Problems booting, installing Puppy from CD

Booting, installing, newbie
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rfmjm3
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Joined: Fri 11 Jan 2013, 05:25

Problems booting, installing Puppy from CD

#1 Post by rfmjm3 »

I'm on like my 4th or 5th install of a different os on this machine, i had win 98 on it to see if it was stable, all was good, i let it run for a day while i checked out different pieces of hardware i have laying around so i can sort through the trash. i had no intention of staying with win 98 i plan to make this little machine a nas server of sorts. i have a nas200 that just stopped responding i fooled around with it but im just gonna salvage the hd's and move on its dated and slow. i installed ubuntu and well its was way to high on system resources so i had to find another distro. my pc is and athlon 650 with over 500 megs of ram, 4 hard drives, intel pro 100 nic, cant remme the video i believe geforce agp nothing fancy. i tried puppy linux from the cd and after installing a good bit the screen just goes blank, the machine is on, no error mesages, it doesnt respond, i rebooted and eventuallly i get back to a blank screen. i went through the walk through and it looks nothing like his screen shots. i get no options just watch it go. i am making an iso of the version he uses in the tutorial here. ill give that a shot. is there any list of hardware that does not play well with puppy? should i go with a different linux to be a nas?

http://fermatslastspreadsheet.com/2012/ ... or-coding/

i found a version of puppy with ubuntu ( gosh i hope this is right) and did a live install and it went through fine, i partitioned a drive and formatted it, i believe i chose to install puppy on one of the partitions but after i rebooted the pc froze up, so i'm stuck again. i put the cd back in but no dice, its stops with a message about the nic link is up at full duplex 100 Mbps. looks like more tooling around.

it looks like its video related "x failed to start" ugh

aight im back in with an ati rage pro 128, i tried several other nvdia cards and they didnt boot all the way geforce 6200 and mx 440.

still looks like a slow boot up so its still going from the cd, whatever i did to make it boot from HD i did wrong.

scratch that locked up at desktop no response from key or mouse

Mercedes350se
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Re: Problems booting, installing Puppy from CD

#2 Post by Mercedes350se »

rfmjm3 wrote: ... i tried puppy linux from the cd ...
Did everything run correctly using the LiveCD?

If not , start with a minimum of hardware and if all is good then add the extra hardware one piece at a time so that you can determine what hardware is causing the problem(s).

Sort these problems before doing an install to the HD.

Dewbie

#3 Post by Dewbie »

rfmjm3 wrote:
my pc is and athlon 650
im back in with an ati rage pro 128
Try Wary:
http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/
It's a special build of Puppy, optimized for older hardware.
(If the video still gives you problems, try Xvesa instead of Xorg).

rfmjm3
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri 11 Jan 2013, 05:25

#4 Post by rfmjm3 »

ive used 3 different video cards and 3 different nic cards and 3 different cd rom droves and 4 different hard drives. it was a very long day. as for testing each piece how am i going to know if its bad if the pc just locks up, it could be a driver issue in some cases. some errors are fairly clear others are not so. im considering using a pci video card just to get it going but will it mess up as soon as i switch back and how will i install drivers if that is the issue? is there some log file i could post ? where is it and how do i get it ? thanks for your help

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`f00
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#5 Post by `f00 »

@rfmjm3

Second Dewbie's suggestion to try Wary, and further to try older releases° (not just the latest!) - as for installing (frugal or otherwise to hdd), it may be simpler to go with a liveCD multisession since that keeps everything on disc (assuming the optical burner is in good shape, bios is correctly set to boot from disc first and so on).

A possibility with some newer releases on older display hwr (especially precise, etc) is to use a bootcode (after the bootsplash). If you're still using the ati rage pro 128,

Code: Select all

puppy radeon.modeset=0
might help - if so, you can edit /etc/modprobe.d/radeon.conf to modeset=0 so you don't need to use the bootcode to get a usable display every time you boot. Similar bootcodes should be available for nvidea but they differ somewhat..

One of the easiest logfiles to remember is /tmp/xerrs.log and it usually gives some hints as to what may be failing (as a starting point, anyway) - use mp (or similar) cli text editor if you cannot get to a desktop environment

hth & welcome to the pldf :)

° if I recall correctly, somewhere back in time many Pups had the Xvesa kdrive server as an alternative to Xorg (mostly in 4 series and earlier)

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bigpup
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#6 Post by bigpup »

Start with the setup that gave you this:
i had win 98 on it to see if it was stable, all was good,
The things they do not tell you, are usually the clue to solving the problem.
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected :shock:
YaPI(any iso installer)

rfmjm3
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Joined: Fri 11 Jan 2013, 05:25

replying to several ppl at once here

#7 Post by rfmjm3 »

ill start there, well actually i did that and just switched the os to linux and that is when i discovered the issues so my knee jerk reaction was to swap out the video card, i don't have sound or modem, a few questions pop up when i think of this direction.

