From: mcover@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Mark Coverdill)
Subject: Re: My OS/2 GA Won't Install!
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 05:33:20 GMT

In article <1992Apr10.043131.10867@uwm.edu> tanith@csd4.csd.uwm.edu writes:
>From article <matt.10@bss1.umd.edu>, by matt@bss1.umd.edu (Matthew Piermarini):
>> Help!
>>   
>>   I finally get a copy of GA and it won't get past disk 1 during the install.
>> It fails with a FDISK error after displaying the Logo.  The INSTALL.LOG file 
>> looks like:
>> 
>> Model=FC
>> Submodel=01
>> Non-Abios Machine
>> Bus Architecutre=|0|
>> Disk Type=|0|
>> FDISK Unsuccessful
>> 
>> I am installing it on a 386 AMI bios clone, with 2 95meg RLL Drives 
>> (WD1006SRV2 Rll Controller).   I don't think it is a hardware problem 
>> because I have been using these drives for a while with DOS 5, AND IT WORKED 
>> FINE USING THE .304 BETA!  Please help.
>
>I got the same message with my 486 AMI BIOS clone with 1 100MB IDE & 1 200MB
>IDE.  What I ended up having to do was format my boot IDE drive (the 200MB)
>under DOS 5.0 and then I fired up the installaion program and everything
>worked fine.
>
>I think it might have something to do with HPFS structure from previous
>betas (I don't know).  Anyway, all I had to do was re-format my HPFS drive
>under DOS as a FAT drive and then ran the installation program as usual
>re-formatting the drive as HPFS.  Try it to see if this works...
>

I have tried all of these fine ideas and now its past 1am (been trying
to get this working since about 4pm) and I still have not gotten past the
second disk!  On some combinations things seem to go relatively smoothly.
The files indicate that they are being loaded and the visual indicator
advances then wham! along about 50% complete I get a message to load
diskette 3 and press enter. Doing so causes a disk read and then nothing
happens. It completely hangs.

On other combinations (hard drive formatted with HPFS in primary partition)
it completely hangs on the second disk, doesn't even try to read it.

Do I have a bad diskette 2!? (I tend to think not since it gets read
sometimes and not others)

Hardware is as follows:

Gateway 2000 486/33Mhz
ISA bus
ESDI 320Meg HD (Seagate ST2383E)
Diamond Speedstar 1Meg VGA board  <-- this shouldn't matter anyway
3.5 1.44M  <-- this is configured as drive A
5.25 1.2M
Archive 125M tape backup unit  <-- this might be the fly in the ointment
                                   but I rather not lose it

I am currently evaluating OS/2 2.0 for use throughout the dept but if
it is going to be this hard forget it!  If it turns out to be the
hardware configuration I am really going to be in a bad mood because
I am quite sure that not everyone has a PS/2 with MCA to run OS/2
on (and I am sure there are stranger configurations than mine)
                              
And while I am on an early morning tirad, it would be nice if a few
more error messages could be displayed.  Just as a test on put in
diskette 2 instead of diskette 1 just after the install disk and it
didn't complain, it just hung. Sigh.

-- 
Mark Coverdill                                 The Ohio State University
Internet: markc+@osu.edu                              Columbus, Ohio
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.misc