On Thu, Sep 15, 2005 at 12:07:43PM +0100, Michael Kintzios wrote
> Before I installed Gentoo on a Compaq machine I saved both the
> as built image and the current OS onto a DVD using partimage from
> Knoppix and then I royally wiped the lot off the drive.
Can you do that? Has Compaq stopped putting half their "BIOS" in a
small hidden partition? Some years ago at work, we got a Compaq server
for use as a linux server. It came with NT4. So the CS guys blew away
the partitions, and installed RedHat7.0. The thing would not boot.
After several calls to Compaq, and much running around, the solution
turned out to be...
- run the NT "emergency restore" CD. It blew away the entire hard
drive and installs the "BIOS" partition and NT.
- blow away the NT partition, but do *NOT* touch the "BIOS" partition.
- re-install linux on the rest of the hard drive
It worked OK. And no, it was *NOT* an EISA machine. Compaq also has
damn expensive memory chips, and don't get me started on having to buy a
special set of screwdrivers.
--
Walter Dnes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
My musings on technology and security at http://tech_sec.blog.ca
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