pc won't boot using v3.9

[dpolizzi]

I am working on a homework project for scholl that requires me to use knoppix..I am booting from the cd rom using version 3.9 live cd..It seems to load properly but then I cant figure out how to get past the black boot screen..Last line says root@tty1[/]# What command do I need to type in to get to the desktop so I can use the internet browser and other things...Sorry if this is a dumb question but again I am new to this.....Thanx in advance to the smart people willing to help me!!!!

[OErjan]

wjat computer do you have, how did you boot it? any message during boot?

[dpolizzi]

Booted with live cd from standard pc. It seems to load everything, but i'm stuck on the black screen with the root@tty1[/]#
Just need to know what command to type to get into the actual operating system.

[OErjan]

startx should work.
but i suspect there to be some troubles, as you should get desktop to begin with.

[dpolizzi]

Ok just tried it again, and this is what happens. It says that it's starting x11... and then it gives me these errors
X: warning; process set to priority -11 instead of requested priority -10
Fatal error; server is already active for display o
modprobe: FATAL error; running instal command for sound_slot_1

[OErjan]

if you post the poutputs from the comands below it will be easyer to help.

dmesg|grep vgaand
dmesg|grep vesa
might help. aswell as
tail -50 /var/log/Xorg.log
EDIT you posted while i wrote the reply. hmm, try
ctrl+alt+F5
that should work.
if not perhaps
startx -- :1

[dpolizzi]

did you still want to know what happens after i put the commands you told me to type in?
ctrl + alt +f5 turns the screen off and I have to press f1 to put it back on and then i typed in the other part and it gave me the same error: process set to priority -11 instead of requested priority of -10.
it also says this version of xfree86 has been extensively modified by the debian project, and is not supported by the xfree86 project, in., in any way. and it wants me to file a bug report. and it gives me a lot of warnings for font renderer and it stopped

[Harry Kuhman]

http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16574

[dpolizzi]

Sorry didn't know, i'll post else where

[Harry Kuhman]

Sorry didn't know, i'll post else where
NO, you didn't get the point of the link. It is not where you posted that was my concern (although you could have thought about that too and seen that we had a section dedicated to booting) but rather the subject line that lacks any information on the nature of the problem. Imagine how useless these forums would be to others who look through the forums to see if their problems have already been discussed if all or most of the subject lines were of the same nature as yours.

There people here who are already treading the forums and trying to help don't need a plea of ignorance on your part in the subject line, they need some idea if the topic of the thread is something they can assist in or not. They are already reading the forum and likely to help you if they have knowledge on the topic. Having a subject line that gives no idea of the topic and just expects those willing to help to read the body of the message says to me you don't care about the others who may search the forums looking for information and you don't care about wasting the time of the people you are asking help from. I urge you to go back and edit your first post and change the subject line to something that conveys the concept of the problem.

[dpolizzi]

Oh well i posted in the live cd and haven't gotten any replies. so do you have any ideas to what the problem is??

[ckamin]

Oh well i posted in the live cd and haven't gotten any replies. so do you have any ideas to what the problem is??
ABSOLUTELY! The problem is the "Subject Line" of your original post! It reads:


Newbie Please Help!!!
Harry Kuhman has politely asked you to change that (EDIT) to something that DESCRIBES the problem that you are experiencing. It is essential to have your problem described accurately in the "SUBJECT" line, since this is what people will look at to see if they can assist you. Your original "Subject Line" is the reason that you "Did not get any replies". Putting something there that does not describe the problem, LIKE "NEWBIE PLEASE HELP!!!" does not give anyone a clue as to what your problem is, or IF they have some help to offer you. Many people will with-hold ANY assistance until you correct that line. A more appropriate subject line would be something like: "PC fails to boot using Version 3.9 CD", "Won't Boot", or "System halts/crashes/locks up/stops working/stalls/experiences a senior moment while booting". THAT would better describe your PROBLEM to people who might browse the forum to see if they can assist you. Your original subject line does NOT do you, or anyone browsing the forum ANY good whatsoever. Someone would have to open your post to see what your trouble is and then decide if they can help you, instead of just reading the "Subject Line" in the index that should describe your problem. That is a lot of extra steps and very few people will open every post looking to help someone. Harry Kuhman is a forum moderator and has advised you on how to change your post in order to get the assistance you have asked for. I just stumbled in by accident and have way too much time on my hands, so I decided to add my two cents worth in order to help you make the changes you need to make, in order for someone to better understand/see your posts content.

Here it is, step by step, (almost):

Log In to the forum.

Go to the very first post in the thread that you started. (Your very first entry at the beginning of this subject)

Click on the "EDIT" button.

