Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Hosting Security and Technology : Super noob requires walking assistance

[eggie]

Hey all, new to this group and need some assistance. Sorry if this is not in the right discussion group.

I am familiar with Microsoft desktop and server products, but have decided to attempt a Linux www, mail, ftp server. I would ultimately like to have this machine hosting at some point or another.

I have a machine that is a blank slate waiting to be handled. It is:
1.4Ghz P4
Abit motherboard
Highpoint Raid controller
2x 80gb hard drives = Raid 1
1gb PC800

I have tried to install Redhat 9 about 20 times ending with the same results:
rpmdb: fatal region error detected; run recovery - Prior to the machine rebooting
or
-bash: startx: command not found (I know using a graphical interface is a no, no... but I am more of a visual person.

Here is my objective or help I need:
1) I am willing to scratch everything I have done (which is much), can someone baby step me or point me to some step by steps after the installation is complete. Infact as I write this, I am squashing the machine again and installing RH9 with minimal options.

I'm sure I'll have more questions after the above...

Thanks i advance.

[=-D]

hey eggie,

if your rh9 fails again, have u thought about trying other distributions? I found Mandrake a good beginner distro for myself.

Good Luck!

[zupanm]

so you get this as you are trying to install? or after installation?

[privHost]

Most likely, it is your RAID setup. The usual recommendation is not to install your root partition (partition for /) on a RAID setup. Putting any other partition on a RAID setup is fine, however.

BTW, it is not impossible to install on a RAID setup. It is just more complicated and also depending on the actual RAID controller (do they have kernel support drivers, etc.).

[eggie]

=-D:
I have triedL Redhat 8 & 9, Mandrake, Suse, Arch, Turbo and Slackware 10.

Mandrake worked on the Highpoint raid controller. Turbo worked without the controller. Redhat 8 kinda worked, but was full of errors. Arch and Slackware are above me for now...

zupanm:
After the installation. In RH9 just after you click the exit button to restart: "rpmdb: fatal region error detected; run recovery". Then after the reboot and I login as root and type startx: "-bash: startx: command not found".

privHost:
I tried RH9 off the raid and got the same results.
____________________________________________________

I have since scraped the box and reinstalled Windows 200 server. I am beginning to believe it is hardware related and don't want to waste more time on this POS box. I had a hard time installing Windows 2003 server as well. I'm just going to sell it and build a better one.

Thanks for your help. Will be back soon with a new box.

eggie

[privHost]

If you have tried that many distros, I would concur that it is probably hardward related. Your problem was with the installation process, the "startx" error confirms that the installation did not finish properly.

Anyway, if you want to try again later, I would recommend Mandrake or SUSE. If you want Redhat, try RHEL 3 or the Whitebox alternative, or Fedora if you are adventurous. Of course, other distros may be fine too. I am just stating my personal bias.

[eggie]

I did read somewhere in the net that linux and intel had issues at with the original P4 chips? This particular processor is a production grade prerelease unlocked chip. Would that have anything to do with my headaches...

Also, I like Redhat for its easy of installation. I am a bit more familiar with it was well. I like that RH9 allows a server install as Suse and Mandrake were just workstations.

I am trying to find RHEL3, but the like was dead. I thought whitebox versions don't have as much community support so they are slow to develope and I have Fedora, but read about the additional chores needed to setup and didn't want to add to my frustration. Besides, I found someone on the Fefora site stating the same issues as me.

[privHost]

Whitebox is exactly RHEL 3, minus the commercial stuff (is there any?) and the official support from RH. They just repackage RHEL under a different name due to trakemark issues. I don't believe there is any actual development involved. It is new so the community might take a while to build up. But from a technical perspective, RHEL and Whitebox are the same.

[e12pilot]

Try installing just the server install of RH9 without xwindows. Try installing under the text mode install as well.

You will have to get comfortable with this sooner or later, why not take the time to set everything up now?

Scratch the highpoint RAID controller and forget it is even there, it is a worthless POS. Connect your drives to IDE0 and IDE1, not the highpoint IDE channels. If you want RAID for cheap, use the software RAID built-into RH9. Works just fine.

Spend some time and read some HOWTO guides out there. This won't come easy at first, but the more and more you re-install the OS the better things will become.

Good luck!

Peter

[eggie]

Yea, I did try the IDE0 & 1 and then setup Software raid using RH9. Git the same issue. Which lead me to believe I have other hardware compatibility issues.

Have gotten really good at installing RH9 if anything else