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6687
May 10th, 2007 10:00
HowTo and info: AMD Dimension, USB booting+bios flash, distros
Hi everyone,
In the hopes that my hours spent can help someone get a jump start on similar endeavors, I thought I'd share some things I have learned. I run an e-commerce business and recently bought 4 of the c521s; 3 of which are going to be Linux boxes.
I made a webpage with lots of my findings:
http://mbfreight.googlepages.com/dellamddimensionandlinux
(all of the text of this post is from there)
Highlights:
The big issue with linux on the C and E series Dimensions with the AMD cpu has to do with the nVidia chipset and USB freeze/lock-ups.
Two reliable workarounds:
» Use a cheap powered USB 2.0 hub for the keyboard and mouse. We've tested a few and before the OS runs, the keyboard may not work if the hub is self powered, while keyboard is always there if the hub is powered.
» Boot with kernel options: noapic and acpi=off
(my webpage above has a couple hubs listed that we know work)
Distributions:
Kubuntu installed from the downloaded CD iso on the first try. With no setup what-so-ever, it was running and on the net! When asking it to browse for network shares (WinXP), the OS guides you through a couple questions and you're connected. Of course, connecting to a Vista box didn't happen. :P Kubuntu installed so easily that I bought a Latitude D520 to put it on for use at home!
Knoppix also worked on the first try. Fumbling around with its live CD and trying to make a more flexible USB install proved annoying. But the OS works and is stable, especially with the boot options as above. It defaults to KDE desktop, which I'm starting to really like.
USB flash booting:
This flash stick is what we use and it's awesome:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820211096
Download and install HP usb format utility :
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/support/files/serveroptions/us/download/20306.html
Use HP tool ( HPUSBFW.EXE ) to format your USB to FAT. ... Remember to change the bios boot order. We set ours to USB Device (then all the other USB stuff), CD-ROM, then installed hard disk is last. ... Syslinux reliably starts linux distributions for me from the HP formatted USB stick.
Bios Update using USB:
I'm going to keep getting the latest bios versions in hopes Linux USB and acpi stability improve. Using the Dell tool can be tricky, as you basically need a bootable disk/device running DOS to run Dell's bios reflash update. I probably could have made a CD-ROM to do the bios update, but I kinda have the USB thing stuck in my craw.
To update bios of Dell using USB from another windoze computer : I used the HP tool to format the USB stick and also make it bootable using freedos 3.2 from http://freedos-32.sourceforge.net/ Then copy over the dell DMC521-010108.exe file. Reboot and run c:\DMC521-010108.exe and your flash is updated.
Hope this helps and/or makes for some good discussion,
Chris
In the hopes that my hours spent can help someone get a jump start on similar endeavors, I thought I'd share some things I have learned. I run an e-commerce business and recently bought 4 of the c521s; 3 of which are going to be Linux boxes.
I made a webpage with lots of my findings:
http://mbfreight.googlepages.com/dellamddimensionandlinux
(all of the text of this post is from there)
Highlights:
The big issue with linux on the C and E series Dimensions with the AMD cpu has to do with the nVidia chipset and USB freeze/lock-ups.
Two reliable workarounds:
» Use a cheap powered USB 2.0 hub for the keyboard and mouse. We've tested a few and before the OS runs, the keyboard may not work if the hub is self powered, while keyboard is always there if the hub is powered.
» Boot with kernel options: noapic and acpi=off
(my webpage above has a couple hubs listed that we know work)
Distributions:
Kubuntu installed from the downloaded CD iso on the first try. With no setup what-so-ever, it was running and on the net! When asking it to browse for network shares (WinXP), the OS guides you through a couple questions and you're connected. Of course, connecting to a Vista box didn't happen. :P Kubuntu installed so easily that I bought a Latitude D520 to put it on for use at home!
Knoppix also worked on the first try. Fumbling around with its live CD and trying to make a more flexible USB install proved annoying. But the OS works and is stable, especially with the boot options as above. It defaults to KDE desktop, which I'm starting to really like.
USB flash booting:
This flash stick is what we use and it's awesome:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820211096
Download and install HP usb format utility :
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/support/files/serveroptions/us/download/20306.html
Use HP tool ( HPUSBFW.EXE ) to format your USB to FAT. ... Remember to change the bios boot order. We set ours to USB Device (then all the other USB stuff), CD-ROM, then installed hard disk is last. ... Syslinux reliably starts linux distributions for me from the HP formatted USB stick.
Bios Update using USB:
I'm going to keep getting the latest bios versions in hopes Linux USB and acpi stability improve. Using the Dell tool can be tricky, as you basically need a bootable disk/device running DOS to run Dell's bios reflash update. I probably could have made a CD-ROM to do the bios update, but I kinda have the USB thing stuck in my craw.
To update bios of Dell using USB from another windoze computer : I used the HP tool to format the USB stick and also make it bootable using freedos 3.2 from http://freedos-32.sourceforge.net/ Then copy over the dell DMC521-010108.exe file. Reboot and run c:\DMC521-010108.exe and your flash is updated.
Hope this helps and/or makes for some good discussion,
Chris
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msandersen
39 Posts
0
May 14th, 2007 05:00
BTW, I ran into the Hub problem when I wanted to get into the BIOS to test the Dapper LiveCD I had. I couldn't get in; and moreover, whenever Vista crashed, I couldn't choose a startup method like Safe Mode. I finally found out others had trouble with USB Hubs and the BIOS, and found out it was because I had the hub built into the screen connected. Somehow the USB1 hub on the keyboard doesn't affect it. Disconnecting it allowed me into the BIOS. Since I don't often need access, I just plug it in afterwards, as I need the extra USB port.
cacycleworks
8 Posts
0
May 14th, 2007 07:00
SLAX is really amazing at how it works. Fun stuff.