Then change the "SUBJECT" line to something that decribes the probklem you are experiencing. NOT something like "NOOB Needs Help" since it implies that it is a personal problem and nobody wants to get involved in those!

When you have edited the "SUBJECT", just click on the Submit button!

Be patient and someone may have the answer to your problem, who can now see what it is that you are asking for!

Also, You might have been better off posting in the "Hardware & Booting" section to begin with. Just DON'T submit multiple/duplicate posts for the same issue. THAT is also innapropriate.

If you need more detailed instructions on how to get the help you are asking for, I doubt that there are many people qualified or willing to deal with that issue.

I also noticed that someone responded to your post asking for a description of your system. That means that you should describe your hardware with information regarding the processor type, mainboard chipsets, memory, drive controllers, and VERY importantly, what type of Video Card or On-board video controller you are using. Network cards, sound cards, etc, would also be a good idea to describe. If it is a "Brand-Name" machine, give the Brand, Model Number, and any options you have installed AS WELL as the previous information. This information is ESSENTIAL in order to diagnose hardware/compatibility issues that may have symptoms such as those that you describe.

People here, including myself, are not trying to be snobbish or rude. You just need to do your homework and provide the information that someone will need in order to assist you in solving your problem. Searching through the forum is also HIGHLY recommended, since someone else may have experienced the same or a similar problem and the information in that post may help you solve yours also.

[dpolizzi]

Ok changed it. I put it in another subject b/c i cannot delete the one in here. I went to live cds like i believe harry is his name, told me to. i wasn't trying to go against any rules. i thought as long as there aren't any cursing it was fine. besides i have tried to do this myself, i've been working on it for over a week now and my b/f told me to get on this b/c it was all about knoppix and that someone would be or might be able to help. not trying to mess your forum up. anyway forget it. i just have to use another computer to do the work and then fix mine before something else is due. i fixed a few problems and this was as far as i can get with it. So you can delete this after you read it i won't bother anyone anymore.

donna

[Harry Kuhman]

Ok changed it. I put it in another subject b/c i cannot delete the one in here. I went to live cds like i believe harry is his name, told me to.
The new topic looks much better, thanks. I never told you to go to the Other Live CD's forum; a post about Knoppix would be off topic there, it's a forum for discussion of other live CD's. I did mention that If you were having booting problems that we have a section dedicated to booting. Since one of the forums is named Hardware and Booting (http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=9&sid=c434378ab5f9fa741cb0a7e08014b30c) I would have thought that you could find that yourself.

I have posted that I will not get involved in helping when the subject line contains subjects like yours originally did. Now that the subject like has changed I'll at least move this to the right forum for you, which may increase your chances of getting assistance.

OErian tried to help and asked what computer you have, but you dodged the queston and only said a "standard PC". If you give more information you will likely get higher quality resonses. If it's a major make and model PC then give that information. If it's a computer assembled by a small shop or that you or a friend assembled yourself (which is great), then Information on the motherboard used, the CPU, the video card and the memory would help. Even knowing just the age of the system and the amount of memory could help. If it's too old of a system and has too little memory you might not have enough memory to run the GUI and the command prompt is the best that Knoppix can do. More likely there is an issue with your video card and knowing what that is would help a lot.

Without that information we can suggest that you follow the Documentation link near the top of this page and try reading the section of "Cheat codes". These are boot commands that try to help guide Knoppix past some of the hardware detection at boot time. There are a few that deal with video that you could try to force a video mode. You might also want to use the expert cheat code to step through the boot process section by section to see if you can spot what it is saying about your video system and why it can't seem to start the graphical interface. And you might as well look at the testcd code to check that CD, just to be sure that you have a burn that is reading properly (if you have any negative results with testcd then read the Downloading FAQ).

[dpolizzi]

ok i have a clone with an asus motherboard, with pentium iv chip set, g-force 2 video card.

[Harry Kuhman]

ok i have a clone with an asus motherboard, with pentium iv chip set, g-force 2 video card.
Well, I can tell you from experience that I've had Knoppix work fine on a GForce 2 card (and on a GForce 3). Never any issues like you have with either. Asus makes fine boards and without on-board video issues I don't anticipate that being your problem. You didn't say how much memory but If it's 128meg or more that certainly isn't the issue, I would expect the GUI to come up even with 96, and 64 meg could be a problem but the GUI could still come up if you let Knoppix make a swap file.

I'm back to the thought of reading the cheat codes section on the expert cheat code and stepping through the boot process to see if you can spot any problem.

