newbie question first knoppix download

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01-13-2008, 03:15 AM
kcs636

newbie question first knoppix download

dell xps 200 with c:\windows\system32\config\system missing or corruption message.

my first download of Knoppix, i got the 5.1 osi
created a cd (read some posts, yes i have multiple files and folders)

went into bios changed to 'onboard or usb cd-rom' as the boot sequence.
i have tried removing the others and re ordering. when all others are
removed and the new cd is inserted, pc restarted and it tries to boot the new
disk from cd...

No boot device available.

is this a problem with my internal cd drive or something with this new disk i created?
if i double click a txt file on the new cd like d:\KNOPPIX\LICENSE.txt (in my problem free pc)
'cannot open......make sure a disk is in the drive you specified' do i need any other permissions with
my new knoppix disk?

thanks in advance
01-13-2008, 05:12 AM
kcs636

Re: newbie question first knoppix download

as a followup i created a 3.9 knoppix disk and the cd sees it. it flashes
isolinux ...... and a version at the top right away, and then the screen stays dark....

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcs636

dell xps 200 with c:\windows\system32\config\system missing or corruption message.

my first download of Knoppix, i got the 5.1 osi
created a cd (read some posts, yes i have multiple files and folders)

went into bios changed to 'onboard or usb cd-rom' as the boot sequence.
i have tried removing the others and re ordering. when all others are
removed and the new cd is inserted, pc restarted and it tries to boot the new
disk from cd...

No boot device available.

is this a problem with my internal cd drive or something with this new disk i created?
if i double click a txt file on the new cd like d:\KNOPPIX\LICENSE.txt (in my problem free pc)
'cannot open......make sure a disk is in the drive you specified' do i need any other permissions with
my new knoppix disk?

thanks in advance
01-13-2008, 05:48 AM
Harry Kuhman

Quite frankly, I've read your post a few times and can't quite figure out what you are asking.

Here's what I can tell you:

If the disc that you made will not boot in either computer, and I think that's the case from what I read but am not sure, it is very likely bad.

You didn't download an osi, although there is a good chance that you downloaded an iso.

Everything that you should need to know is in the downloading faq, see answer #1.
01-13-2008, 06:21 AM
kcs636

i get a different result now by using 3.9 versus 5.1. starts to read and flashes
isolinux 2.04 (debian.....) copyright....

and then nothing. nothing appears in the screen and i assume it should.

so perhaps i'm passed the download issue, but i don't know if something should
come up right away or i should wait a long long time.

since i got different result from 3.9 and 5.1 perhaps i'll download another iso and try
a different version.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry Kuhman

Quite frankly, I've read your post a few times and can't quite figure out what you are asking.

Here's what I can tell you:

If the disc that you made will not boot in either computer, and I think that's the case from what I read but am not sure, it is very likely bad.

You didn't download an osi, although there is a good chance that you downloaded an iso.

Everything that you should need to know is in the downloading faq, see answer #1.
01-13-2008, 06:44 AM
Harry Kuhman

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcs636

i get a different result now by using 3.9 versus 5.1. starts to read and flashes
isolinux 2.04 (debian.....) copyright....

and then nothing. nothing appears in the screen and i assume it should.

Well, it would seem most likely that something other than a blank screen is the desired end goal. But the blank screen you describe is not something all that rare. The Cheat Codes mentioned in the downloading faq may be what you need. But I'm still wondering what happens when you try to boot the CD on the other computer that you mentioned.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcs636

so perhaps i'm passed the download issue, but i don't know if something should
come up right away or i should wait a long long time.

Booting generally takes two or three minutes, may be faster on a very fast system or somewhat slower on a memory starved system(less that 128 meg). High speed burns, when they boot at all, can cause slow booting as well. There was someone on the site a few years ago who mentioned booting taking about 5 minutes. After I convinced them to read the downloading faq and burn the disc slowly they reported that their boot time dropped to about 2 minutes. From what you have said I'm not at all clear if you are past the download issues or not. It sounds like you are using mirrors (although I have no idea where you found a copy of 3.9) and that you are not checking the md5 checksum. So I would think that you have still not read the downloading faq or decided to just ignore things in it. I could be wrong.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcs636

since i got different result from 3.9 and 5.1 perhaps i'll download another iso and try
a different version.

Hardly seems reasonable. If the md5 checksum is correct then the download was good. If it is bad then the download was bad. You can check that much faster than you can download a new ISO, even if you have to learn about md5 first. And checking the md5 checksum is always important if you use a mirror rather than BitTorrent. Not sure why you have 5.1 rather than 5.1.1 (suspect you might even have 5.1.1), but downloading more versions rather than understanding what you are doing doesn't make much sense. However, if you must download another version and you plan to try using a wireless connection, I suggest getting 4.02, wireless worked much better in that version than in 5.x versions.
01-13-2008, 08:02 AM
kcs636

the md5's match up for all my downloads. i thought the cheat codes were used once i had
boot> or boot: type prompt. this does sound logical that perhaps there some type of
vga or screen issue. i just haven't figured out how to enter a code before it boots to the blank
screen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry Kuhman

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcs636

i get a different result now by using 3.9 versus 5.1. starts to read and flashes
isolinux 2.04 (debian.....) copyright....

and then nothing. nothing appears in the screen and i assume it should.

