Shuttle_XPC_SN25P

Overview

This page contains information on running Gentoo Linux on Shuttle's Barebone XPC SN25P.

General Information

Pros

• Runs very quiet
• Linux compatibility:
  • Audio support in kernel
  • Ethernet support in kernel
  • PowerNow support in kernel

Cons

• No PC speaker (virtual PC speaker works fine)

Resources

• Manufacture's page
  • Downloads: BIOS, Drivers, Manual
• 32Bit Chroot Guide for Gentoo/AMD64

Boot Keys

To enter the BIOS Setup, press <DEL> at startup.

To enter select the boot device, press <ESC> at startup.

Configuration

Audio

The SN25P has a Envy24PT audio controller.

For configuration information see: VIA Vinyl Envy24PT

Ethernet

The Ethernet driver required is "FORCEDETH". This driver is available in the kernel.

Bug about not using NVidia's driver:

• nvnet-1.0.0301 (new package)

Information about Gentoo not using NVidia's driver:

• CONFIG_FORCEDETH

RAID (or fakeraid)

If you have already set up another operating system on the system using the onboard RAID (and want to keep using it as is), you will need to install using dmraid. Follow the instructions at HOWTO Install Gentoo with NVRAID using dmraid. You might also want to refer to HOWTO Dual Boot from Windows Bootloader (NTLDR) and why

PC Speaker

The SN25P has no speaker for console beeps. To configure a virutal PC speaker see: HOWTO Virtual PC Speaker

PowerNow

PowerNow allows your machine to adjust the amount of power it consumes based on demand.

This forum topic details two methods to accomplish automatic power adjustment:

• Gentoo Forums:Getting AMD64 powernow up and working under Gentoo

From Gnome, you can control and monitor the CPU frequency with the CPU Frequency Scaling Monitor applet.

From a terminal, you can monitor CPU frequency with this command:

watch -n .1 egrep MHz /proc/cpuinfo

8-in-1 Cardreader

Check this page to set up support for the cardreader in the kernel (make sure Probe all LUNs on each SCSI device in the SCSI Device Support section is selected).

Output from dmesg:

   Vendor: USB2.0    Model: CF  CardReader    Rev: 9144
   Type:   Direct-Access                      ANSI SCSI revision: 00
 sd 4:0:0:0: Attached scsi removable disk sdb
 sd 4:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg1 type 0

After inserting a Smart Media Card, dmesg shows

 SCSI device sdb: 1999872 512-byte hdwr sectors (1024 MB)
 sdb: Write Protect is off
 sdb: Mode Sense: 02 00 00 00
 sdb: assuming drive cache: write through
 SCSI device sdb: 1999872 512-byte hdwr sectors (1024 MB)
 sdb: Write Protect is off
 sdb: Mode Sense: 02 00 00 00
 sdb: assuming drive cache: write through
  sdb: sdb1

and a mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/mmc works.

Troubleshooting

Hard drive problems

Replace the SATA cables. This is a well known problem.

Verify bad SATA cables

Install the smartmontools, if needed:

emerge -av smartmontools

Check if your drive supports SMART:

smartctl -i -d ata /dev/sda

To enable SMART on the drive:

smartctl -s on -d ata /dev/sda

To view all status information:

smartctl -a -d ata /dev/sda

UDMA CRC errors are an indication of bad cabling.

Example of no errors:

199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x000a   200   253   000    Old_age   Always       -       0

Example of errors:

199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x000a   200   253   000    Old_age   Always       -       1227

See also: smartmontools

lspci

0000:00:00.0 Memory controller: nVidia Corporation CK804 Memory Controller (rev a3)
0000:00:01.0 ISA bridge: nVidia Corporation CK804 ISA Bridge (rev a3)
0000:00:01.1 SMBus: nVidia Corporation CK804 SMBus (rev a2)
0000:00:02.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation CK804 USB Controller (rev a2)
0000:00:02.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation CK804 USB Controller (rev a3)
0000:00:06.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation CK804 IDE (rev a2)
0000:00:07.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation CK804 Serial ATA Controller (rev a3)
0000:00:08.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation CK804 Serial ATA Controller (rev a3)
0000:00:09.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation CK804 PCI Bridge (rev a2)
0000:00:0a.0 Bridge: nVidia Corporation CK804 Ethernet Controller (rev a3)
0000:00:0b.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation CK804 PCIE Bridge (rev a3)
0000:00:0c.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation CK804 PCIE Bridge (rev a3)
0000:00:0d.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation CK804 PCIE Bridge (rev a3)
0000:00:0e.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation CK804 PCIE Bridge (rev a3)
0000:00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] HyperTransport Technology Configuration
0000:00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Address Map
0000:00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] DRAM Controller
0000:00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Miscellaneous Control
0000:05:06.0 Multimedia audio controller: VIA Technologies Inc. VT1720/24 [Envy24PT/HT] PCI Multi-Channel Audio Controller (rev 01)
0000:05:07.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): VIA Technologies, Inc. IEEE 1394 Host Controller (rev 80)

Compatibility

Due to the tight internal dimensions of the SN25P, it is not always obvious which products are compatible with the SN25P. This section lists compatible and incompatible combinations of products.

Compatible

• Zalman VF700-CU on an NVidia 6600GT
  Fits, but radiator fins touch drive rack.
• XFX 6800GT - Note: SN25P does not have 6 pin PCI-E power. You will need to use a 4 pin molex to PCI-E power adapter

Incompatible

• A64 3700 with ATI X850XT. This combo does not work. However, a 3500, or 4000 w/ the X850XT does.

Cabling

Default cabling:

• 2 SATA data cables
• 3 SATA power cables