[lug] Alpha install

[George Sexton]

The systems will probably work, it's just a matter of really figuring out
what the model is for the system.

Alpha Bios is totally different from SRM. On the system I have, the only
reference I had for the Alpha Bios was an NT oriented one. Still, it's a
little easier for PC types to understand than SRM... I put RedHat 6.1 on a
Ruffian with an Alpha Bios. The problems I hit were:

1)	MILO wouldn't work because the video card was not in slot 1. This is a
Ruffian Issue only.
2)	MILO from RedHat just didn't work at all. I ended up using the MILO for
Ruffian from a SuSE disk.
3)	DHCP client didn't work. I had to fix the IP Address.
4)	The clock was whacked. I had to change the default init script to not
pass the Alpha Bios option. Evidently, I flashed the Bios up to a version
that didn't have the quirk expected by RedHat.

Once I got past 1 and 2, it was pretty easy.

The best source of information on Alpha is AlphaLinux.com. They have a
number of FAQ's that are incredibly helpful. Even with the FAQ's, Alpha is
not for the faint of heart.

If you want, I can help you get one running. I am in Broomfield just off 36.
Give me a call, and we can set something up.

George Sexton
MH Software, Inc.
Voice: 303 438 9585 x102
Fax: 303 469 9679
URL: http://www.mhsoftware.com

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-admin at lug.boulder.co.us [mailto:lug-admin at lug.boulder.co.us]On
Behalf Of Michael J. Hammel
Sent: Friday, March 17, 2000 3:12 PM
To: lug at lug.boulder.co.us
Subject: Re: [lug] Alpha install


Thus spoke George Sexton
> The installation should be pretty straight forward. The two screwy things
> are:
>
> 1)	BSD partitioning. You have to use it on SRM. If the installer doesn't
do
> it automatically, you really need to read up on this before doing it. It's
> different than PC style partitioning.

I'll have to wait and see what the DS10 offers.  The 5000 was pretty
convoluted - it was next to impossible to figure out how to get it to boot
off the CD or even get to an SRM prompt so I *could* give a "boot
...blah..."
command.

> 2)	SRM Variables. Setting the default variables so the system boots
without
> a console command.

The Red Hat web site had some info on this, which is how I realized I
wasn't going to be able to boot into Linux on the 5000 - you couldn't get
an SRM prompt.  Its using an AlphaBios, which is supposed to be different.
The web site also talked about using this interface, but the info online
didn't say which image to use from the boot images directory on the CD.  In
essence, I don't think the 5000 was supported.

The DS10 should be a little easier to figure out.  I hope.
--
Michael J. Hammel           |
The Graphics Muse           |  If quitters never win, and winners never
quit,
mjhammel at graphics-muse.org  |  what fool came up with "Quit while you're
http://www.graphics-muse.com   ahead"?

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