Hardware Problem

**Labiadh** · 05-15-2006, 12:48 PM

I got copy of Knoppix ver 4.0.2. The CD works properly on my DELL desktop but does not work on my ACER MATE 4104WLMi laptop. The system prompts correctly for boot but nothing appears on the screen after ENTER key is entered.

**Harry Kuhman** · 05-15-2006, 07:51 PM

Originally Posted by Labiadh

I got copy of Knoppix.....

We can't be sure of the problem from what was posted, but here are some things to consider:

Just because the disc worked OK on one system does not mean it is a good burn and will properly work on any system. We see many reports of discs that were burnt at high speed doing exactly this. I can't say if your disc was burnt at high speed or not, or even if it was if that is the problem, but it is something that you should be aware of.

Often certain hardware need a "cheat code" to help Knoppix in the hardware detection process. Follow the Documentation link near the top of this page and read the wiki section on Cheat Codes. Common ones that people often use include acpi=off and dma, but read the section and see what you thing might help in your case.

The failsafe cheat code might help. It's not the way that you will want to run Knoppix (too much is disconnected this way), but it might tell you something about your boot problem just to try it.

In cases lie this I like to try to boot in expert mode, and make notes about each question asked and how I answer it. I try changing my answer to the last question asked before the boot process fails.

And worth mentioning, if you type memtest (not knoppix memtest) at the boot prompt you will run memtest86, a well respected memory test program. It has on occasion found memory problems for some users that stop booting at this point.

The boot line knoppix testcd is often used to check the burnt CD, but in your case I don't think knoppix is going to make enough boot progress to run the CD check.

**Labiadh** · 05-22-2006, 05:51 PM

OK Harry. I've run "knoppix noapic" successfully. What hardware checking was skipped? Regards.

**Harry Kuhman** · 05-22-2006, 09:25 PM

Originally Posted by Labiadh

OK Harry. I've run "knoppix noapic" successfully. What hardware checking was skipped? Regards.

noapic? I'm not sure. apic stands for Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller. Follow the link for more details. I was suggesting noacpi, which deals with Advanced Configuration and Power Interface, a different beast. But I'm glad you found something that works.

**Labiadh** · 05-23-2006, 05:00 AM

:P
1 - noapic is a cheat code reported as below:

"noapic noagp noapm nodma nomce nofirewire nopcmcia noscsi noswap nousb nosmp noaudio
Skip parts of Hardware-detection, In case of a failing hardware autodetection, try booting with any of the "no-" options as shown in the table above, like in knoppix noagp noapm noapic nodma nopcmcia noscsi nousb to skip some critical parts of the autodetection system. The "noswap" option is useful for a forensic analysis without touching existing swap partitions."

Is it equivalent to "apic=off"?

2 - How long does testmem take? It seems to me this test did not work properly as I escaped from the test after almost 1 hour (pass #4 was going on at that time) and I could not believe it was OK though no error was reported.
Any idea?
Regards

**Harry Kuhman** · 05-23-2006, 05:29 AM

1. I pretty much told you all I knew about these and gave you links above. Try Google for more information.

2. memtest (not testmem) runs as long as you will let it. It's a program called memtest86, and has some options to run different tests that affect how long each pass takes (as does, obviously, the processor used and the amount and type of memory). I'm not clear at all why you say you don't believe it. Again, memtest86 should get you a lot of information if used as a Google search term.