[ckamin]

dpolizzi,
I'm do apologize if my post upset you or added to the level of your frustration. I was not trying to be rude or mean, but in order to get the help you are looking for, it is important that your post makes sense to the people that may be able to assist you. Your subject line and category are now correct and hopefully someone will be able to provide an answer to your dilemma since the subject line now gives someone an idea of what your problem is, right from the index pages. Someone may ask a question that may not make a lot of sense to you, but the information may be part of the key to resolving your issue. It is important that you provide as much detail as you can regarding things such as hardware, software versions, cheatcodes used, etc. Now to look at your problem booting Knoppix. I might not be able to provide THE answer, but I might be able to help you better identify the root cause of the concern so someone with more experience might be able to pick up on it.

By the way, your boyfriend is right about Knoppix. It's pretty good and usually works rather well. BUT...when it doesn't, there is sometimes a bit of work in resolving the cause. Many times it's a simple fix or workaround, but it may take a little effort to get there. The hard part is identifying exactly what is going on. It's like telling a doctor you don't feel good and just give you something to make it better. He/she would need to know a little more about what the problem is before giving out cures. Posting a question in this, or any forum needs to be done accurately in order for the right people to see AND understand your post. Starting a post in the wrong category is like going to an opthamologist when your foot hurts. There are a lot of dedicated people that give their time freely in order to resolve problems for other posters. I'm certain that others, like myself, are only interested in being certain that your problem is properly addressed and hopefully resolved. So PLEASE don't get discouraged and give up until you have at least been able to give it a good try.


I cant figure out how to get past the black boot screen..Last line says root@tty1[/]# What command do I need to type in to get to the desktop so I can use the internet browser and other things.
Does your system boot up to this point every time? Are you typing "startx" at that point and trying to continue booting? If that is the case, we need to determine why your machine gets to that prompt in the first place, since it is not normal to get that prompt while booting Knoppix in a normal fashion. What is the first "Knoppix" screen that comes up after you turn your system on? Is a graphic Knoppix "Desktop-Like"page that has what could be described as a "command line prompt" near the bottom left? Do you enter a cheat code or hit enter at that point and THEN get to the "root@tty1[/]#" prompt later on?

A few quick questions just to make certain we did not pass over some of the basics either:

Are you certain that the disc you have is good? Was the iso file verified before burning the disc? How was the iso obtained, IE BitTorrent, FTP download, HTTP Download? If you are uncertain about this, there is a wealth of information in the downloading faqs at the following link: http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/Downloading_FAQ It is ABSOLUTELY essential that we know if the disc is error free before we look elsewhere or waste your time jumping through hoops that don't work. If you have another Knoppix disc that is KNOWN to be correct, you might try to use it in place of the one you have used.

Did the system ever boot with a PREVIOUS version of Knoppix like 3.8.2, 3.7, or 3.6?

You had mentioned that the system had issues and needed to be fixed? Are you certain that there are no Hardware concerns that need to be corrected before ANY operating system will work? Bad memory, motherboard chipsets, drive cables/controllers, and many other components can cause problems booting or installing ANY operating system.

If we knew a little more background on the problem and if you can give us a little information regarding the questions above, I or someone else might be able to identify where to go next with this.

[zechsatreus]

I'm having a problem like this with Knoppix 3.8

I checked the MD5 hash and it checked out. I'm running a Geforce FX 5200. I only bring up the video card because I can run Knoppix 3.2 and there is a difference that I have noticed on boot. When 3.8 recognizes the card, it loads XFree(nv) (*or something like this*) while 3.2 has XFree(vesa).

Could this be what is fouling up the Xserver?

[ckamin]

I'm having a problem like this with Knoppix 3.8
I don't really think your problem is caused by the same issues as the original poster here. (At least I HOPE not!)

Look at the cheatcodes section under the documentation located here: http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/Cheat_Codes Pay attention to this line especially:
xmodule=ati|radeon|fbdev|vesa|savage|s3|nv|i810|mg a|svga|tseng
Use specified XFree4-Module
Or this one:
xserver=XFree86|XF86_SVGA
Use specified X-Server
I would try "knoppix xmodule=svga" or "knoppix xmodule=vesa" or "knoppix xmodule=nv" to see what happens. You can experiment with others that may appear relevant to your concern. You can try the failsafe mode, expert, etc.

I would strongly recommend that you do a search of the forums, since many booting issues have been addressed before. You will probably save some time if you were to better describe your concern. I have no idea what your system does, that has caused you to post and ask for help. I can only assume that the system stops booting at some point and gives some strange error messages, since that was the original posters concern.

If you fix your problem, it would be of service to post what the fix was, so we have that information for the next time someone posts a similar issue.