw,dirs=/ramdisk/dev=rw:/dev=ro)
unionfs on /etc type unionfs (rw,dirs=/ramdisk/etc=rw:/etc=rw)
unionfs on /KNOPPIX/lib type unionfs (rw,dirs=/ramdisk/lib=rw:/lib=ro)
unionfs on /KNOPPIX/sbin type unionfs (rw,dirs=/ramdisk/sbin=rw:/sbin=ro)
unionfs on /KNOPPIX/usr type unionfs (rw,dirs=/ramdisk/usr=rw:/usr=ro)
unionfs on /ramdisk/var type unionfs (rw,dirs=/ramdisk/var=rw)Thanks for those details. .... I realise that this might sound like a lot of testing being required, but I really don't know how to get to identify where things "broke" without going through this process.
Maro, Rich thanks for taking the trouble, sure appreciate it.
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I noted that DSL was working, but I discarded that observation as to me a 2.4.x kernel (being ca. 5.5 years old) does provide very little help when trying to identify an issue with a 3.x or 2.6.x kernel. Hence all those suggestions with a view to find out under which conditions things start to fall apart. IMHO we don't yet have enough information to come up with any clear idea.
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I wonder how your system would get along with a more recent version of that distribution (e.g. release 4.2.1 with kernel 3.3.1).
[root@ploplinux ~]# uname -r
3.3.1
[root@ploplinux ~]# uname -a
Linux ploplinux 3.3.1 #1 SMP Sat Apr 7 15:52:01 CEST 2012 i686 GNU/Linux
mount /dev/hdb cd -t iso9660
mount: block device /dev/hdb is write-protected, mounting read-only
[root@ploplinux ~]# ls cd
KNOPPIX boot index.html lost+found
[root@ploplinux ~]# umount cd
mount /dev/hdb cd -t iso9660
mount: block device /dev/hdb is write-protected, mounting read-only
[root@ploplinux ~]# ls cd
Directions Images
[root@ploplinux ~]# mount
rootfs on / type rootfs (rw)
none on /proc type proc (rw,relatime)
none on /sys type sysfs (rw,relatime)
none on /proc/bus/usb type usbfs (rw,relatime)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,relatime,mode=620)
/dev/sda1 on /media type vfat (rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)
/dev/loop0 on /sbin type squashfs (ro,relatime)
/dev/loop1 on /lib type squashfs (ro,relatime)
/dev/loop2 on /bin type squashfs (ro,relatime)
/media/ploplinux/usr.sqfs on /usr type squashfs (ro,relatime)
fusectl on /sys/fs/fuse/connections type fusectl (rw)
nfsd on /proc/fs/nfsd type nfsd (rw)
/dev/hdb on /root/cd type iso9660 (ro)
There is one slightly perturbing incident somewhat connected with this investigation, which you could maybe have some idea about. Upon running: 'tar xzf ploplinux-4.2.1.tgz' I got an error message to the effect that STDIN had incomplete end of file. Then verified 'md5sum' and ran 'tar xzf ploplinux-4.2.1.tgz' once more, which ran without a hitch. I have since run 'fsck' on the file system finding no corruptions. So could this error be indicative of a h/w malfunction or of a disk i/o error?
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In addition to the suggestion I already made regarding testing with the latest PlopLinux release I'd like to recommend to add TC 3.8.4 and TC 4.3.1 to the "test program".
TC 4.3.1 couldn't even gui! All the rest could.
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Hi Tejas
Hang on a sec though, but isn't one of the tenets of TCB to rescue old computers from the scrap heap?
Old computers, sure. But you are asking it to boot a faulty computer.
I'm not too hot on h/w, being a s/w man myself
Fair enough. Then see if you can spot the flaw in this algorithm:
1. Select a version of Tinycore
2. Boot the computer
3. The kernel probes the computer to see what hardware is available
4. Probing the IDE port produces faulty results
5. Base on those results, the kernel determines there are no drives attached
6. You are sad because your CD drive was not detected
7. Select a different version of Tinycore
8. GOTO 2Yes, I know, GOTO statements tend to be frowned upon. But then again, I'm more of a H/W guy, so what did you expect?
