Full install not ok, only black Grub screen

Booting, installing, newbie
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olewilly
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Joined: Mon 16 Jan 2006, 19:13
Location: sonderborg, dk

Full install not ok, only black Grub screen

#1 Post by olewilly »

Hi

I have made a full install on many boxes but this time I do not succeed. Every time I think that it is ok, when I try to boot from hd I end with a black screen with only GRUB :?: :?:

What to do then :?:

The PC is a Compaq Deskpro EN with 384Mb ram and I have previously had Puppy Lucid 528 installed :!:

OW

starhawk
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#2 Post by starhawk »

Which Puppy (-ies?) are you using?

Have you tried the (much simpler to use) grub4DOS instead?

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olewilly
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Location: sonderborg, dk

#3 Post by olewilly »

Hi starhawk

I am trying again with Puppy Lucid 528.005
In moment from cd,
Here is what /boot/grub/menu.lst says:

# GRUB configuration file '/boot/grub/menu.lst'.
# generated by 'grubconfig'. Fri Oct 5 17:13:10 2012
#
# Start GRUB global section
timeout 3
color light-gray/blue black/light-gray
# End GRUB global section
# Linux bootable partition config begins
title Linux (on /dev/sda1)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda1 ro vga=normal
# Linux bootable partition config ends
title Install GRUB to floppy disk (on /dev/fd0)
pause Insert a formatted floppy disk and press enter.
root (hd0,0)
setup (fd0)
pause Press enter to continue.
title Install GRUB to Linux partition (on /dev/sda1)
root (hd0,0)
setup (hd0,0)
pause Press enter to continue.
title - For help press 'c', then type: 'help'
root (hd0)
title - For usage examples, type: 'cat /boot/grub/usage.txt'
root (hd0)

No, I have only tried GRUB after I have used gparted and sat the boot flag.

OW
Success is not more !
Success is better !

starhawk
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#4 Post by starhawk »

Try grub4dos. I think only people who have enough conviction in their beliefs can get "real GRUB" to work ;) I've had it happen exactly once.

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rcrsn51
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#5 Post by rcrsn51 »

@olewilly: Does your /boot/grub folder also have the files named stage1 and stage2?

If so, open a terminal and type:

Code: Select all

grub
root (hd0,0)
setup (hd0)
quit

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olewilly
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Location: sonderborg, dk

#6 Post by olewilly »

Hi

I used grub4dos for the first time. I got another start screen. But I have a boot problem. I am met with a message stating there is no hd. :?: Press F1 to save changes. Exit and next boot says my cd and hd have been discovered and press F1 to save :?:

rcrsn51 -- I tried Your receipt and now the start screen I am familiar with came up but I still have the above trouble :?:

OW
Success is not more !
Success is better !

starhawk
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#7 Post by starhawk »

What system is this? How old?

Do you at any time notice a clicking sound coming from the hard drive?

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olewilly
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Location: sonderborg, dk

#8 Post by olewilly »

starhawk


Summary
Computer
Processor Pentium III (Coppermine)
Memory 384MB (81MB used)
Operating System Unknown distribution
User Name root (root)
Date/Time fre 05 okt 2012 21:40:51 CEST
Display
Resolution 1280x1024 pixels
OpenGL Renderer Mesa DRI i815 20050821 x86/MMX/SSE
X11 Vendor The X.Org Foundation
Multimedia
Audio Adapter ICH - Intel 82801BA-ICH2
Input Devices
AT Translated Set 2 keyboard
PC Speaker
Microsoft Basic Optical Mouse
Printers (CUPS)
CUPS-PDF
pdf_writer Default
SCSI Disks
ATA ST320414A
COMPAQ CRD-8481B


Old apparatus from 2000

OW

-- no click sound heard :idea:
Success is not more !
Success is better !

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rcrsn51
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Location: Stratford, Ontario

#9 Post by rcrsn51 »

Boot off the CD, run Gparted and see what it says about the hard drive.

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olewilly
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#10 Post by olewilly »

rcrsn51
Boot off the CD, run Gparted and see what it says about the hard drive.
I sat the cd in drive but as if the drive was not recognized it started normal this time on hd. :D

To be sure I tried once more and it worked :D :D

Thank You very much :)

OW
Success is not more !
Success is better !

starhawk
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#11 Post by starhawk »

I have a strong suspicion that you're going to be in the market for parts for that beastie soon -- something isn't right. Even on my oldest box (a 486) the drives are recognized instantly and without fail UNLESS there is a hardware problem.

You've got any one of the following (or --hopefully not-- a combination) to worry about:

- bad cable
- bad drive (hard drive or optical drive)
- bad drive controller on the motherboard

Cables and drives can be replaced easily, doubly so if you have a few to spare. CD drives are fungible, as are IDE ribbon cables (floppy cables are too, but IDE =/= floppy). Hard drives are generally fungible within their size categories. Brands don't matter really as much as people say they do.

That said, motherboard drive controller is a whole different creature. At that point, since most boards cannot boot from a PCI slot, and ISA is long gone (thankfully!) you're looking at a replacement motherboard. Unfortunately, you have either a very rare Compaq or an antique one. There are exactly three spare parts for your box on eBay and they are all optical drives.

Were it me, I'd go out and get a bigger hard drive (that 20gb Seagate you have is a bit cramped), a combo drive (reads and writes CDs but only reads DVDs) and if I could get one cheap that could fit, I'd upgrade everything else in the chassis.

...it also occurs to me that there is another point to consider. If you've never taken the time to dust this thing out, you could have a power supply that is about to die of heat stroke. 12 years of dust is not kind to a computer! Fortunately, a can of compressed air (or careful work with an air compressor) is a simple fix for all of this. Don't bother with vacuums -- the ones that are electronics-safe have no significant suction whatsoever, and the kind you use on your rug is most certainly deadly to computer components.

I'd definitely price a better power supply. You probably can be just fine with a 150-200w supply off another clunker as long as it's not too dusty. If you have to, go out and buy a new supply -- wattage doesn't matter, they don't make them low power enough anymore to be a concern. A new 500w power supply will barely notice the load from your box.

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