Re: Re: [gentoo-user] Dell 1850/Dell Partition

[Michael Kintzios]

> From:: "Walter Dnes" <waltdnes@××××××××.org>
> To: gentoo-user@l.g.o
> Subject: Re: [gentoo-user] Dell 1850/Dell Partition
> Date: Sat, 17 Sep 2005 23:41:30 -0400

> On Thu, Sep 15, 2005 at 12:07:43PM +0100, Michael Kintzios wrote
>
> > Before I installed Gentoo on a Compaq machine I saved both the
> > as built image and the current OS onto a DVD using partimage from
> > Knoppix and then I royally wiped the lot off the drive.
>
>   Can you do that?  Has Compaq stopped putting half their "BIOS" in a
> small hidden partition?  Some years ago at work, we got a Compaq server
> for use as a linux server.  It came with NT4.  So the CS guys blew away
> the partitions, and installed RedHat7.0.  The thing would not boot.

Compaq tend to 'compaqify' their boxes by plastering their company logo into every splash screen you can imagine, including these days their BIOS screen.  I am not sure how their boxen were configured a few years ago but these days everything can be 'disinfected' and returned to default component settings.  I am not what you mean by BIOS partition.  I don't know if they would save a BIOS image to reflash the BIOS with their corporate splash screen and preferred settings in case the CMOS battery ran out or was removed by the user.  On the other hand, they may just saved the splash screen on the hdd because back then there would be much less storage space for silly splash screens on the BIOS itself?

>   After several calls to Compaq, and much running around, the solution
> turned out to be...
>   - run the NT "emergency restore" CD.  It blew away the entire hard
>     drive and installs the "BIOS" partition and NT.
>   - blow away the NT partition, but do *NOT* touch the "BIOS" partition.
>   - re-install linux on the rest of the hard drive

Hmm, did you then boot Linux using LiLo, or by chainloading LiLo via the M$Windoze bootloader?  Did you try to reset the BIOS settings to 'normal' non-Compaq defaults?  If there was a path in the BIOS pointing to the first partition for a particular file that may have needed clearing out for the machine to boot.  My experience with desktop Compaq machines is that you can remove everything from the drive and install gentoo without any problem.  The first partition is only used by Compaq for storing an image of the OS and probably a copy of the MBR and can be therefore transferred over to other media.  If anyone's interested I'll check their website which if I remember right gives instructions how to do just that.
-- 
Regards,
Mick

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