Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.
Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, and Dell Precision are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Red Hat and Red Hat Enterprise Linux are registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc.; Intel is a registered
trademark of Intel Corporation.
Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming
the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and
trade names other than its own.
X Multimedia System (XMMS) Media Player
May Not Play Certain .wav or .ogg Files
IEEE1394 FireWire Support
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
. . . . . . 11
swiotlb Parameter Needs to be Set for
nVidia Video Driver With EM64T for Systems
With Greater Than 4 GB RAM
. . . . . . . . . . . 11
The Intel RAID Feature is Not Supported on
Dell Precision Systems
Slow Boot and Warning Messages on SATA
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
. . . 12
Driver Update Model Updates Kernel Entries on
GRUB Boot Selection Screen
. . . . . . . . . . . 12
4Contents
Your Dell™ computer is pre-installed with the Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® 5
operating system. This document provides information about initial setup,
configuration, reinstallation, and support.
Finding More Information
The Dell Quick Reference Guide that ships with your computer describes
documentation and other sources of information about your computer.
The Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 media contains documentation about the
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 operating system. Additional information about
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 can be found on the Red Hat website at
www.redhat.com.
Updated operating system packages can be downloaded from rhn.redhat.com
or through the Red Hat network service on your computer.
Dell documentation for your computer and for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 is
available from the Red Hat Main Menu and is also in the Linux folder on the
Dell n Series Drivers and Utilities media that ships with your computer.
Additional drivers and software that Dell installs on your computer and that
are not available on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 media can be found in
the /usr/src/dell/rpms directory on your hard drive. Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 drivers for your Dell hardware can also be found in the Linux folder on the
Dell n Series Drivers and Utilities media or may be downloaded from the
Dell Support website at support.dell.com.
Dell maintains public mailing lists to promote community involvement
among Dell computer users who use the Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating
system. To sign up for the mailing lists, visit lists.us.dell.com. To search for
previously posted information that addresses issues you encounter, visit
lists.us.dell.com/htdig.
Important Information5
Reviewing Pre-configuration Options
Your Dell computer is pre-configured with the settings described in the
following sections.
X Window Settings
The following default video settings are configured for your computer:
•The X Window System starts when you boot your computer (run level 5).
•The GNU Network Object Modeling Environment (GNOME) is the
default desktop.
•Video resolution is set to 1024 x 768 pixels and an appropriate color depth
is set for your video card.
•The following generic scan rates are defined:
–Horizontal 31 to 54 kHz
–Vertical 50 to 120 kHz
Storage Partitions
Depending on your software RAID configuration, Dell will configure
partitions described in one of the following tables:
Table 1. No Software RAID Configured
Mount PointPartition SizeDefault Partition Type
/boot200 MBext3
/Grow to fullVolGroup00 (ext3)
swapAutomatically determined by the
Red Hat installer
/mnt/disk[1,2,3]Variable*ext3
*
If there is more than one hard drive present, each additional disk will be partitioned and format-
ted, and mounted to /mnt/disk1, /mnt/disk2, or /mnt/disk3.
VolGroup 00 (swap)
6Important Information
Table 2. Software RAID 0 Configured
Mount PointPartition SizeDefault Partition TypeRAID Device
/boot200 MBext3
swapAutomatically determined by
the Red Hat installer
/Grow to full*ext3/dev/md0
*
The remaining space on the primary disk and all the space on the remaining disks in the com-
puter are combined into a RAID 0 device.
Table 3. Software RAID 1 configured
Mount PointPartition SizeDefault Partition TypeRAID Device
/boot200 MBext3/dev/md0
/Grow to fullext3/dev/md1
swap2 GBswap/dev/md2
NOTE: All the partitions are mirrored across the hard drives in the computer.
NOTE: Grand Unified Bootloader (GRUB) is written to the Master Boot Record of
all the hard drives to allow a system boot from any disk in case of a drive failure.
swap
Dynamic Kernel Module Support Framework for Device Drivers
Dell uses the Dynamic Kernel Module Support (DKMS) framework for all
add-on device drivers that are not native to the kernel. This framework allows
the kernel modules to be dynamically built for each kernel on your computer
and provides a mechanism for the driver version control.
To see which add-on drivers are installed on your computer, type dkms status at the command prompt. For more information on DKMS,
view the DKMS man page on your computer.
Important Information7
Updating Your System Packages Using
Red Hat Network
Red Hat periodically releases software updates to fix bugs, address security
issues, add new hardware support, and add new features. You can download
updated operating system packages and the latest kernel releases from
rhn.redhat.com by using the Red Hat Network (RHN) service on your system
or by using the yum utility. Dell recommends that you use the RHN service
to update your system software to the latest revisions before you deploy your
system for the first time.
Configuring Additional User Options
Configuring Devices
For information on how to configure and use specific devices, such as video
cards installed on your computer, see the readme files in the /usr/src/dell
directory on your hard drive.
Configuring Network Settings
Dell configures your computer to obtain an IP address automatically using
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). To change network settings,
go to Red Hat Main Menu→ System Settings→ Network and follow the on-
screen instructions.
Changing Video Resolution
To change the resolution for your nVIDIA graphics card, use the nVIDIA X
Server Settings graphics user interface (GUI). Click Applications→ System
To ol s→ nVIDIA X Server Settings, and then select X Server Display
Configuration. Set the video resolution and click OK.
8Important Information
Reinstalling Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
This section provides information about how to reinstall or customize
your operating system and how to obtain the device drivers you may need.
When reinstalling the operating system, you can restore the operating system
to the default settings or perform a custom installation.
