i bought a raq2 on ebay where the hd was wiped clean,so i downloaded raq os from sun and innstaled it on the raq but it only comes to "checking disk" and stays there.
i tryed whit a other disk to but same problem.any ides?

did you connect a null modem cable to the serial port to watch the output as it boots?

also, it might just take a long time to run fsck if the machine wasn't powered off properly or something.

i think the raq 2 uses 9600 n-8-1 for the serial port comms, but it might be 115200 n-8-1 like the newer boxes.

im afraid i dont have a nullmodem cabel,and if i did im not sure i could understand what and where to find the output anyway...sorry

also, it might just take a long time to run fsck if the machine wasn't powered off properly or something.
about 6hours?
anyway when its finish whit the innstall its reboot automatik but its not able to boot longer than checking the disk.


btw:thanx for answering

you can pick up a null modem cable (also referred to as a Laplink cable, for the old backup/sync software of the same name that worked over a serial port) at any computer/electronics store. it's like a standard 9-pin serial cable, but the transmit/receive pair is swapped on one end, allowing a direct connect of one serial port to another.

one end connects to the serial port on the raq, the other connects to a computer running some kind of comm program (minicom on linux, hyperterm on windows, etc). you set the comm parameters to either 9600 bps or 115200 bps, No parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit (n-8-1).

When you power up the RaQ, it sends all the normal startup messages to the serial port, since there's no video built-in. Similar to the junk you see when you start up a regular Linux computer...

If you are monitoring this data stream on another computer, you can see where it's hanging, etc. I think on some of the older raqs, the fsck would actually wait for input from the user if it found a problem that needed correcting. this could be what's wrong with your server... it might have found a problem and need you to tell it to fix it before it will continue.

a 6 hour fsck is long, but not unheard of, depending on the drive size, amount of RAM, etc.

i will take a trip to the store tomorow and se what i find(its night her in norway now)

but the "linux junk" will come out in a terminal window then?
hyperterminal for win xp will be good?

yes, you will see all the normal startup stuff displayed in the terminal window. you can also interact with the raq if needed (i.e., it needs you to press Enter to fix a problem on the disk).

Eventually you will get a login: prompt in your terminal window when the RaQ has completely booted up.

Hyperterminal is fine. You may have to experiment with the speed settings. It's either 9600 bps or 115200 bps, I can't remember which.

Also, on later model RaQs, you could enable and disable the serial port by holding in the password reset button (small hole next to the LCD) with a paperclip when turning the RaQ on.

I can't remember if the RaQ 2 does that as well. If you get no output at all from the serial port upon power up, the serial port may be disabled. Power off the RaQ, push in the switch with a paper clip and turn the RaQ back on. You should see in the LCD "SERIAL CONSOLE ON"... if you see "SERIAL CONSOLE OFF" you just disabled it; power off the RaQ, and power it back on again with the switch held in. It works like a toggle.

Hope this helps.

this is what i get on the serial port and its stops whit that.


Cobalt Microserver Diagnostics - 'We serve it, you surf it'
Built Mon Aug 24 14:44:00 PDT 1998

1.LCD Test................................PASS
2.Controller Test.........................PASS
4.Flash Test..............................PASS
5.Bank 0:.................................64M
6.Bank 1:.................................64M
7.Bank 2:.................................64M
8.Bank 3:.................................64M
9.Serial Test.............................PASS
10.PCI Expansion Slot....................**EMPTY**
12.IDE Test................................PASS
13.Ethernet Test...........................PASS
16.RTC Test................................PASS
Decompressing done
Decompressing -/ done.

any one got any ideas about this as i have got the same problem..

any one got any ideas about this as i have got the same problem..

This problem appears to be with the resotore, or a bad hard drive.
Did the restore complete OK?

the restore seemed to complete ok..

gave a start and finish time,,,

the restore seemed to complete ok..

gave a start and finish time,,,

that's not good! Should end with... something like "power down now"

it says sysrestart

goes down for a reboot and then starts up hdd light lit and starting up displayed in the lcd..

it says sysrestart

goes down for a reboot and then starts up hdd light lit and starting up displayed in the lcd..

I would try a different hard drive, as it looks like it's not able to boot from the drive.

I was in the exact same situation as the OP.

Raq2 off of ebay, get it, plug it in, 6 hours of FSCK.

After a long nap, I troubleshooted it....

The problem SEEMED to be that if the LAN cable isn't plugged in it will hang on "Checking Disk...".

After plugging in the LAN cable it did FSCK for about 3 minutes and continued it's boot process.

Hope that helps!