Installing RedHat 4.2 (BILTMORE) Linux (Alpha) on proto-slave

It may be wise to put "geometry" information on the disk, by first partitioning it in the firmware. The actual partitioning choices are unimportant, as we will re-partition it later. This is just so that the disk has some type of label with information for the SCSI controller. The easiest way to do this is the use the firmware hard disk setup utility, and just choose the default Windows NT partitioning.
Insert the MILO disk, select 'LinuxCD' and press <Enter>.
At the MILO prompt, insert the Linux CDROM.
When the system prompts for the RAMDISK, remove the MILO floppy, insert the RAMDISK into the floppy drive and hit <Enter>.
Wait for the Welcome to RedHat screen.
NOT YET TESTED: It may be possible to switch screens to a command shell screen with [Alt-F2] to get a shell prompt, then one can properly set the time, then use [Alt-F1] to get back to the installation script again.
Select the monitor (color or not).
Welcome message. Hit <Enter>.
Select Keyboard: select US.
Installation method: select Local CDROM.
Insert the RedHat Alpha Linux CDROM and hit <Enter>.
Installation path: select install.
Partition disks: select edit
fdisk program presents a prompt:
Our disk shipped with a virgin1.28 GB Quantum Fireball TM1280s OR 2.11 GB TM2110. Select it:

If the disk does NOT have geometry information then:

Hit <x> for extra functionality (experts only)
Hit <c> to change the number of cylinders (see below).
Hit <h> to change the number of heads (see below).
Hit <s> to change the number of sectors (see below).
Hit <r> to return

Hit <n> for new partition
Hit <p> for primary partition
Hit <1> to indicate the first partititon
Hit <1> for the first cylinder
Enter +160M for the last cylinder. (This gives 160 megs of swap space)
<n><p><2> first number in range for first cylinder, +6M for the last cylinder
<n><p><3> first number in range for first cylinder, last cylinder number for the last cylinder
<t> to change partition type <1> for 1st partition. 82 for partition type swap
<t> to change partition type <2> for 2nd partition. 1 for partition type FAT (12 bit DOS)
<a> to toggle bootable flag, <2> for 2nd partition,
<a> to toggle bootable flag, <3> for 3rd partition,
<p> to print partition table, check against what is shown below! Correct if needed, then...
<w> to write and exit

Partition table for 2.11 Gbyte disk (160 MB swap):

Disk /dev/sda: 65 heads, 62 sectors, 1023 cylinders

Units = cylinders of 4030 * 512 bytes

   Device Boot   Begin    Start      End   Blocks   Id System
/dev/sda1            1        1       82   165199   82 Linux swap
/dev/sda2           83       83       86     8060    4 DOS 16-bit <32M
/dev/sda3           87       87     1023 1888055   83 Linux native

Partition table for 1.28 Gbyte disk (262 MB swap):

Disk /dev/sda: 40 heads, 62 sectors, 1009 cylinders

Units = cylinders of 2480 * 512 bytes

   Device Boot   Begin    Start      End   Blocks   Id System
/dev/sda1            1        1      212   262849   82 Linux swap
/dev/sda2          213      213      217     6200    1 DOS 12-bit FAT
/dev/sda3          218      218     1009   982080   83 Linux native

Partition table for 1.28 Gbyte disk (164 MB swap):

Disk /dev/sda: 40 heads, 62 sectors, 1009 cylinders

Units = cylinders of 2480 * 512 bytes

   Device Boot   Begin    Start      End   Blocks   Id System
/dev/sda1            1        1      133   164889   82 Linux swap
/dev/sda2          134      134      138     6200    1 DOS 12-bit FAT
/dev/sda3          139      139     1009 1080040   83 Linux native

root partitions: /dev/sda1 & check for bad blocks

Select sda3 as root partition
go to sda2, press <Enter>: mount point: /dos
Select "OK"
Format all partitions and check for bad blocks.

Software Selection: chose minimal set of packages: include editors, development environment
Did not "select individual packages."
Install Log screen: select ok and <Enter>
Mouse type: select PS/2 <enter>
Video Card: Matrox Millenium
Monitor: Viewsonic 17
Video memory: 2MB
No clockchip setting
Resolutions:

800X600 8bit
800X600 16bit
800X600 24bit

Configure LAN: select yes <Enter>
Configure TCP/IP:

IP address : 192.168.2.2
Netmask : 255.255.255.0
default gateway: 0.0.0.0
primary nameserver: none

Configure Network:

domain name: beowulf
host name: n002.beowulf
secondary name server none

Timezone:

set hardware clock to GMT
select US/central

Select Printer: no printer
Root Password: enter your choice of password for root
install bootloader will FAIL!
choose menu
choose continue installation
installation will be complete, machine will reboot