NOTE: Device drivers and documentation that Dell installs on your computer
are available in the Linux folder on the Dell n Series Drivers and Utilities media.
Restoring Default Settings
To enable you to restore your system software to the same state in which you
received it, Dell has created a reinstallation partition on your primary hard
drive. This partition contains images of the installation, additional device
drivers, and the necessary scripts to automate the reinstallation.
NOTICE: The following procedure erases all the existing data from your
computer’s hard drive.
Perform the following steps to reinstall the operating system with the default
settings:
Back up any important data on the computer’s hard drive.
1
2
At the command prompt, type:
sh/usr/src/dell/reinstall.sh
Read the warning on the screen and follow the instructions to reboot your
3
computer. The operating system is reinstalled automatically.
Performing a Custom Installation
NOTICE: The following procedure erases all the existing data from your
computer’s hard drive.
To reinstall the operating system with different options from those originally
installed by Dell, perform the following steps:
1
Back up the
computer's hard drives.
2
Insert the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 media into your CD/DVD drive
and restart the computer.
A
Welcome
/usr/src/dell
screen presenting several different installation options appears.
directory and any important data on the
Important Information9
3
Press
<Enter>
system using the
4
Review the notes on the left side of the screen as you proceed through
at the boot prompt to install or upgrade the operating
Graphic Installation Mode
.
the installation.
For more information, see the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 documentation
included in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 media that ships with
your computer.
5
Restore the
6
Ty p e
Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) in the
/usr/src/dell
directory that you backed up in step 1.
rpm -Uvh /usr/src/dell/rpms/<rpm name>
/usr/src/dell/rpms
directory to
for each
install the device driver and application packages provided by Dell.
The drivers and documentation that Dell installed on your computer
are available on the
Dell n Series Drivers and Utilities
media. You can
download the latest device drivers from Dell Support website at
support.dell.com
the Red Hat website at
. Additional installation instructions can be found on
www.redhat.com
. For more information about
the drivers installed on your system click
System→ Documentation
NOTE: The native 2D Nv and Vesa drivers of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 may not
support nVIDIA’s latest graphic cards. When you reinstall Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5, a blank screen maybe diplayed. To work around this issue, reinstall Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 5 in text mode. A fix for this issue is expected in a future Red Hat
Enterprise Linux update.
.
To reinstall Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 in text mode, perform the following steps:
1
At the installation boot prompt, type:
linux text
Press <Enter>.
2
The installation continues in text mode.
3
Download the latest nVIDIA video driver from the Dell Support website
at
support.dell.com
4
At the terminal, type:
.
rpm -ivh dell-nvidia-XXXX.rpm
5
Boot into the
X Window system
.
10Important Information
Important Information
This section provides information about the issues you may encounter when
you are installing or using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 on your computer.
X Multimedia System (XMMS) Media Player May Not Play Certain .wav
or .ogg Files
The XMMS Media Player with ADI 1984 Codec does not play certain .wav
or .ogg files. This issue does not affect the CD audio playback and nor does it
occur with Helix Media Player.
Command line media players such as aplay and ogg123 can play all .wav
and .ogg files.
A fix for this issue is expected in a future Red Hat Enterprise Linux update.
IEEE1394 FireWire Support
Drivers for IEEE1394 FireWire storage devices are not compiled and
included with the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 kernels. To enable FireWire
support, download the latest IEEE1394 FireWire device driver RPM from
the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.
swiotlb Parameter Needs to be Set for nVidia Video Driver With EM64T
for Systems With Greater Than 4 GB RAM
When using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 x86_64 with the OpenGL nVidia
video driver on systems with more than 4 GB of RAM, a kernel panic may
occur while running 3-D applications. This is caused by memory allocation
problems when using a 32-bit address-only capable device with a 64-bit
operating system with greater than 4 GB of RAM. If you are using the DellnVidia driver available on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com, this
problem is resolved by the RPM. If you are using the nVidia OpenGL driver
downloaded from www.nvidia.com, complete the following steps to avoid
this issue:
1
Open the
2
On a running system, add
that begins with
3
Save the file and reboot the system.
/boot/grub/grub.conf
swiotlb=65536
kernel
.
file in an editor.
to the end of each line
Important Information11
The Intel RAID Feature is Not Supported on Dell Precision Systems
The integrated Serial ATA (SATA) controllers on Dell Precision™ 390 and
Dell Precision 490 workstations have built-in redundant array of independent
disks (RAID) features. The SATA controllers can be configured to RAID and
non-RAID modes. The Intel
supported on Linux. Dell recommends disabling the RAID features when
using Linux on Dell Precision workstations; and using Linux operating system
software RAID instead.
®
RAID features of the SATA controllers are not
Slow Boot and Warning Messages on SATA
If a SATA controller has a vacant SATA port, the SATA device may generate
the following warning message and delay the operating system boot sequence:
localhost kernel: scsi1 : ata_piix
localhost kernel: ata1: port is slow to respond,
please be patient
localhost kernel: ata1: port failed to respond
(30 secs)
This issue does not cause any problems after the operating system boots.
A fix for this issue is expected in a future Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 update.
Driver Update Model Updates Kernel Entries on GRUB Boot
Selection Screen
When using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Driver Update Model or DKMS to
update kernel modules, multiple GRUB entries appear at the GRUB Boot
selection screen on system boot. The Driver Update Model creates modified
initrd images when it updates a driver required for system boot. This behavior
is expected and the default boot kernel contains the most recent applied
driver changes. For more information, see the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
release notes on the Red Hat website at www.redhat.com.