Well, it would seem most likely that something other than a blank screen is the desired end goal. But the blank screen you describe is not something all that rare. The Cheat Codes mentioned in the downloading faq may be what you need. But I'm still wondering what happens when you try to boot the CD on the other computer that you mentioned.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcs636

so perhaps i'm passed the download issue, but i don't know if something should
come up right away or i should wait a long long time.

Booting generally takes two or three minutes, may be faster on a very fast system or somewhat slower on a memory starved system(less that 128 meg). High speed burns, when they boot at all, can cause slow booting as well. There was someone on the site a few years ago who mentioned booting taking about 5 minutes. After I convinced them to read the downloading faq and burn the disc slowly they reported that their boot time dropped to about 2 minutes. From what you have said I'm not at all clear if you are past the download issues or not. It sounds like you are using mirrors (although I have no idea where you found a copy of 3.9) and that you are not checking the md5 checksum. So I would think that you have still not read the downloading faq or decided to just ignore things in it. I could be wrong.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcs636

since i got different result from 3.9 and 5.1 perhaps i'll download another iso and try
a different version.

Hardly seems reasonable. If the md5 checksum is correct then the download was good. If it is bad then the download was bad. You can check that much faster than you can download a new ISO, even if you have to learn about md5 first. And checking the md5 checksum is always important if you use a mirror rather than BitTorrent. Not sure why you have 5.1 rather than 5.1.1 (suspect you might even have 5.1.1), but downloading more versions rather than understanding what you are doing doesn't make much sense. However, if you must download another version and you plan to try using a wireless connection, I suggest getting 4.02, wireless worked much better in that version than in 5.x versions.
01-13-2008, 08:22 AM
Harry Kuhman

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcs636

the md5's match up for all my downloads.

Great. Downloads are good. As long as burnt slowly, as an image, and onto 700 meg media rather than 650, the CDs should be good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcs636

i thought the cheat codes were used once i had
boot> or boot: type prompt. ...

There should be a boot prompt screen as soon as the CD boots. I don't know of any problems others have had getting this far. You can hit f2 at this point and should get a help screen. If you hit enter or just wait about 30 seconds the boot process continues. At that point there should be one or more little color penguins (one for each CPU core) and booting will start loading Linux, hardware detection and the rest. Again, just trying to boot a CD on the other computer that you mentioned would tell you a lot about what to expect and give you a much better idea of what you are working with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcs636

this does sound logical that perhaps there some type of vga or screen issue. ...

I'll agree it could be some very strange screen issue, but I can't think of another case where the CD was good, the computer could boot from CD and yet the user didn't get to the prompt. We see lots of problems after the boot prompt, but seldom if ever before.

One more thought. Could it be that you do indeed have a boot promp, but that your monitor settings are such that it is below the bottom of the visable screen? Try hitting F2 about 15-20 seconds after you boot the CD to see if you get the help screen.
01-13-2008, 09:29 PM
kcs636

thanks for your help. not exactly sure what i different today (rather than sleep a little)
but 4.02 gives me a boot prompt right away. next i'll look for a FAQ for trying to as much
data off the suspect HD to USB external HD now....

thanks again.,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry Kuhman

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcs636

the md5's match up for all my downloads.

Great. Downloads are good. As long as burnt slowly, as an image, and onto 700 meg media rather than 650, the CDs should be good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcs636

i thought the cheat codes were used once i had
boot> or boot: type prompt. ...

There should be a boot prompt screen as soon as the CD boots. I don't know of any problems others have had getting this far. You can hit f2 at this point and should get a help screen. If you hit enter or just wait about 30 seconds the boot process continues. At that point there should be one or more little color penguins (one for each CPU core) and booting will start loading Linux, hardware detection and the rest. Again, just trying to boot a CD on the other computer that you mentioned would tell you a lot about what to expect and give you a much better idea of what you are working with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcs636

this does sound logical that perhaps there some type of vga or screen issue. ...

I'll agree it could be some very strange screen issue, but I can't think of another case where the CD was good, the computer could boot from CD and yet the user didn't get to the prompt. We see lots of problems after the boot prompt, but seldom if ever before.

One more thought. Could it be that you do indeed have a boot promp, but that your monitor settings are such that it is below the bottom of the visable screen? Try hitting F2 about 15-20 seconds after you boot the CD to see if you get the help screen.