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Disk numbering
Re R210 II: I need a primer on disk numbering. I would assume that SATA port A would be connected to disk #1, port B to disk #2. I would also assume that the F11 display would show the disks in that order, with the one attached to port A on top. But since my two disks are the same model, its not easy to be sure.
I have contradictory results after installing Fedora 20. The machine boots properly when the lower disk in the F11 display is selected. It also boots properly (almost) when SATA port B is disabled and only port A is enabled. So which disk is #1? When the BIOS tells a system the disk order, what does it say?
DELL-Bo Pham
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Posted October 14th, 2014 15:00
That is indeed odd. It almost sounds like you may have the bootable OS on both disks. Have you tried to remove the the 2nd disk (SATA port B) completely to see how it boots. Also, can you clarify when say it "almost" boots correctly when Port B is disabled? I would be inclined to agree with you on that the F11 boot list would show as you would expect, but that all may have to do with how the system is recognizing the drives.
Are you on the latest BIOS? if so, you can choose the Legacy boot options from the F11 menu and see if it interacts with the drive listings better.
I now seen this behavior on three machines, all brand new. The most recent has tag 8DKPZ12 with BIOS 2.7.0. The "legacy harddisk drive order" option doesn't give me any additional information.
I've installed Fedora to use both disks. When one is not present, the "almost" means that it boots but fails later because it can't find the second disk. But the boot loader is only on one disk. If I choose the top entry from F11, it does not even start booting; I just get a blinking cursor on a black screen. That's the same result I get without using F11, taking the default boot. But after booting by choosing the bottom entry, performing a default boot the next time goes back to failing.
What seems to be happening is that, if the installer uses both disks, the BIOS swaps the association between SATA ports and disk numbers. When I disable port B, it swaps them back. But any variable it uses to remember this does not appear to be exposed in setup.
DELL-Bo Pham
2 Intern
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261 Posts
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Posted October 20th, 2014 10:00
What did you decide to do with the configuration?
DELL-Bo Pham
2 Intern
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261 Posts
690
0
Posted October 14th, 2014 15:00
Regarding the disk numbering. When referencing the first disk, disk 0 would correlate to SATA port A.