Arch Linux

headkase

Member

Registered: 2011-12-06

Posts: 1,983

2011.08.19 Core fails to autopartition when AHCI set in BIOS

First time Arch user here.  I was following the Beginner's Guide and when I proceeded to the Auto-Prepare portion the installer would fail while trying to write the partition tables out.  Eventually I narrowed it down to AHCI being enabled in the BIOS.  Changing that BIOS setting back to IDE mode just for the base-install and then enabling it again later (with the module enabled in the kernel of course) allowed a successful installation.

Perhaps the Beginner's Guide and also the Official Guide can both be updated with this caveat?  I'm new so I'll make this post first before taking a chainsaw to the wiki..

Last edited by headkase (2011-12-14 04:57:37)

brain0

Developer

From: Aachen - Germany

Registered: 2005-01-03

Posts: 1,382

Re: 2011.08.19 Core fails to autopartition when AHCI set in BIOS

AHCI should have no influence here. I am clueless as to what causes this problem - and everything is supposed to work perfectly with AHCI.

headkase

Member

Registered: 2011-12-06

Posts: 1,983

Re: 2011.08.19 Core fails to autopartition when AHCI set in BIOS

Is there any information I could post that would be helpful?  My computer is an Acer Extenza 7620z (laptop) with 2GB of RAM (the most it can accept), the latest available BIOS (1.35) and the architecture is x86_64 that I used for install.  I also have a D-Link Cardbus card for Internet (8139too mod), a built-in Realtek Internet port (tg3) that I'm not using - the port is damaged, and a Broadcom BCM4311 (b43) that I'm also not using and have not loaded firmware for.

The D-Link would have been out of the ordinary for installation: I brought it up as eth1 (not eth0: that is the Realtek) and DHCP configured it.

Last edited by headkase (2011-12-07 20:47:27)

headkase

Member

Registered: 2011-12-06

Posts: 1,983

Re: 2011.08.19 Core fails to autopartition when AHCI set in BIOS

Adding some information: only "auto-prepare" fails.  If I manually set up the partition table then the installer proceeds normally.  (I reinstalled and with AHCI enabled manually partitioned).