Don't see what I am doing wrong

[Jera]

I am trying to install knoppix 3.4 to my harddrive. I have been reading information pertaining to this for about 5 hours. I then tried to do it 3 times now and when I am finished I take out the CD and reboot my machine. It looks like it is booting and puts the word GRUB on the screen. Then it just sits there. I left it like that all three times for no less than 30 minutes. I guess it is hanging or I have done something wrong. Hopefully someone can give me some info. The following is what I did.
Booted into Knoppix 3.4 and checked it out. I liked it and thought since this thing can boot and run ontop of a OS from the CD this is the linux distro for me. I am linux noob by the way. Just came back from hope and found out that I need to learn linux. So I read the faq about harddrive install, the tutorial for harddrive install and about 9 other things relating to Knoppix harddrive install. I beleive I am ready so I go about my task. I press ctrl+alt+f2 to get a root terminal. I use this command "sudo knoppix-installer" to start the install. Next I choose to partition my 3 gig harddrive. 2.5g and .5g partitions. I select the 2.5g and change the type to ext3 and then make it bootable. Next I select the .5g and change the type to linux swap. Finally I choose write the table. I save the configuration and reboot. I get to terminal as root and use the install command again and this time I choose load config. I type my file name and it shows me the info. Now I choose to install and it askes me about 3 different types 1. a hardware detection type 2. a knoppix like cd type and 3 a debian type. I choose the 2nd option. It askes me to choose the partition to set up linux on and I choose the 2.5g partition. It looks as if it is installing. When it is finished it gives me back to terminal as root and I reboot the machine and remove my cd. When machine reboots tho I end up with GRUB on my screen and it appears that nothing else is happening. Any thoughts, suggestions, and help are welcome.

Thanks,

Jera

[ghetto_blaster]

Well im not sure, but maybe you should only install beginner or debian from the install menu.

Check here:
http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10203&highlight=debian+knoppix+different

or here

http://www.knoppix.net/docs/index.php/KnoppixInstaller

[Jera]

Thanks for the reply ghetto_blaster. I am still baffled at making an install. Is there really a detailed (read every step) to doing a harddrive install. I feel that I am missing something. I dont care about the harddrive or the data on it. I look at the tutorial for harddrive install for knoppix and it leaves out a lot of the options you must choose to get knoppix installed. If someone can point me to a clearer posting of how to do the harddrive install or just post it I would appreciate it. I have a 3 gig harddrive using 2.5 for ext3 and .5 for linux swap. After I boot do I have to do something to make the harddrive writeable? What about after I try writing the new partition table and it says I must reboot. If I reboot how will it save or change the harddrive when it is booting from the cd again? I am completely lost, please help.

Thanks,

Jera

[eco2geek]

This is interesting because you're the 2nd person who said they'd installed Knoppix and ended up with a GRUB prompt. I thought Knoppix installed LILO by default.

In any case, when you see GRUB on your screen, it's waiting for you to enter commands. GRUB is like a little shell. Assuming you've installed Knoppix on the first partition of your first (master) hard disk, aka hda1, then try this. At the GRUB prompt, type (press enter at the end of each line):

> root (hd0,0)
> kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda1 vga=773 ro
> boot

Does that get you into Knoppix?

[Jera]

No. Nothing at all happens when I try to type. It is quite bothersome that the GRUB prompt is there. Like I said it seems to me that my system locks up. The only key commands I can get to work is ctrl+alt+del which will reboot my system. I tried typing at the GRUB when I first got it and nothing shows up on screen, I even tried typing and pressing enter for the heck of it and nothing happend. I dont even hear my harddrive spinning.

Now I tried something different. I booted from the cd and clicked on terminal at the bottom of the desktop. In the terminal I typed su then pressed enter, at the next prompt I typed sudo knoppix-installer which in turn gave me qtparted for the first time ever. I have never typed the su part before the sudo knoppix-installer part before because I always opened a terminal before by pressing ctrl+alt+f2. This time I opend a terminal from the desktop icon at the bottom as I mentioned and used the su to get to root. However, once I was in qtparted, I could not change my partitions because the hard drive was listed as read only. I tried to use one of the tabs at the top(don't recall which one, although I looked through all of them) to change it but the only option I could find was to view the partitions. So how do I get this program to let me change the drive to read/write so that I can set up the partitions.

Now before you tell me "hey noob, you just click on the icon of the drive and change it" I tried that. I also tried to mount the drive by opening the terminal and doing the following
su hit enter then /mnt/hda1 then hit enter then /mnt/hda2 followed by enter. Please inform me what I am doing wrong. I have been searching and reading and reading and reading and searching and have yet to come across the answer. Oh and in case you don't think I have been searching for the answer I want you to know that I have been attempting to do this (install knoppix on hard drive) for a total of 7hours and 19 minutes, but who is counting :wink:

One last question before I get back to searching and reading, is there a way I can verify that the install worked before I reboot? because it sends me to the prompt when it is done and I normally just type shutdown -r now and remove the cd and hope that it actually boots.

One last bit of info that may help you point me in the right direction. I have now installed, in this order, the following versions of linux on the hard drive: redhat 7, fedora core, suse 8.2, debian 3, and now attempted to do knoppix 9 times now. Maybe that is why I am getting grub?


Thanks,

Jera



P.S. I am having so much fun learning linux. I love to learn and I cant wait to be microsoft independent so please help me, it is for a great cause :D

[eco2geek]

One last bit of info that may help you point me in the right direction. I have now installed, in this order, the following versions of linux on the hard drive: redhat 7, fedora core, suse 8.2, debian 3, and now attempted to do knoppix 9 times now. Maybe that is why I am getting grub?