In most, if not all of your attachments, the IDE interface is being detected. It is the drives connected to the other side of
that interface that don't show up. If you do not disconnect the hard drive, you can neither confirm nor deny that it's the
source of your problems, In that case, I recommend you go to step 7 and continue processing.
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TC 4.3
vmlinuz: 2511936
core.gz 5401101 Version 4.3
Upon scanning 'dmesg' after running PloP it seemed as though the sound card had not been detected. So I decided to compare with TC. Did simplest TC invocation by hitting grub-like menu item of kexec-loader which happened to boot the very first TC iso to be downloaded from your site. To my surprise it not only found the sound card but also the CD ROM, which I was able to mount and view. I thought it was an oversight on my part and so did not attempt to save 'dmesg', but it has turned out to have been a one-off, which I have not been able to reproduce.
I noticed it had managed to start the Uniform Multi-Platform E-IDE driver, and one does not have to be a Linux guru to realise it all hinges on (the kernel?) invoking the Uniform Multi-Platform E-IDE driver ;)
TC 3.8.4 test results coming up next.
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1. Select a version of Tinycore
2. Boot the computer
3. The kernel probes the computer to see what hardware is available
4. Probing the IDE port produces faulty results
5. Base on those results, the kernel determines there are no drives attached
6. You are sad because your CD drive was not detected
7. Select a different version of Tinycore
8. GOTO 2Yes, I know, GOTO statements tend to be frowned upon. But then again, I'm more of a H/W guy, so what did you expect?
I recommend you go to step 7 and continue processing.
Already in fourth Iteration :)
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TC 3.8.4
Something I've just realised, with all TC versions 'tested' till now, 'fd0' has been missing from the equation!
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From now on the 'mount tool' displays not just 'sda1', | fd0 |
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and the boot varies in behaviour depending on the CD! | hdb |
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| sda1 |
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Hi Tejas
In TC3.x the drives show up as hd
In TC4.x the drives show up as sd
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Hi Rich
Post was garbled, as in the middle of composing and doing previews the text somehow got posted :( Thanks for info anyhow.
Giving up for time being BCC here is not behaving as it should.
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Hmmm, I've been a bit silent recently as as was hoping that TC 3.8.4 results might reveal some really useful information. Does reply #25 mean that these specific results (i.e. similar to reply #21) won't be be forthcoming?
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Hmmm, I've been a bit silent recently as as was hoping that TC 3.8.4 results might reveal some really useful information. Does reply #25 mean that these specific results (i.e. similar to reply #21) won't be be forthcoming?
On the contrary! I've got them all, but in the process of putting them into some sort of meaningful order, I came across a problem with {list}{/list}, in that insertion of {code}{/code} terminates 'list', at which point I went off for my 40 x ;)
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Hi Tejas
In TC3.x the drives show up as hd
In TC4.x the drives show up as sd
Hi Rich
In TC4.3 the CD drive, the one time it showed up, showed as 'sr0', as already mentioned in your very first posting here.
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Hi Tejas
Actually gerald_clark mentioned the CD drive is sr0. Even though you have been trying this with different versions
of Tinycore, you've reached a point where you are essentially repeating the same experiment over and over but
expecting a different result. I think it's time you bite the bullet, get a screwdriver, and unplug the cables from that
dead hard drive.
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TC 3.8.4
Something I've just realised, with all TC versions 'tested' till now, 'fd0' has been missing from the equation!
MOUNT TOOL DISPLAY
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From now on the 'mount tool' displays not just 'sda1', | fd0 |
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and the boot varies in behaviour depending on the CD! | hdb |
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| sda1 |
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NB. Non-standard mount points in the following results are indicative of failure on the part of the 'mount tool' to mount the respective device.
