Xconfig error

What error are you getting?

Without knowing more I'd say it sounds like a video card driver problem. What video card are you using, make/model?

Adjusted points to 200

video card is trident agp 3D 985 by jaton
it probes the card successfully but when i accept the default settings or try to set them manually it keeps saying there is an error in the xconfig and i get to go back and try again

The Trident 3DImage 985 (generic) is listed as being supported by the SVGA server, but I can't tell from that if your's is the same thing.

About all I can suggest is for you to get your monitor specs and try using xf86config, which allows finer tuning when building the XF86config file.

You might also want to take a look at the XFree FAQ (www.xfree86.org/FAQ/) for hints as to how to get the server configured.

Post your XF86Config file here.  This is generally found in /etc/X11.

after hours of digging i found the following:
Failed
   wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on dev/hd2, arent you trying to mount an extended partition instead of some logical partition inside

and thats what i found

Something is wrong with the disk setup.

When you modified the partition tables on the drive to make room for Linux did you actually make Linux partitions or did you just squeeze the Win98 partition and create an extended dos partition for Linux? Also how big in cylinders is the win98 (active dos partition) partition?

I've never had my hands on Linux 6.5, so I don't know how much of the installation completes before the Xconfig problem. Doesn't it have a "text" mode install? Try that and see if it'll let you set up the disk(s) and install data on them.

yes..text mode..its the xconf..i get it loaded but the graphics are very LARGE..or i can get the graphics the right size but when opening a file everything runs together..also i created an extended partition for linux that is logical inside the extended..
last physical sector..15,791,894
cylinder...982
HD...254
thats the windows info...i noticed on the partition info that the linux ext partition is past the 1024 cylinder boundry but i made the window partition small enough that linux was loaded before the boundry but that didnt work either..i have linux on a much smaller machine and i love it so i want it on my bigger machine because its soooo much faster..this is a tough one huh?!..i would also give more than 200 points but thats all i have!

So if I've got this right the last cylinder of the 1st primary partition is 982.  That would put the start of the extended partition below the magic 1024 limit, but I don't know if it's enough below. I seem to remember 23Mb being something of a magic number. If you've got at least 23Mb before cylinder 1024, then Lilo and the kernel will fit in the space below 1024 and the system is bootable.

The installation HowTo's all reccommend squeezing windows into the 1st primary partition and leaving the rest of the disk as an extended dos partition. Then use the Linux fdisk (or the disk tool in the Linux installation suite) to create the Linux partiton(s) in that space.

The information in howto.tucows.com/LDP/HOWTO/Installation-HOWTO.html is a little bit dated, and there doesn't seem to be a win98 specific mini-HowTo. But most of the information is still valid and would be worh looking at.

I will definitely try it!..i can make my windows partition about the size of 4 gig and the rest will be linux..i will try that!

well..i repartitioned the hard drive and it still has the wrong fs, bad superblock error..i can get it loaded and then at the prompt i enter root/password then run xconf..after thats finished i run startx and i get graphics extremely large or the right size graphics but everytime i open something everything runs together..hehe...i dont think im gonna get this loaded

Something is just not right with the disk layout. The "wrong fs, bad superblock" error leads me to believe that perhaps the windows partition is just too big. Personally I've never had occasion to try to set up a dual boot system where the windows area was greater than 1.5-2.0Gb. Accordingly I can't say if this is the root of the install problem or not.

i will cut the windows partition down to 4 gig...then i will put linux right after that on another 4 gig partition..i will leave the last 5 gig for freespace...i will try that...that would put everything below the 1024 cylinder and maybe ..just maybe it will work?..

If possible, I'd suggest seeing if you can the windows partiton down even more, maybe down into the 2Gb range or less. You could, after Linux is up and working create a logical dos drive in the remaining free space and give that to windows to make up for what you took away (it would become the D: drive).

ok...i will try that...the 4 gig bit didnt work..i just bought this hard drive about 4 months ago..i cant even remember the brand..and im not up to taking it out to see right now..so if i make a logical dos drive i can store files and such in it right?..it would be reconized?..im not afraid to push the do not push button..have many times :)  but i am at the point now that i think something is wrong in the bios setup..maybe something disabled or not..but i will give the 2 gig windows a shot..i am game for anything

Yeah, windows likes logical drives just fine and it's a nice way to set up a windows system froma data integrity standpoint. You make a primary partition big enough to hold the OS and those applications that have to be installed into windows. The remainder of the disk becomes an extended dos partition that you create one or more logical dos drives in. The primary partition becomes the C: drive and each logical drive takes on a different drive letter (D;, E:, etc). You use the other drives for storing things that don't have to be installed (some games and other apps) and your data files. When windows suffers internal corruption (and it will happen) and has to be re-installed or you need to upgrade, the contents of the D: drive will still be valid and don't get harmed by the re-install/upgrade. Also an OS crash that renders the C: drive un-readable won't affect the data on the logical dos drives.

