I just pulled a DPT PM2044W scsi controller and disk from an old machine and want to use it on my desktop box which runs 32 bit SUSE 11.0, but the machine has an intel Quad processor.
I installed the controller and disk and then rebooted. The disk is not recognized. It does not show up in the Partitoner.
lspci shows the following for the SCSI card: 04:02.0 SCSI storage controller: Adaptec (formerly DPT) SmartCache/Raid I-IV Controller (rev 02)
I found that the driver is “eata”. I attempted loading the module with “modprobe eata”, which gave a segmentation fault and completely hung the system. This behavior is reproducible. I did it 3 times.
I tried looking for an updated driver via Software Management but could not find one.
Since I plan to upgrade anyway, I decided to try installing 64 bit SUSE 11.1. The install gets to “loading basic drivers”, shows the DPT, says the driver is eata, shows that it is loading the driver , and the machine reboots. This happens with the 64 bit DVD. With the 32 bit DVD it just hangs at the same point. Same with the 32 bit KDE CD.
I have an old 32 bit SUSE 10.3 DVD. With this it loads the driver then hands on the very next item which is “activating USB devices”.
I then booted from a Slackware 12.2 DVD, which recognized the disk correctly. In fact I could install Slackware to the disk and boot that installation. I also tried with a Knoppix 5.1.1 Live DVD. It also recognize the SCSI disk and allowed me to access it.
The Ubuntu 9.04 CD just ignored it, but the system did not hang.
I would like to used this disk as it is very fast and I need an extra disk to distribute I/O.
You know, it may be some kernel option that SuSE/openSUSE just doesn’t use.
Are you comfortable with compiling your own kernel to check it out? Of course, we’d have to figure out what the option is, but maybe you have enough information.
I thought of compiling the kernel, loading eata permanently. Even if this solves the problem for 32bit 11.0, it does not allow me to upgrade to 64bit 11.1 (and perhaps 11.2), since the install DVD/CDs hang. It also does not allow me to install the OS on the SCSI disk.
I will try just to see what happens, but it is at best a partial, and temporary solution.
You know, there may be another driver that you can specify at bootup. Either some generic SCSI driver or even the “wrong” driver that just happens to work.
Of course, I hate to suggest going one by one through the different modules until one works, but there’s just enough OCD in me that I’ve done things like that before.
I have verfied that the problem is the eata driver by putting the hardware in another computer (PIII with Intel MB) and booting from the SUSE 11.1 KDE4 Live CD. It hangs just after loading the eata driver, just like my desltop. If I specify brokenmodules=eata, then the driver is skipped and the boot proceeds normally. Of course, then I do not have access to the disk. At this point attempting to load the module with ‘modprobe -v eata’ returns a segmentation fault and the machine freezes, requiring a physical reboot. This is identical behavior to my desktop machine.
I want to try other drivers to see if they work with this card. How do I force a driver load from the Boot Options? In fact, where do I find a list of valid Boot Options for SUSE? I have searched the documentation but have not found anything.
> I have verfied that the problem is the eata driver by putting the
> hardware in another computer (PIII with Intel MB) and booting from the
> SUSE 11.1 KDE4 Live CD. It hangs just after loading the eata driver,
> just like my desltop. If I specify brokenmodules=eata, then the driver
> is skipped and the boot proceeds normally. Of course, then I do not have
> access to the disk. At this point attempting to load the module with
> ‘modprobe -v eata’ returns a segmentation fault and the machine freezes,
> requiring a physical reboot. This is identical behavior to my desktop
> machine.
Try with the LiveCD of Factory to check if it boots o.k.
> I want to try other drivers to see if they work with this card. How do
> I force a driver load from the Boot Options? In fact, where do I find a
> list of valid Boot Options for SUSE? I have searched the documentation
> but have not found anything.
If the module is broken for openSUSE 11.1 and you need it to get the card
detected, you can report it on bugzilla.