[COLUG] AOpen DVD drive issue

[William Yang]

Dave wrote:
> 
> On May 10, 2007, at 1:30 PM, Thomas W. Cranston wrote:
> 
>> William Yang wrote:
>>> Dave wrote:
>>>> I got a new custom computer (from TCR in Pickerington) for my wife's
>>>> office and am having issues with the DVD drive. I burned a DVD of
>>>> CentOS 5 and it loads ok and brings up the first screen, but once I
>>>> select to install from the "CD-ROM" drive, it says it needs a
>>>> driver. So I created an image of the DVD on my Mac and did an ftp
>>>> install which worked fine.
>>>
>>> Based on the symptoms you've described, I don't think it's a hardware
>>> problem with the *drive*.  I think it's on your drive controller
>>> and/or mobo, and I think it's likely to be a software problem you can
>>> fix without going back to the store.

[...]

> I specifically requested a mobo with one old style serial port since
> they still use an external serial modem for sending faxes and since we
> were buying 5 and I wanted to keep the price down I went with on board
> video and on board audio.
> 
> This is what it is: Intel DG965SSCK - I checked before ordering and
> according to Intel's site, there's support in recent Linux versions.

Yes, there is support in recent Linux kernels.  However, that support has
to be turned on through boot-time options (and requires a correctly set up
BIOS) before it will work.  Remember, just because it *can* be built into
the kernel doesn't mean it's going to be in every distribution's installer
image by default.

Please take a look at:

http://www.blindedbytech.com/2006/11/10/how-to-install-fedora-core-6-on-intel-dg965ss-motherboard/

In this article, they note that the problem is exactly what I suggested, a
JMicron PATA/SATA bridge that's not supported in the installer's default
settings.  They also provide suggestions on how to get it to work, which
mirror my own experiences getting things to happen on a different,
similarly new board.

I believe the workarounds they describe will probably work.  Minor BIOS
changes and options passed to the kernel will resolve the problem for
installation purposes.  You just need to make sure you tell the kernel to
use the drivers.

Contrary to the opinions of some others, I have a hard time claiming the
hardware is junk, just because the support isn't compiled by default into
the operating system you're using (when it is available).

There are readily accessible ways to get the hardware to work without
returning it.  That's not a problem with the equipment.

	-Bill
-- 
William Yang
wyang at gcfn.net