[CentOS] boot process glitch due to missing 2nd disk

[Ron Loftin]

On Tue, 2010-07-20 at 15:31 -0400, m.roth at 5-cent.us wrote:
> Robert Heller wrote:
> > At Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:56:16 -1000 CentOS mailing list <centos at centos.org>
> > wrote:
> >>
> >> I just installed centos on a Dell that used to have 2 internal disks,
> >> but I removed one just before the install. Now when I boot it, it stops
> and
> >> outputs a message complaining about the missing disk and I have to hit
> >> F1 to get it to continue booting.
> >>
> >> Is there some bios setting that is causing this? Obviously, I'd like it
> <snip>
> > Dell servers seem to be wonky about this sort of thing (older ones would
> > not boot without a keyboard installed, even if they were esentually
> > 'headless'). I am not sure how to deal with this.  It seems to be a
> > Dell-specific BIOS hack of some sort (and a *dumb* one at that).
> 
> This is not a "Dell-specific BIOS hack". Dear child, ask your folks about
> PCs. I think it was only this decade that PCs would actually boot
> *without* a keyboard. EVERY PC EVER MADE before would not.

Sorry, but I have to respectfully disagree with that statement.

I have been using "old" ( some folks might say "antique" ) desktop
machines as firewalls/fileservers for a handful of friends for the
better part of 10 years now.  This goes back to old Dell GXi boxes
( Pentium 166 ) and homebuilt AMD K-6 systems.  In ALL cases, I was able
to configure the BIOS settings such that the system would boot without a
keyboard connected.  AFAIR all of those systems had a single setting to
avoid a halt of the boot process because of a missing keyboard, and
we're talking about BIOS versions back to around 1997.

> 
>         mark "tease me about my age, and I'll beat you with my cane!"
> 
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-- 
Ron Loftin                      reloftin at twcny.rr.com

"God, root, what is difference ?"       Piter from UserFriendly