[GTALUG] Unbootability

[John Moniz]

On 10/21/2014 10:49 AM, Peter King wrote:
> I'm trying to revive an old computer.
>
> The CPU is an Athlon XP 2500, on an Asus A7X87 motherboard, with 3GB
> of RAM.  The internal connections are all PATA.  It has both USB ports
> and a DVDRW drive installed.  Up until a month or so ago, it ran as
> well as an old computer could, with Gentoo installed.  Then a hard disc
> went bad, and that's when the fun began.
>
> The BIOS, which dates from 2004, wouldn't let me boot from a USB stick
> (the only options are USB-FDD and USB-ZIP).  So I started burning boot
> CDs, all of which fail: Gentoo current install disc; SysRescue CD; the
> Debian 7.0 live install disc; Archliinx; and OpenBSD.  As I said, they
> all fail, quite early on in the process: the BIOS tells me "ATAPI CDROM:
> No Emulation" and then starts loading each disc, but fails one way or
> another, never getting through a kernel load as far as I can tell (which
> isn't very far).  I have swapped the DVDRW drive out for another one,
> with no change in results; I have changed the PATA cable connected to
> the DVDRW twice, also with no change in results.  MemTest seems quite
> happy with the installed RAM.
>
> The boot failures are inconsistent, but, for what it's worth, here is
> how they each fail:
>
> (1) Gentoo install disc: Gets as far as starting to load the kernel when
>      the screen goes black.  Sometimes that triggers a BIOS reboot, but at
>      other times it just sits there.  Tried several combinations of kernel
>      modules: nofb, noacpi, no-hardware-detection, and so on, without any
>      making a difference.
>
> (2) Sysrecue CD: Latest version simply segfaults after the "ISOLinux"
>      declaration.
>
> (3) Debian 7.0 live install disc: Gets to the menu of choices, and will
>      usually allow me to make a choice; picking "Install" in any form
>      causes a black screen followed by a reboot.  Under the "Advanced"
>      menu I can run MemTest, though.
>
> (4) Archlinux install disc: Once I got to the menu, with the motherboard
>      wildly beeping in the background, but wasn't able to select any of
>      the choices.  Every other time it just triggers a reboot.
>
> (5) OpenBSD 5.6 install disc: Starts loading the kernel but freezes after
>      printing the UC copyright notice.
>
> Google turns up lots of suggestions for the "no emulation" message,
> most of which are either "switch the cable" or "change the drive", both
> of which I've tried, as noted.
>
> The next thing I'll try is to remove one hard disc, install it in some
> other functional computer, and install a bootable Gentoo (or whatever)
> on it there, then reinstalling the disc on the old computer to see if
> it will boot from it.  I'm happy (enough) to do that, but I'm bothered
> by the brick wall I've hit in trying to do something ordinary, namely
> to boot from a CDR.  Any ideas?
>
If you think the MB might be the problem, one thing I would try is to 
remove the MB from the case, place it on a non-conductive material, 
reconnect all cables and try again.