That would explain it. GRUB's probably written itself to your MBR. You'll need to let Knoppix install LILO to the MBR.

Your hard drive has to be unmounted in order to use QTParted -- all of it. If you've got a swap partition on it, and Knoppix is using it, QTParted won't work. Try using the "noswap" cheatcode when booting from the Knoppix CD.

<edit>
And, if you've already partitioned your hard drive (as you said above -- hda1 = 2.5G ext3; hda2 = 0.5G swap), why are you trying to repartition it again?
</edit>

[Jera]

Okay how do I unmount my hard drive? How do I remove GRUB because LILO apperantly is not writing over it because I tell it to write to MBR but when I boot I still get GRUB. I am trying to repartition because I partitioned using cfdisk and it does not do as good as a job. If you could give me the codes to do these things or point me in the correct direction I could get my install to work.


Thanks,

Jera

edit: how do I boot using more than one cheatcode? I would like to boot to 800x600, noswap, and lang=en.

[eco2geek]

Take a look at the file "knoppix-cheatcodes.txt" on your Knoppix CD. If you type "knoppix noswap lang=en screen=800x600" at the boot: prompt you'll boot using kernel 2.4; if you use "knoppix26" instead of "knoppix" you'll start with kernel 2.6.

I suppose the next question would be, when you installed, did you make a boot floppy, and can you boot from it?

[Jera]

yes during the installation it asked me if I wanted to make a boot floppy. However, it does not boot the computer. Can you tell me exactly how I would go about unmounting the hard drive so that I can attempt to install knoppix again?


Thanks,

Jera

[eco2geek]

First things first -- do you understand how to use cheatcodes when booting Knoppix from the CD? Please read the Cheat Codes FAQ (http://www.knoppix.net/docs/index.php/CheatCodes) and also the text document knoppix-cheatcodes.txt (http://download.linuxtag.org/knoppix/knoppix-cheatcodes.txt) (which is also on your Knoppix CD).

If you have a swap partition that Knoppix is using, the "noswap" cheatcode will cause Knoppix not to use it.

If you start up QTParted and click on your hard drive, and it says "Status: busy" at the bottom left, you won't be able to do anything with QTParted.

[Jera]

Yes I understand the cheat codes and how to use them. However I am giving up on installing knoppix on the hard drive. Looking from my point of view, I see many people that have installed knoppix to hard drive. But when I look for help in the forums I see two people answering me (mostly just one person). I find that to be very unuseful. Another thing I find unuseful is the lack of answers to my questions. If all these people have installed to hard drive then why cant anyone give me a step by step process to do it? The tutorial is lacking a step by step and gives just an overview. I don't know what else to say on that subject.

On a side note, I thank you from my heart eco2geek for your attempts to help and point me in the correct direction but I feel that a knoppix hard drive install is too difficult at this time and has taken too much of my time without getting me to the end. The end being knoppix booting off my hard drive so that I can then learn linux, configure linux, and enjoy my freedom from microsoft. It bothers me that only one person is really responding to me because all I want is to have a hard drive install of knoppix. I am not asking for someone to come to my house, put linux on my hard drive and stay for two years showing me everything they know about it. I just wanted to get it on the hard drive. It seems to me that was too much to ask. Good luck to you all and to knoppix.


Thanks,

Jera

[scruffyeagle]

I am giving up on installing knoppix on the hard drive.

Yah, hey dere, Jera!

I'm a newbie too, but I've been reading & learning here. As a starting point, I'd say don't try to use the Knoppix-style install to HD. I keep reading about problems, with people trying to use the compressed CD files off HD. You'll lose the hardware auto-detection during bootup, but I think having had it performed during the boot instance where you've run the installer pre-sets a bunch of parameters you need. (?) I've got a functioning Linux set up now, although I've still got lots of bugs to work out. I did it by choosing the Debian-style install w/ LILO. I used the cfdisk from the installer program to repartition the HD, then rebooted from CD so I could use Qparted to change partition type to ex3. (It wouldn't stick as such, using the cfdisk.) You might need to just wipe the entire HD to scratch/empty/no partitions, to get rid of that GRUB. (I'm sure there's some better way, but I don't know it yet - so, this is the "brute force" method.)

I'm not sure if it was you that asked about this, but to use multiple parameters on the Knoppix entry line when booting from CD is simplicity itself - after typing the word "Knoppix", you just type the parameters in with spaces in-between, and only hit the enter key when you're finished with the list of presets.

For example: "Knoppix vga=normal screen=800x600 noswap"
(without the quotation marks, of course!)

Hope this helped!

Scruffy

[eco2geek]

I'm sorry it didn't/doesn't work! :( And I seriously would come over to your house, except the plane ticket would probably be too expensive.

Actually, you should seriously consider grabbing someone you know who's Knoppix-saavy and have them come over and walk you through it. That was going to be my next suggestion.

AFAIK, there's no way to get rid of GRUB except to install another bootloader in its place. (As the GRUB FAQ says, there's no "uninstall" for GRUB -- you just install another bootloader like LILO.)

Believe me, if you've successfully installed Debian Woody, installing Knoppix is a lot easier. I'm not sure why you're having all this trouble.

The closest thing I know of to an install tutorial is this Kanotix installation walk-through (http://kanotix.mipooh.net/viewtopic.php?t=180). (Kanotix is a Knoppix remaster -- a very good Knoppix remaster. You might consider it.)

Hopefully, one of these days I'm going to rework that walk-through for Knoppix and post it to the web.