[ale] More Red Hat Config Questions

[Todd B SanMillan]

Okay, I am installing Red Hat 4.0 also. I have a couple of comments and a 
few basic questions.

First off, I like the basic install set-up...*if* you have a normal 
machine.  I am currently strugling with a flacky CD-ROM.  If the install 
routine has trouble reading the CD-ROM it just reboots.  After the 
re-boot, you have to go thru *all* the steps again.  There is also no 
easy way to install componets *outside* of X.  At least with Slackware, 
you have disk sets.  Install enough to get the machine up, then install 
each set till the CD bombs out again.  I didn't find a listing of the 
various RPM's anywhere.  Maybe there is one. And the basic set-up 
installs a number of components that I didn't need.  Do I really need *3* 
web browsers?  Also being tight on space, I like the finer grained 
control available with Slackware.  I realize that most will not be 
running under the particular set of problems I have, but the philosophy 
seems to be leaning toward the "mass market protect the user" mentality.  
The thing I liked about Linux is the power to control what goes on on my 
machine.  Oh well, enough ranting.  I can certainly agree that for most 
comman installs on most computers, Red Hat will *greatly* simplify 
things.  And from the demo's at the meetings, the tools seem much easier 
to work with.  I hope I get to use them soon :)

On to my questions.
1)on boot-up I get a new message:
ide0: buggy cmd640b interface on PCI (type1), config=0x1e
cmd640:drive0 timings/prefetch(off) preserved, clocks=4,16,17

Who is giving me this info?  The newer kernels, or some Red Hat program?  
What does it mean?

2)MetroX is not coming up.  I am not getting the cross-hatch and 
switching modes does nothing.  configX *does* come up and it *seems* to 
be X.  I have my Xconfig set to generic 640x480.  Is there anything I can 
do to force the most basic generic config, so that I can work from 
there?  If there is no more basic MetroX config, where are the XFree 
files and servers?  I *had* that working before.  I am not at the machine 
right now, but the xerror file had a number of lines of seemed to be 
loading and unloading modules that looked like it was looking for a match 
to a videos card.  I have a Mach64, which claims to be supported (though 
there are 3 Mach64 to choose from, none of which match the name mine was 
sold under (WinTurbo/WinBoost)) (none of the 3 work yet).  After I 
Ctrl_Alt_bs out, the screen is about 1/3 as bright as it should be.


Let me know what further info would be usefull.

Thanks,
Todd