Getting hdc errors when attempting to load Tiny Core or Micro Core

[arkitech]

Can anyone help me resolve this issue? I'm attempting to install Tiny Core on a system with a Celeron 550mhz with 64 mb of ram. Whether using a CD or USB flash drive I receive the same error

hdc: DMA interrupt recovery
hdc: status time-out: status = 0xd0
hdc: possibly failed opcode: 0xa0
hdc: drive not ready for command

I thought initially that maybe I did'nt have enough memory to run TC (although according to the faq I should). So I tried installing MC and I got the exact same message.

Anyone know what might cause this issue? I seem to be able to boot Damn Small Linux and Wary Puppy ok, but for some reason I can't get TC to run.

[maro]

You are not the first user with DMA issues related to a CD-ROM device on an older system. Others have reported similar error messages, therefore my hunch is that using a boot code of 'ide-core.nodma=X.Y' (with appropriate values for X and Y like X=1 and Y=0 for '/dev/hdc') appeared to have worked for most (if not in all of those) cases.

[arkitech]

Thanks for the reply Maro. Can you point me to a link or a resource that demonstrates how to change those values you mentioned?

[Rich]

Hi arkitech
If booting from the CD, when the first Tinycore message appears, type   tinycore ide-core.nodma=1.0
and hit enter.

[arkitech]

Thanks Rich, it worked. I'm finally able to live boot into Tiny Core. It's amazing seeing such an old piece of hardware running a sleek piece of software.

However I do have one other concern. For some reason I'm unable to get to the install menu. Even after mounting the CD I don't have the install icon in the wbar, running tc-install from the run command does'nt work either. I've verified that the mount operations occur successfully, I can view the contents of the CD and the hard drive. Is it possible to run the install from a terminal?

[Rich]

Hi arkitech
Try clicking on the  Control Panel  icon, it should have an install button.

[arkitech]

Weird, under the Control Panel, Setup Menu I have the following:

Load Starter Pack
Services
Swap File Tool
Terminal Server
Xesa

I noticed on the screenshots for this site that on the control panel under setup menu the first option is HD/USB install. I loaded TC up using VMWare Player and I still don't have that install option under the control panel. Also when attempting to run tc-install from the run menu it does the same as on physical box, after typing "tc-" I don't get the chance to complete the command. It automatically completes the command as "tc-terminal-server". When I edit that command to read "tc-install" nothing happens. I'm going to try and download another copy of the iso and see what happens.

[Rich]

Hi arkitech
It sounds like the version you are running is different from mine, I'm afraid someone else will have
to help you. You might want to mention which file and version you downloaded to burn the CD.

[gerald_clark]

If you booted the multicore CD, boot with the tci menu option.
If you booted the tinycore CD, you need to download the install starter pack and use
the starter pack button to load and install it..
Starter packs are available on the download page.

[arkitech]

Thanks for your help guys. I was able to finally the system up and running. In the end I did a manual install to get TC on the PC. Thanks again for the help and suggestions.

[dmtc1]

Found this on LinuxQuestions forum so I figured I would post:

ide-core.nodma=   [HW] (E)IDE subsystem
         Format: =0.0 to prevent dma on hda, =0.1 hdb =1.0 hdc
         .vlb_clock .pci_clock .noflush .noprobe .nowerr .cdrom
         .chs .ignore_cable are additional options
         See Documentation/ide/ide.txt.


   libata.dma=   [LIBATA] DMA control
         libata.dma=0     Disable all PATA and SATA DMA
         libata.dma=1     PATA and SATA Disk DMA only
         libata.dma=2     ATAPI (CDROM) DMA only
         libata.dma=4     Compact Flash DMA only
         Combinations also work, so libata.dma=3 enables DMA
         for disks and CDROMs, but not CFs.