1 (edited by jgpa 2014-05-22 00:18:37)

Topic: [Solved] Dell 1800 Server - CD not Booting

Hi all,

I have an old 1800 server (tower) that has what appear to be 2 SCSI drives, I don't think there is any active RAID.

I need to resize one partition but the CD gets hung in the bootloader. I see something about ISO Linux, just a single line of text, before it freezes.

I can boot Macrium (PE) no problem.

Is there something I have to do and rebuild the CD to allow it to boot in this environment?

Thanks.

2

Re: [Solved] Dell 1800 Server - CD not Booting

Are you using the latest version?
Are you sure that the downloaded file isn't broken? The checksums are given in the GParted download page.

*** It is highly recommended to backup any important files before doing resize/move operations. ***

3

Re: [Solved] Dell 1800 Server - CD not Booting

class413 wrote:

Are you using the latest version?
Are you sure that the downloaded file isn't broken

I'm sorry, I should have included that info.

The latest ISO was downloaded. The CD successfully boots on my HP laptop. I don't have the original ISO used to check its integrity.

Thanks.

4 (edited by Ady 2014-02-22 04:34:41)

Re: [Solved] Dell 1800 Server - CD not Booting

jgpa wrote:

the CD gets hung in the bootloader. I see something about ISO Linux, just a single line of text, before it freezes.

Could you please post the entire line of text exactly as you see it? It might provide some clue about ISOLINUX and your BIOS.

Are you using the latest BIOS version?

Are you using GParted Live 0.18.0-1-i486 ? Or is it the i686 variant? Or the amd64 variant? Or perhaps, is it version 0.17.* ?

Are you able to boot using a USB drive?

5

Re: [Solved] Dell 1800 Server - CD not Booting

Ady wrote:
jgpa wrote:

the CD gets hung in the bootloader. I see something about ISO Linux, just a single line of text, before it freezes.

Could you please post the entire line of text exactly as you see it? It might provide some clue about ISOLINUX and your BIOS.

Are you using the latest BIOS version?

Are you using GParted Live 0.18.0-1-i486 ? Or is it the i686 variant? Or the amd64 variant? Or perhaps, is it version 0.17.* ?

Are you able to boot using a USB drive?

Ady,

I'm sorry I don't have access to the machine at the moment. It was in a data center and difficult to work on, their restrictions made it tough to try stuff.

It was the i486 from the download page, about a week ago. Unfortunately I am in the midst of an OS migration and there is a gap in my browser history, right at that time of course.

The machine is c. 2006, I am sure there is a later BIOS that is not in it. I did not see an option to boot from USB in the setup though.

For this machine, SCSI with possibly a RAID (I don't think though), should GParted boot with the 'stock' image?

It shouldn't matter but the partitions on the 1st drive were all screwed up - there were three logical partitions and someone had gotten in there and made the OS boot drive designation E:. C, D and F were data.

Thanks.

6

Re: [Solved] Dell 1800 Server - CD not Booting

Since currently there is no access to the system, I'm not going to speculate about RAID with those 2 drives.

jgpa wrote:

The machine is c. 2006

Regarding the BIOS version, there is a high probability that a newer version (than the one from year 2006) is available. Since there is currently no access to the system...

jgpa wrote:

It was the i486 from the download page, about a week ago

Since the current Gparted Live latest version was promoted to “stable” less than a week ago, we now know that you are not really using the very latest. I'm not sure it would make a difference in this particular case, but knowing the exact Gparted Live version and the complete exact ISOLINUX message you received are still relevant.

BTW, there is a file named “Gparted-Live-Version” in the root of the Gparted Live media. Opening it with any simple text editor should tell you the exact version you are using (unless you customized it).

If you happen to get the same (or similar) boot issue again, it would be useful if you could provide the exact complete info so to narrow down the problem.

Regards,
Ady.

7

Re: [Solved] Dell 1800 Server - CD not Booting

I was able to stop in at the place while passing, a new CD with the current version booted flawlessly.

Couldn't do the partition work, the hot standby to this server had an issue and they were nervous.

Thanks for the help.

8

Re: [Solved] Dell 1800 Server - CD not Booting

a new CD with the current version booted flawlessly.

So, is there still any boot issue?
If the problem is gone, you can add [SOLVED] in the thread title by editing your initial post.

The machine is c. 2006, I am sure there is a later BIOS that is not in it. I did not see an option to boot from USB in the setup though.

It seems strange. There is usually a screen in BIOS setup, to select the priority of several boot devices (floppy drive, USB port, CD/DVD drive, 1st hard drive, 2nd hard drive etc), unless it is somehow locked by the server manager.
Sometimes, you need to press a special key (it can be Escape or some Function key or other) on power-on, to select the boot device. It isn't the same for all BIOS versions.

You can boot GParted from a USB stick. There is info on how to make a bootable USB stick in the Help/support page.

*** It is highly recommended to backup any important files before doing resize/move operations. ***