Looks like improperly configuration of multipath software-RAID. For
example, changed or not properly configured drivers, incorrect device
path or something else.

Simplest way for resolving of this problem -- disconnecting all
suspicious devices, installing system to something common disk drive
(IDE, SCSI or SATA)  and then carefully set up your RAID-subsystem for
current version of system.

Of course, output of sysreport utility may be helpful for such problems
resolving.

--Oleg

Stephen J. Gowdy wrote:
> There was nothing there. It did look like something called mpath didn't 
> find any partitions. It ran after dmraid. I wonder if it is getting 
> confused due there being a RAID controller on the machine? I just submited 
> the same question to rhel5-users mailing list. I'll see if there are any 
> other answers there.
> 
> On Mon, 19 Mar 2007, Oleg Sadov wrote:
> 
> > Stephen J. Gowdy wrote:
> >> Hi All,
> >>    	Sorry for the off topic question but thought I might get an answer
> >> quicker here. I'm trying to install RHEL5 on a machine (currently running
> >> RHEL3) it has trouble reading the partition table somehow. I can read it
> >> fine with fdisk after pushing ALT-F2 to get the shell up. Is there a limit
> >> in the number of partitions anaconda understands? Here is the partition
> >> table;
> >
> > Standard limit for PC-like partition table -- 16 partitions (with
> > extended part-n).
> >
> > May be you can find some useful messages at ALT-F3 or ALT-F4?
> >
> > --Oleg
> >
> >> Disk /dev/hde: 40.0 GB, 40020664320 bytes
> >> 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4865 cylinders
> >> Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
> >>
> >>       Device Boot    Start       End    Blocks   Id  System
> >> /dev/hde1   *         1        33    265041   83  Linux
> >> /dev/hde2            34      4865  38813040    5  Extended
> >> /dev/hde5          1107      4865  30194136   83  Linux
> >> /dev/hde6           845      1106   2104515   83  Linux
> >> /dev/hde7            34       582   4409779+  83  Linux
> >> /dev/hde8           583       713   1052226   83  Linux
> >> /dev/hde9           714       844   1052226   82  Linux swap
> >>
> >> Originally it was out of order but I fixed that and it still has the
> >> problem. The message starts "partition table on device hda was unreadable"
> >> (this device is hda during the installation), it wants you to create a new
> >> partition table. I'd rather not as I want to keep some partitions after
> >> the reinstall.
> >>    	Any ideas?
> >>
> >>    						regards,
> >>
> >>    						Stephen.
> >>
> >> --
> >>     /------------------------------------+-------------------------\
> >> |Stephen J. Gowdy, SLAC               | CERN     Office: 32-2-A22|
> >> |http://www.slac.stanford.edu/~gowdy/ | CH-1211 Geneva 23        |
> >> |http://calendar.yahoo.com/gowdy      | Switzerland              |
> >> |EMail: [log in to unmask]       | Tel: +41 22 767 5840     |
> >>     \------------------------------------+-------------------------/
> >
> 
> --
>    /------------------------------------+-------------------------\
> |Stephen J. Gowdy, SLAC               | CERN     Office: 32-2-A22|
> |http://www.slac.stanford.edu/~gowdy/ | CH-1211 Geneva 23        |
> |http://calendar.yahoo.com/gowdy      | Switzerland              |
> |EMail: [log in to unmask]       | Tel: +41 22 767 5840     |
>    \------------------------------------+-------------------------/