Re: strange Netboot error

[Gero Kuhlmann <gero@gkminix.han.de>]

Hello,

erik@minet.uni-jena.de (Erik Braun) wrote in 
Pine.OSF.4.44.0303031209370.359109-100000@pax07e3.mipool.uni-jena.de:">news:Pine.OSF.4.44.0303031209370.359109-100000@pax07e3.mipool.uni-jena.de:
> I use Netboot Version 0.9.6, the board is a Biostar M7VIP, the network
> card is a RTL 8139, I have enough memory (256 MByte).
> 
> When booting, Netboots loads the image, but cannot start it, lamenting
> "Not enough memory". Strange enough, this doesn't happen when I plug off
> the  mouse (PS/2), then everything seems to run fine.
> 
> Some values differ:
> 
>              with mouse (failing)     without mouse (OK)
> 
> BOOTP addr      8e2f:153c               8e6f:153c
> Base memory     0238                    0280

The problem with the base memory has been solved with netboot version
0.9.7 some weeks ago. With version 0.9.6 there was a bug in the
bootrom which caused the de-initialization of the bootrom to fail when
the hardware interrupt of the network card is within the range of 0 to 7,
e.g. located on the master PIC. In that case the bootrom was unable to
de-initialize itself, and therefore had to remain in memory (hence the
decreased base memory size), and that caused the Linux net boot loader
to fail because there was not enough base memory available to run the
Linux kernel.

Now, with a PS/2 mouse connected, the BIOS reserves hardware interrupt
number 11 to the mouse. I guess that there are no other free high inter-
rupts available anymore in that case on your system so the network card
gets one of the lower interrupts, and the bootrom fails. But without a
PS/2 mouse interrupt 11 remains free and can therefore be used for the
network card. In that case the bug in the bootrom does not show up and
everything works.

You have two choices:

1.) Get netboot version 0.9.7 from the netboot home page

or

2.) Make sure using the BIOS setup that the network card never gets a
    hardware interrupt in the 0 to 7 range

gero.

-- 
Gero Kuhlmann, gkminix, Germany
Tollenbrink 18, 30659 Hannover             gero@gkminix.han.de
Groote Gracht 33, 26723 Emden              gero.kuhlmann@arcor.de
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