How to install Fedora 7 to a CF card connected via IDE-CF adapter?

[Phil Meyer]

Andrew Junev wrote:
> Has anyone tried to install Fedora 7 to a CF card connected via IDE-CF
> adapter? I tried it on several different systems with no success.
>
> I got the card (Transcend CF 4Gb) detected in MB BIOS as a 4Gb IDE
> HDD. But then Fedora installer doesn't seem to find the target drive.
> I don't remember the error message exactly, but it's saying something
> that it can't find the drive and proposes to load additional storage
> driver (by choosing it from a list or by adding one via floppy). If I
> connect a normal IDE HDD to the same controller instead of the CF
> card, Fedora installs just fine.
>
> So, has somebody had any successful experience instaling Fedora to a
> CF card?
>
> Thanks!
>   
>
>   

I don't know if I can add much to this discussion, but installing to CF
is something that we do here allot.

We have one 8GB CF card that when installed into the on board IDE 
controller of either Mother Board we use, the system will not pass post.

We have three types of 2GB CF cards that we currently use in production 
systems.  We use two different mini-ITX motherboards.  Neither 
motherboard can boot all three types of CF cards.  Each can use two of 
the three.

In the case of the 'common' CF card, it is very hit and miss.  Usually 
the CF throws lots of errors during the install (or any heavy writes 
after the install) and often fails the install.  In that case we avoid 
that CF card type in those Mother Boards.

Many hours of research has revealed that CF are not all alike, and that  
NAND devices in general all have a 'controller' embedded on the card 
itself.  These controllers are classified by type.  To simplify, they 
are easy to think of as fixed disk, removable disk, and generic.

Most of the CF cards that are labeled 'Industrial' are specifically made 
with a fixed disk type controller.

Secondly, not all IDE/CF devices are the same.  Some are made to handle 
generic and removable media types, and some are not.  It is unclear if 
these can be corrected in BIOS.

So for our requirements, we have to purchase CF cards in a batch, test 
the batch, and return and re-order a different brand if necessary.

Its a pain.  Brand and model number does not mean anything over time.

Many vendors would produce only 'fixed disk' type CF cards on a new 
card.  Almost all 2GB cards, when that size was new, were 'fixed disk' 
type.  Now days its almost impossible to find a 2GB CF card that is not 
'removable disk'.

Wikipedia here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Flash

Lots of good info and performance measurment here:

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007

Check the "CompactFlash programming" section of this article:

http://www.compuphase.com/mbr_fat.htm