Using an HPT370/370A/372/372A IDE-RAID Controller with Highpoint Drivers on SuSE Linux 8.0

Support knowledgebase (hmeyer_hpt37x)
Applies to

SuSE Linux: Version 8.0

Situation

You want to use a Highpoint IDE-RAID Controller under Linux, but the installation fails in spite of following the instructions included in "Installing SuSE Linux 8.0 on a Promise or Highpoint IDE RAID Controller" (http://sdb.suse.de/en/sdb/html/promise80.html). The controller Highpoint 372 in particular, used on many motherboards, does not work well with the open source drivers "hptraid".

Procedure

The basic procedure is divided into three steps: First, a driver suitable for the kernel of SuSE Linux 8.0 has to be compiled on an installed SuSE Linux 8.0 system and subsequently copied to a floppy disk. Then, use this floppy for the installation on the target system. Finally, make sure that the new driver is automatically loaded by the installed system during the boot process via the corresponding initrd.

  1. Download the "Linux open source release for HPT372" driver from http://www.highpoint-tech.com/372drivers_down.htm in a new directory that you have created for this purpose.
  2. Extract the archive hpt3xx-opensource-v13.tgz with the command

      tar xzvf hpt3xx-opensource-v13.tgz
    

  3. Create the actual driver by executing the command make. To do so, both the kernel sources and the relevant developer tools such as gcc have to be installed.

    This directory contains now the following files:

       1163 Apr  1 18:06 Makefile
      37777 Apr  5 22:34 hpt.c
       1925 Feb 26 21:07 hpt.h
      17120 Jun 25 09:36 hpt.o
      78037 Jun 25 09:36 hpt37x2.o
      63639 Apr  5 22:35 hpt37x2lib.o
      55051 Apr 18 19:14 hpt3xx-opensource-v13.tgz
      28789 Apr  3 22:46 hptglb.h
       1765 Mär 28 17:52 hptkern.h
       5402 Apr  5 22:38 readme.txt
        841 Mär  2 00:15 rules.mak
    

  4. Copy the file hpt37x2.o to an empty DOS-formatted floppy disk with:

      mcopy hpt37x2.o a:
    

  5. Use the first SuSE CD to boot the computer where you want to perform the installation (the new floppy disk can already be inserted in the floppy drive at this stage). Begin with the installation.
  6. The hard disks should be visible as ataraid/xxx in YaST2's configuration suggestion. 1.NONE/xxxxataraidxx should be displayed in the field BOOT FROM.

    Now select Abort installation to get to the text-based linuxrc.

  7. Select the item Kernel modules (hardware driver) and then Remove loaded modules. Select Highpoint 370 Software Raid from the list of currently loaded modules - the driver will be subsequently unloaded.

    Change to the previous menu with Back and select Load IDE/RAID/SCSI drivers first and then Further modules. The floppy disk you have previously created is now accessed and the driver hpt37x2.o is displayed as an option. The driver will be loaded by confirming the selection (the question regarding the module parameters can be ignored).

  8. Return to the main menu and select Start installation/update.
  9. ATTENTION: Driver Activation: reject the modules ataraid and hptraid.

    The hard disk should be now visible as /dev/sdx and Boot from should display the entry 1.SCSI xxxx.

    Now you can partition your system and start the installation.

  10. Once the installation is completed and before rebooting the computer, execute the commands:

      mkdir /lib/modules/2.4.18-4GB/hpt
      mcopy a:hpt37x2.o /lib/modules/2.4.18-4GB/hpt
      depmod -a
    

    Open the file /etc/sysconfig/kernel with an editor of your choice and search for the line

      INITRD_MODULES="reiserfs"
    

    (it is OK if this line already contains other modules). Simply add the hpt37x2 module to the existing definition:

      INITRD_MODULES="reiserfs hpt37x2"
    

    Finally, start mkinitrd and lilo.

We would like to thank Mr. Jürgen Schwengler, who tested this solution and who submitted us the draft for this SDB article.

Further advice: according to another customer, it might be neccessary to recompile the kernel as it is described in the file readme.txt that came with the downloaded Highpoint driver. One should also make sure that the Highpoint controller doesn't have to share its interrupt.


See also:
o Installing SuSE Linux 8.0 on a Promise or Highpoint IDE RAID Controller

Keywords: HIGHPOINT, HPT, 370, 372, RAID

SDB-hmeyer_hpt37x, Copyright SuSE Linux AG, Nürnberg, Germany - Version: 08. Jul 2002
SuSE Linux AG - Last generated: 01. Aug 2002 by glazzar (sdb_gen 1.40.0)