On Wed, 22 Nov 2006, Jean-Michel Barbet wrote:

> Hello,
>
> We have a weird problem and I wonder if someone else came accross the
> same :
>
> - we install SL3.02 on Dell Optiplex GX280 equipped with SATA disks.
>   they boot OK
>
> - then we execute a small script that defines a grub password for
>   modifying kernel parameters at boot time :
>
>  the file /etc/grub.conf is modified this way :
>
>   sed -e "s/splashimage/password --md5 ${MD5PASSWD}\nsplashimage/g" \
>   < grub.conf  > grub.conf.new
>   mv grub.conf.new grub.conf

Several people have commented on the grub.conf location etc...

>  and we re-install grub :
>
>  /sbin/grub-install /dev/sda

You don't need to do this just because you are updating grub.conf.  grub 
understands the fs...

>
> =>  We get an error message when executing /sbin/grub-install /dev/sda
>    saying that it is not defined in BIOS

Well you could give it a suitable mapping but why not install a later 
version of SL.

> =>  The workstation is then unable to boot like if the MBR had been
>    corrupted. The string "GRUB" is displayed and the boot process
>    stops here.
>
> Any similar experiences or ideas ?

The first GX280 we got (by accident) didn't work properly with SL302.  We 
sent the GX280 back (we had ordered a GX270 anyway).  3-4 months later we 
got another GX280 but by then we were running SL304 (or maybe it was 
SL305).  That worked fine for us.

We ended up adding a horrid little %pre script to try to guess the bios 
boot order for systems with mixed SATA/PATA disks, but that was to work 
round a problem with anaconda driving grub.

We kept the script 'cos it turned out to be handy on systems with a mix of 
ata_piix and aacraid devices -- the kmods are loaded alphabetically so the 
aacraid disks get found before the ata_piix (etc) SATA devices...

-- 
Jon Peatfield,  Computer Officer,  DAMTP,  University of Cambridge
Mail:  [log in to unmask]     Web:  http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/