1. No CD in CD ROM Drive
02:01
tc@box:~$ cat /proc/version
Linux version 2.6.33.3-tinycore (root@box) (gcc version 4.2.2) #2012 SMP Wed May 12 17:05:42 EEST 2010
tc@box:~$ mkdir cd
tc@box:~$ mount
rootfs on / type rootfs (rw,relatime,size=54100k,nr_inodes=6474)
proc on /proc type proc (rw,relatime)
sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw,relatime)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,relatime,mode=600)
tmpfs on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,relatime)
CD Inserted
tc@box:~$ sudo mount /dev/hdb cd -t iso9660
tc@box:~$ ls cd
autorun.inf casper/ md5sum.txt preseed/
boot/ isolinux/ mint4win.exe
tc@box:~$ mount
rootfs on / type rootfs (rw,relatime,size=54100k,nr_inodes=6474)
proc on /proc type proc (rw,relatime)
sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw,relatime)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,relatime,mode=600)
tmpfs on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,relatime)
/dev/hdb on /home/tc/cd type iso9660 (ro,relatime)
tc@box:~$ mkdir floppy
tc@box:~$ sudo mount /dev/fd0 floppy -t vfat
tc@box:~$ ls floppy
README.html kexec-loader.conf~ linux.upx
kexec-loader.conf ldlinux.sys modules/
kexec-loader.conf_010312 linux.cfg syslinux.cfg
tc@box:~$ mount
rootfs on / type rootfs (rw,relatime,size=54100k,nr_inodes=6474)
proc on /proc type proc (rw,relatime)
sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw,relatime)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,relatime,mode=600)
tmpfs on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,relatime)
/dev/hdb on /home/tc/cd type iso9660 (ro,relatime)
/dev/fd0 on /home/tc/floppy type vfat (ro,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)
/dev/sda1 on /mnt/sda1 type vfat (rw,relatime,fmask=0000,dmask=0000,allow_utime=0022,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)
Corres 'dmesg': dmesgTC3.8.4NoCD
2. CD '7P' in CD ROM Drive (Burnt using Brassero under Mint) gives rise to a host of boot errors because the boot INsists On reading the CD in the drive, although it is perfectly capable of informing about the Jolliet Extensions without a CD to read. After an inordinately long time it gives up and normally completes the boot, with only one incident of the system freezing.
02:29
tc@box:~$ cat /proc/version
Linux version 2.6.33.3-tinycore (root@box) (gcc version 4.2.2) #2012 SMP Wed May 12 17:05:42 EEST 2010
tc@box:~$ ls /mnt/hdb
Directions/ Images/
tc@box:~$ ls /mnt/fd0
README.html kexec-loader.conf~ linux.upx
kexec-loader.conf ldlinux.sys modules/
kexec-loader.conf_010312 linux.cfg syslinux.cfg
tc@box:~$ mount
rootfs on / type rootfs (rw,relatime,size=54100k,nr_inodes=6474)
proc on /proc type proc (rw,relatime)
sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw,relatime)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,relatime,mode=600)
tmpfs on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,relatime)
/dev/hdb on /mnt/hdb type iso9660 (ro,relatime)
/dev/fd0 on /mnt/fd0 type vfat (ro,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)
/dev/sda1 on /mnt/sda1 type vfat (rw,relatime,fmask=0000,dmask=0000,allow_utime=0022,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)