I've considered the bios settings as a potential problem, but the settings that would affect Linux (if you even have them) should also affect windows, and it seems to work fine. Now if you're not afraid to push the "do not push" button. The conclusive test to determine if this is a hardware/bios problem would be to blow the entire drive away and try installing just Linux. If that doesn't work you know there's some other problem as cylinder boundries don't then apply.

this is good!..but i need to ask..i need boot magic disks which i have..when i toss windows and i get to disk druid do i need to delete the fat partition?..i loaded linux on another 1 of my computers alone and i deleted the fat partition..it worked just fine and then i used the boot disks to get the fat partition back..I AM OBSESSED NOW!
thank you..you are sooooooooo patient!

Yeah, for now treat the disk as just a  raw drive. Let disk druid delete everything and start over. At this point we're just trying to prove that Linux will install and run right on the naked hardware.

Adjusted points to 235

1 thing before i push the button..linux has to be on an extended part. and it has to be primary right?..but i read that there are other partition for linux such as /usr & /home and such..when i tried to add them they wouldnt go in the extended partition..are they suppose to?..im gonna back up windows today and push that button!..i love reformatting anyway!...but i'll wait for your reply 1st..

also i want to give you the points before reformatting...then after
"i'll be back!"

if i slect answer accepted ..will i still be able to get a reply from you?...on this sight here?...btw..i think i toasted myhard drive on my better computer...being not afraid to push any button..well...OOPS!...let me know if you can still reply and if you can i will accept an answer

Yeah, the discussion can continue even if the question is in an answered state. I've got several other questions that are "answered" that I'm still corresponding with the questioner on.

What makes you thing the hard drive is toast? Is it spinning up and still being seen by the bios scan?

i tried loading linux without any windows at all...completely removed all window partitions and linux still would not load..i dont think linux will go on this computer..it would have since all window stuff was removed and it still wouldnt take...so now we know its in the system..i have something it doesnt like or the bios doesnt like it right?

Has that disk had one of those "disk magic" sort of things installed on it? They load at boot and do something wierd with the bios drive translations so windows can see a big disk. It creates problems for Linux as it sees two different views of the disk, one directly through the hardware and another via the bios.

i installed partition magic 5.0 on it..thats what i used to partition the hard drive till i dumped everything...then i had to use fdisk to delete partitions and recreate partitions to get windows to reload again..PM is what was recommended with the linux OS i bought so i got it and it all seemed to worked great..then i found in the start up menu that there are a few things that start that have to do with partition magic..i would have loved to had linux and win98 as a dual boot but it looks like its not gonna happen..the box that runs linux here is way slow and the 2nd computer is what my boys use..i have the fast one that NO ONE touches  :)  its not an 800 but its an amd k6 2/450..its my baby!

Partition magic would be okay, it just modifies the partition table of the drive. The stuff I was interested in goes by a different name (Ez Bios or similar is one) and is furnished with at least some of the large drives (over 9GB). The instructions that come with the software tell you to stick the diskette in and boot, when the program comes up it offers you some choices as to how the drive is to be partitioned. It also installed a piece of code that always loads at boot, regardless of what OS is running that translates the drive geometry, on the fly, to numbers that win95/98 can deal with. Linux only uses the bios data when setting up the drive, once it starts too run it talks directly to the hardware. If there is one of these "bios wedges" running, Linux will see two different "pictures" of what the drive looks like and that's noot good.

I wouldn't give up just yet. If I've got the history on this rigt, Linux does install and run, just not right. If the hardware and/or disk were to really be incomatible I don't think you'd get that far.

i can load it on but the xcong error keeps coming up..then after reboot i get to the prompt and log on as root..then i type xconf and i can try to get the settings i need..then i type startx and it will load..sometimes the icons and taskbar cover the entire screen and wow..they are big!..or it loads with the right size icons and everything but when i click anything to open it just runs together...i really like linux but the computer its on is just too small..only 500meg HD and a 486 processor..SLOW!....maybe i should read about bios and maybe i'll run across something that will work if i change it?

The first thing to work through is the error you were getting about the filesystem"wrong fs, bad superblock". Is that still present when you load it as the only OS? It makes no sense to me to try to fix a display problem if the basic installation isn't right.

yep..still getting wrong fs bad superblock..the only thing i can figure that to be is the partition has to be bad...then it says arent you trying to load an extended partition instead of some partition inside?..its asking me?!..can you believe that?!..the computer asking me a question?!

You've never answered the question about any sort of special diskette that might have come with the drive. Did it come with one, if so has that diskette been used?

As a follow up to my last... Another one of the special drive support thingee's that could be the root of the problem is Maxtor's "MaxBlast", sound familiar?

no disk came with the drive..and i think there was a book but a friend took it and i think its lost..dont have maxblast or anything like it..im trying to find out what brand the hard drive is so maybe i can some info on it..i know amd should support linux and the motherboard is a super 7?..did i get that right?..hey..maxblast is a sound card isnt it?..my sound card is about 6 years old..its the only thing that hasnt been upgraded in this computer..its a media vision pro audio deluxe/ pro sonic/ jazz 16...could that be the nasty little culprit?

How big is that drive? A colleague pointed out that he'd seen "Windows Drives" shipped with that stuff preloaded. Any drive bigger than 9Gb is suspect.

the drive is 14.4 gig..it is also an IBM drive..found out today..as i said before i have linux loaded on a slow 500 MB hard drive..with no memory and i love it..its just too darn slow..thats why i need to get it on my box..i havent given up!..i am just beginning to fight!!!