From 1ea73eea5ecc6a8ed901316049259aee737ee554 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Joey Hess Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2005 19:51:38 +0000 Subject: move manual to top-level directory, split out of debian-installer package --- it/preparing/pre-install-bios-setup.xml | 152 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 152 insertions(+) create mode 100644 it/preparing/pre-install-bios-setup.xml (limited to 'it/preparing/pre-install-bios-setup.xml') diff --git a/it/preparing/pre-install-bios-setup.xml b/it/preparing/pre-install-bios-setup.xml new file mode 100644 index 000000000..66a5144f0 --- /dev/null +++ b/it/preparing/pre-install-bios-setup.xml @@ -0,0 +1,152 @@ + + + + + + Pre-Installation Hardware and Operating System Setup + + +This section will walk you through pre-installation hardware setup, if +any, that you will need to do prior to installing Debian. Generally, +this involves checking and possibly changing firmware settings for +your system. The firmware is the core software used by the +hardware; it is most critically invoked during the bootstrap process +(after power-up). Known hardware issues affecting the reliability of +&debian; on your system are also highlighted. + + + +&bios-setup-i386.xml; +&bios-setup-m68k.xml; +&bios-setup-powerpc.xml; +&bios-setup-sparc.xml; +&bios-setup-s390.xml; + + Hardware Issues to Watch Out For + + +Many people have tried operating their 90 MHz CPU at 100 MHz, etc. It +sometimes works, but is sensitive to temperature and other factors and +can actually damage your system. One of the authors of this document +over-clocked his own system for a year, and then the system started +aborting the gcc program with an unexpected signal +while it was compiling the operating system kernel. Turning the CPU +speed back down to its rated value solved the problem. + + + +The gcc compiler is often the first thing to die +from bad memory modules (or other hardware problems that change data +unpredictably) because it builds huge data structures that it +traverses repeatedly. An error in these data structures will cause it +to execute an illegal instruction or access a non-existent +address. The symptom of this will be gcc dying from +an unexpected signal. + + + +Atari TT RAM boards are notorious for RAM problems under Linux; if you +encounter any strange problems, try running at least the kernel in +ST-RAM. Amiga users may need to exclude RAM using a booter memfile. + + + +FIXME: more description of this needed. + + + + + +The very best motherboards support parity RAM and will actually tell +you if your system has a single-bit error in RAM. Unfortunately, they +don't have a way to fix the error, thus they generally crash +immediately after they tell you about the bad RAM. Still, it's better +to be told you have bad memory than to have it silently insert errors +in your data. Thus, the best systems have motherboards that support +parity and true-parity memory modules; see +. + + + +If you do have true-parity RAM and your motherboard can handle it, be +sure to enable any BIOS settings that cause the motherboard to +interrupt on memory parity errors. + + + + The Turbo Switch + + +Many systems have a turbo switch that controls +the speed of the CPU. Select the high-speed setting. If your BIOS +allows you to disable software control of the turbo switch (or +software control of CPU speed), do so and lock the system in +high-speed mode. We have one report that on a particular system, while +Linux is auto-probing (looking for hardware devices) it can +accidentally touch the software control for the turbo switch. + + + + + Cyrix CPUs and Floppy Disk Errors + + +Many users of Cyrix CPUs have had to disable the cache in their +systems during installation, because the floppy disk has errors if +they do not. If you have to do this, be sure to re-enable your cache +when you are finished with installation, as the system runs +much slower with the cache disabled. + + + +We don't think this is necessarily the fault of the Cyrix CPU. It may +be something that Linux can work around. We'll continue to look into +the problem. For the technically curious, we suspect a problem with +the cache being invalid after a switch from 16-bit to 32-bit code. + + + + + Peripheral Hardware Settings + + +You may have to change some settings or jumpers on your computer's +peripheral cards. Some cards have setup menus, while others rely on +jumpers. This document cannot hope to provide complete information on +every hardware device; what it hopes to provide is useful tips. + + + +If any cards provide mapped memory, the memory should be mapped +somewhere between 0xA0000 and 0xFFFFF (from 640K to just below 1 +megabyte) or at an address at least 1 megabyte greater than the total +amount of RAM in your system. + + + + + + USB keyboards + + +If you have no AT-style keyboard and only a USB model, you may need +to enable legacy AT keyboard emulation in your BIOS setup. Only do this if +the installation system fails to use your keyboard in USB mode. Conversely, +for some systems (especially laptops) you may need to disable legacy USB +support if your keyboard does not respond. +Consult your main board manual and look in the BIOS for Legacy +keyboard emulation or USB keyboard support options. + + + + + More than 64 MB RAM + + +The Linux Kernel cannot always detect what amount of RAM you have. If +this is the case please look at . + + + + + -- cgit v1.2.3