tc@box:~$ ls /mnt/hdb
COPYING isolinux/ utils/
EFI/ live/
GParted-Live-Version syslinux/
Corres 'dmesg': dmesgTC3.8.4CD7P
3. CD 'GP' in CD ROM Drive (Burnt using K3b under Kanotix)read by boot without a hitch!
02:48
tc@box:~$ cat /proc/version
Linux version 2.6.33.3-tinycore (root@box) (gcc version 4.2.2) #2012 SMP Wed May 12 17:05:42 EEST 2010
tc@box:~$ ls /mnt/hdb
COPYING isolinux/ utils/
EFI/ live/
GParted-Live-Version syslinux/
tc@box:~$ ls /mnt/fd0
tc@box:~$ mkdir flop
tc@box:~$ sudo mount /dev/fd0 flop -t vfat
tc@box:~$ ls flop
README.html kexec-loader.conf~ linux.upx
kexec-loader.conf ldlinux.sys modules/
kexec-loader.conf_010312 linux.cfg syslinux.cfg
tc@box:~$ ls /mnt/hdb
Directions/ Images/
tc@box:~$ mount
rootfs on / type rootfs (rw,relatime,size=54100k,nr_inodes=6474)
proc on /proc type proc (rw,relatime)
sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw,relatime)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,relatime,mode=600)
tmpfs on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,relatime)
/dev/fd0 on /home/tc/flop type vfat (ro,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)
/dev/hdb on /mnt/hdb type iso9660 (ro,relatime)
/dev/sda1 on /mnt/sda1 type vfat (rw,relatime,fmask=0000,dmask=0000,allow_utime=0022,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)
Corres 'dmesg': dmesgTC3.8.4cdGP
4. No CD 'CD_0' in CD ROM Drive This time 'mount tool' at the second attempt was able to mount 'fd0'.
03:03
tc@box:~$ cat /proc/version
Linux version 2.6.33.3-tinycore (root@box) (gcc version 4.2.2) #2012 SMP Wed May 12 17:05:42 EEST 2010
tc@box:~$ ls /mnt/fd0
README.html kexec-loader.conf~ linux.upx
kexec-loader.conf ldlinux.sys modules/
kexec-loader.conf_010312 linux.cfg syslinux.cfg
tc@box:~$ ls /mnt/hdb
autorun.inf casper/ md5sum.txt preseed/
boot/ isolinux/ mint4win.exe
tc@box:~$ mount
rootfs on / type rootfs (rw,relatime,size=54100k,nr_inodes=6474)
proc on /proc type proc (rw,relatime)
sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw,relatime)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,relatime,mode=600)
tmpfs on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,relatime)
/dev/hdb on /mnt/hdb type iso9660 (ro,relatime)
/dev/sda1 on /mnt/sda1 type vfat (rw,relatime,fmask=0000,dmask=0000,allow_utime=0022,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)
/dev/fd0 on /mnt/fd0 type vfat (ro,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)
Corres 'dmesg': dmesgTC3.8.4NoCD_0
Tamam Shud
Maro, hopefully lots of useful data for you to get your teeth stuck into :)
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Well, I'm not going to let the grass grow under my feet. It's gone over a month now, barring a holiday or two, and not a peep from the team. It's somewhat disappointing that the team have not seen fit to acknowledge my effort to provide a comprehensive set of results, nor bothered to supply any explanation for some of the puzzling facts I pointed out. :(
When 2.6.33 worked I could very well have gone off and not come back to you at all, and left you guessing. However I know from my stint in 1st Line and s/w support that we would be glad of any feedback for a fix, and we abhorred it when this was met with complete silence.
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Hi Tejas
It is not reasonable to expect an operating system to function properly if you try to run it on faulty hardware.
Whether that dead drive is a source of your problems is unknown, since you won't take the time to learn how
to operate a screwdriver so you can disconnect it. Speaking for myself, until you remove this unknown from
the equation, I don't see any point in pursuing this any further.
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Hi Rich
As far as I'm concerned 2.6.33 does the job, and there's no point in taking anything further!
P.S. I'm dependent for all my printing needs on the parallel interface of the old box. So should I take a screwdriver to it and short something of vital importance, I'll be up for a new USB printer. :(
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If you don't know how to unplug a computer, and remove the connectors from the faulty drive, maybe you should not be using it.
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If you don't know how to unplug a computer, and remove the connectors from the faulty drive, maybe you should not be using it.
I'll use it until it gives up the ghost ;)
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Well, as I said above, I had to disconnect the (dead) hard drive for my old computer to be useful any longer. Maybe that's more like amputation?