Mixed in...
This is a "perfect" example of the old generic technical answer of ---
It depends....................................

----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul J. Traynor"
>Every time I turn on a Maxdata p3, 512 ram, 1000 ghz machine I get a memory
>test which takes almost a minute or more to complete. Is this necessary or
>could it be turned off as it makes the boot-up so much longer.

I run the memory test "ON" for the first two-three months or so, or anytime I
think I have a memory problem or add/change some...

>A second problem I have on this same machine is that I have been trying to
>boot it from a CD of linux which I know is working because tested it on my
>other machines and yet even though boot from CD is set in the bios it still
>keeps bypassing that order and runs into win98 on the hard drive. The CD is
>working fine in windows and Dos modes accessing the drives. I should say I
>have two CD drives on here, one is the standard CD and the other is the CD
>writer. I have tried both of them but neither one will respond to a bootable
>CD.

A system BIOS may or may not BOOT from either/both CD drives...
I have machines that do it both ways... (Both or only one...)

BIOS "might" require at least one CD drive to be directly on one of
the MB ports (not an add-in card...)
I have machines that will BOOT from any CD on any add-in card...

When the machine BIOS is "picky", the one it "likes" to BOOT from
is generally the one that is higher up the "food chain"... (The one the
old "DOS or BIOS rules" detects first...)

You seemed to say NO CD disk boots, not just this particular Linux.
Do you happen to have any other Bootable program CDs for a quick test...
(IE: A lot of the newer Norton CDs are bootable to limited utilities...)

Try this too, or instead, if it is not too much trouble...
Get ONE CD drive on an MB port.
See if it boots there... If not, try the other CD drive...
Check the jumpers, if anything else is on the same port...
Most CD drives will run right if on a port by themselves, even if jumpered
wrong... (Check anyway...)
Run the CD drive as a slave to an HD (if necessary). ("Always" to do it this
way when sharing a cable and CS (cable select) is not wanted...)

Some drives do not like booting a slightly faulty disk... (Maybe it "looks at"
the CD-R better to find trouble a cheap drive will overlook...)
Sometimes a CD-R will seem to burn well, but have problems that cause
it to not boot...)  (My burning program can not Verify an ISO while burning,
or after...)

I have a BartPE CD that runs well, (as a "LIVE EVAL") but will not BOOT...
Funny things happen... Go back to the basics and leave no stone un-turned...

          And good luck...                Rick Glazier

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