[syslinux] Problems booting with SCSI CD (fwd)

[H. Peter Anvin]

Theodore Kilgore wrote:
> Peter,
> 
> Okay, here are the exact error messages and what leads up to them:
> 
> -------------------------begin-------------------------
> 
> Adaptec AHA-2940 Ultra/Ultra w BIOS v.1.23
> (c) 1996 adaptec, Inc. all rights Reserved.
> 
> Press <Ctrl> <A> for SCSI Select (TM) Utility!
> 
> * SCSI ID: LUN NUMBER #:# 0:0 - IBM-PCCO DGHS - Drive C: (80h)
>   SCSI ID: LUN NUMBER #:# 5:0 - MATSHITA CD_ROM CR-506
> 
> (next line in box)
> A BOOTABLE CD-ROM IS DETECTED IN YOUR CD-ROM DRIVE...
> 
> The boot sections on your bootable CD-ROM are:
> 0. DEFAULT ENTRY
> 
> * => "Plug and Play" peripheral -- SCSI ID auto-assigned
> 
> BIOS installed successfully!
> 
> 
> ISOLINUX 1.67 2002-02-03 isolinux: Loading spec packet failed, trying to
> wing it
> ...
> isolinux: Failed to locate CD-ROM device; boot failed.
> 

OK... this basically means "I found nothing that looks like a CD-ROM
device to me."

> -----------------------end boot sequence; nothing further happens--------
> 
> Further remarks:
> 
> 1. This was on a Gateway G6-200 Pentium Pro. Same thing happens on an IBM
> 300GL (model id number 1691) into which we put a SCSI card and CD from one
> of the (older) Gateways because we wanted to stick that nice 18gig SCSI
> hard drive in it.

This is because it's the SCSI BIOS that's broken, not the mainboard
BIOS.  Normally I would suggest check for a BIOS upgrade, but the
Adaptecs you have don't have flash, and the 1.23 BIOS you have seems to
be the latest anyway.

> 4. Yes, I can try the "debugging" version if it comes to the need to do
> that. Why not?

That would be useful.  The more information we can get the better.

> 5. I have looked into the SCSI Select utility. It gives you lots of
> options to change ID numbers and such, or at least acts like it does. But
> I don't really know enough about SCSI (or ISOLINUX internals, either) to
> figure out what might be relevant here.

Unlikely anything is.

> 6. I mentioned it already, but how difficult would it be to do a
> one-floppy-then-go-directly-to-CD boot sequence? By passing exactly the
> right magical parameter at the "Boot:" prompt, for example?

It would be unbelievably painful.  It would entail writing a full
collection of SCSI drivers, for example.  ISOLINUX relies on the El
Torito BIOS to act as a hardware driver.

	-hpa