[linux] Optiplex 745 Intel Driver Problems

[Richard Ketcham]

We got a batch of Dell Optiplex 745 desktops PCs through A&S.  I have a 
setup procedure which involves booting a linux live cd (e.g. "knoppix"), 
then connecting to a network storage server and downloading a MS Windows 
image file onto the HD partition.  Anyway, I had a lot of initial 
frustration with these new computers in that I was unable to boot 
Knoppix or any other Linux live cd distros.  I concluded that the 
problem was due to an unsupported Intel chip set.  I found this link to 
an Intel page listing which (very few) Linux distros contain the 
requisite drivers:

     
http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/reseller/asmo-na/eng/products/linux/feature/279817.htm

So, I will say there are a few more distros on the list than when I 
first checked, and very recently, somewhere between Knoppix versions 
5.0.1 and 5.1.1, Knoppix apparently got imbued with the new chipset 
drivers.  That solved my immediate problem, but now I am needing to 
install RHEL v4 on one of these Optiplexes, and the same issue has 
resurfaced.  A short ways into the RHEL setup, I get a prompt for a 
driver disk.

If this is the chipset that Dell is using in its current offerings, then 
this problem must be effecting a lot of people besides me. Yet I can't 
find any relevant information on the Dell site, and following the links 
on the above referenced Intel page, apparently, I have to be a 
privileged member of the "Intel Channel Membership Program" to get any 
more information or drivers from Intel.

I should mention that there is a BIOS setting where you can configure 
the hard drive interface to "native" or "legacy".  Selecting "legacy" 
does  get you past the initial boot and installation problems, but I 
doubt that is an optimal solution.  (In the "legacy" setting, the SATA 
drive gets configured as /dev/hda, so I guess it's doing a PATA emulation.)

Has anybody else had experiences with this?  What are the steps for 
obtaining and installing the proper drivers under RHEL4?  Thanks.

Richard Ketcham
Dept. of Chemistry