Recovery from Linux

[technossomy]

I came across the "Booting from ATAPI CD-ROM failure" on a Linux machine and can only run a floppy size distribution on it which has smartctl. Smartctl is supposed to be a recovery tool. When entering the following commands, I get the following handcopied output:

> smartctl -a /dev/hda | more
kmod: failed to exec /sbin/modprobe -s -k block-major-3, errno = 2
Smartctl open device: /dev/hda failed: No such device or address

> smartctl -a /dev/hdb | more
kmod: failed to exec /sbin/modprobe -s -k block-major-3, errno = 2
Smartctl open device: /dev/hdb failed: No such device or address

> smartctl -a /dev/hdc | more
Smartctl: Device Read Identity Failed (not an ATA/ATAPI device)
A mandatory SMART command faileds: exiting. To continue, add one or more '-T permissive' options.

> smartctl -a /dev/hdd | more
kmod: failed to exec /sbin/modprobe -s -k block-major-3, errno = 2
=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Device Model: PHILIPS CDD3610 CD-R/RW
Serial Number: xxxxxxxx
Firmware version: xxxxxx
Device is: Not in smartctl database [for details use: -P showall]
ATA version is: 1
ATA standard is: exact ATA spec draft version not indicated
Local time is: xxxxxxx
SMART is only available in ATA version 3 rev 3 or greater.
We will try to proceed in spite of this.
SMART support is unavailable - packet interface devices [this device: CD/DVD] don't support ATA SMART
A mandatory SMART command failed: exiting. To continue, add one or more '-T permissive' options.

The specs of the machine are PII-233MHz-64MB-3GB with a 40x CD/R, a 8x CD/RW and a floppy drive. Boot order is A,C,SCSI, but it really doesn't matter, because all orders lead to the "Booting from ATAPI CD-ROM failure". Can anyone make sense of what my remedial actions should be from the above?

Thanks in advance

Tech

[pave_spectre]

From what I can find smartctl is not actually a recovery tool, but is part of Smartmontools, which is used for monitoring and controlling the SMART functions of a hard drive.

From what I can understand of the output, smartctl is unable to find a primary master or slave device and is finding a hard drive as secondary master and CD-RW as secondary slave.

It would be helpful to know several things.

1. What are you actually trying to do? If install a distro, what distro?
2. At what point does the error occur?
3. What hardware do you have?

[technossomy]

Thanks a lot for your reply. As regards your questions the following:

1. What are you actually trying to do? If install a distro, what distro?

It had Ubuntu 5.10 (Breezy Badger) installed on it. There's no worry to delete the entire HDD, either by accident or by necessity. My goal is to get the system boot normally again and avoid the terminal message "Booting from ATAPI CD-ROM failure". I am happy to temporarily install Win98 on it, but it will not install from either CD-ROM and continue to request for a system disk.

2. At what point does the error occur?

At boot time, pretty much after the memtest.

3. What hardware do you have?

Some specs are listed in my initial post. Some more specs that I can quickly garner are: HDD is IDE drive, mobo of unknown brand, BIOS has SMART enabled and is of brand Award. I have also checked all contact points at the ribbons twice, which could have caused the problem. Please let me know whether that would suffice.

Thanks in advance


Tech