need help with install from cd

[trooper11]

ok i need some help here. im trying to try out knoppix on a system im troubleshooting and im not sure whats going wrong. i put in the cd and it loads the the knoppix menu screen. so i hit enter and it starts booting, but after a minute of going through several steps of setup, the screen turns off and the light on it just flashes from green to yellow over and over, but the system is still running, the lights on the pc are still lit and green, so it seems ot still be running, but the screen just stays blank, like it the installation just cut out. what could be going on? am i missing a step to completeing the install?

im just wanting to run the os from the cd, not install to the hd btw.

also, i was wondering what it says at the end of initialization? i keep trying to read it before it cuts out, but it only flahses for a moment. thanks.

[eco2geek]

My first guess (without knowing the precise point at which it stalls) would be that it's a video card problem -- try the suggestions in the Hardware FAQ (http://www.knoppix.net/docs/index.php/FaqHardware), under the section "Q: My graphics card doesn't work!"

[Liquidant]

when you boot from the CD try knoppix = failsafe

i think thats right it should boot with virtually no hardware detection.

if i'm right in what your saying your just hitting enter when you see to boot screen. I'm not sure if it's important to do as i'm still learning but you could also try knoppix lang = us

I may be wrong in saying this at it maybe that these are just things that can be done as extra at start up but if you check out the Knoppix cheat codes maybe some might help

[trooper11]

yeah i was thinking video card but no it makes it well past that in autodetection, ill see if i can make out where exactly it stalls.

[CrashedAgain]

It may make it past autodetection but it doesn't actually try to use graphics mode video until it tries to start X. It says 'entering runlevel 5' just before it tries to start X.
Try booting 'knoppix 2 lang=(whatever language you want)' which will start in console mode only. Then try 'startx' & see what happens. If this is where the problem begins, probably it is not setting up for you video card properly.
What is the video card?

[trooper11]

hmm ok i think your right then, becuase the last thing i see is something about enetering run level 5 and x window then it switches off and hangs.

its an older system and i believe the graphics is a geforce 256..

hmm so if it is the graphics card, is there no way around this?

[fingers99]

Try looking where eco2geek says: anyone who can put together an atavar that cute has to be worth listening to!

[eco2geek]

:) The avatar's actually part of wallpaper called Aqua Tux Clouds (http://www.kde-look.org/content/show.php?content=2045) by Klowner. It was used on the Slax (http://slax.linux-live.org/) live CD. (And apparently Lindows used his work in a Flash marketing piece w/o attribution, according to a Slashdot post.) It's a really cute wallpaper!

Anyway, Trooper11's problem sounds like the one I had after installing stock Debian Sid from CD, that I never did resolve: X Windows didn't agree with my graphics card. Somehow, Knoppix worked fine using the "nv" driver, but Sid didn't. Monitor goes blank switches to "power saving mode". (I gave up and just installed Kanotix instead!)

[trooper11]

hmm you said using the nv driver, how owuld i use that for knoppix? or is it used automatically?

[eco2geek]

You can force Knoppix to use the "nv" driver by using the "cheatcode" xmodule=nv. If that doesn't work, try using xmodule=vesa to force it to use the generic VESA driver. You should also be able to specify your screen resolution by using the "cheatcode" screen=1280x1024 (or whatever), although I have never been able to get Knoppix to go higher than 1024x768. (Info from the cheatcodes doc and the FAQ.)