system requirements and drivers. win 98 was a little more forgiving on raid controllers, this PC has a quantum fireball which as soon as you hear it sounds like a scuzzi controller (sp??) idk if that matters. i have other hard drives, i can test with but if it doesn't use em does it matter?

also i noticed it has a 200 watt PS, i swapped it out for a 400 watt.

i don't know how to edit files in Linux and prolly couldn't navigate to them. but i didn't think the HD was used anyways on a live install.

as for video here is my selection geforce 6200 256 mb (agp), geforce 4 mx 440 128 MB (agp), aopen mx 400 64 MB( agp), pa50v (agp), geforce fx6200LP (agp), ASUS v7100 (agp), sp 6800 WTF that is (agp), ATI rage pro with or without tv tuner, s3 (pci)

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bigpup
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#8 Post by bigpup »

First,
Not all versions of Puppy work on all hardware.
Older hardware works best with older versions or versions of Puppy made for older hardware.
Wary
Lucid Puppy 528.005
Classic Pup 2.14X
any of the newer Puppy versions that have a retro version.

If you run from a live CD of the Puppy version you can play with it and not install to computer.
However, if you make a save file for the live CD, that save file will have specific settings and setup info for the hardware at the time the save file was made.
You change the hardware and it may or may not work using that save file.

You can clean boot a live CD by using the boot option puppy pfix=ram.
At boot screen hit F2 key to input options.
This keeps any save files from being used, but it will boot like a new boot with no saved settings.

If you do an install of Puppy, to say a hard drive, that install is setup for the hardware at the time of install.
Changing hardware may or may not work with the installed Puppy setup and settings.
Easy thing is redo install.

Point is, any time you change hardware, Puppy settings may be looking for something different, and so it will have problems.

Some of those graphics cards are old.
The only graphics driver that has a good chance of working is the Vesa driver.
Some Puppy versions will default to it, some will not.

To force Vesa driver at boot:
At the boot screen hit F2.
Add the command puppy pfix=nox
This will get you to a prompt.
Type xorgwizard at the prompt.
Select the vesa driver.
set resolution.
run test to see if it works.
finish xorgwizard.
back at prompt.
Type xwin
should see desktop.
The things they do not tell you, are usually the clue to solving the problem.
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected :shock:
YaPI(any iso installer)

rfmjm3
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri 11 Jan 2013, 05:25

back in business (somewhat)

#9 Post by rfmjm3 »

ok went back to original hardware minus sound card and nic's

tested 3 hd's before i found one that was flawless
stayed with orginal PW since it worked before.

so i got into win 98se fine, only issue is no pci bridge driver and after it was working i added a nic and it installed fine but no lights no connectivity.

next step add slacko puppy it installs fine however i never get a dual boot option. i either get windows or if i put in the cd i get puppy even though after running puppy from cd then choosing to save it to the hard drive. it detects the nic card np. lights and all good.

so at this point both os have some hick up. thank you all. I'm thinking since puppy has net access i should like possibly do updates or look for drivers that way but i don't know how to find the repository thing.

and can i get windows drivers and save them in a location retrievable from windows?

thank you all again ill keep plugging.
Last edited by rfmjm3 on Tue 15 Jan 2013, 06:41, edited 1 time in total.

rfmjm3
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri 11 Jan 2013, 05:25

ps

#10 Post by rfmjm3 »

pigpup what video card has the vesa driver?

rfmjm3
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri 11 Jan 2013, 05:25

to all

#11 Post by rfmjm3 »

i've been instructed to use an older version of puppy os some os because it works better with older equipment. I'm ok with that its just I"m getting too many different opinions. I don't know enough about Linux to get email let alone install or choose one of the bazillion flavors. someone decide for me.

remme its going to be a nas server/ media server for music, movies, backups, as long as its taking up space we can surf with it too, let the grans play net games.



thank you all again

oh one other thing if i need to edit some file, please walk me through it or point me to where i can go and do that task, its not DOS, grep is Greek to me.

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bigpup
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#12 Post by bigpup »

next step add slacko puppy it installs fine however i never get a dual boot option.
You need to run the bootloader config program to install a bootloader. This will give you a boot menu to choose which OS to boot to.
Running from the Puppy live CD
Run the program Grub4dos Bootloader config.
Usually found in menu->System->
The default options usually work.
pigpup what video card has the vesa driver
They should all work with the vesa driver.
The vesa driver is a generic driver that provides the basic graphic support built into all graphics hardware. It will not provide any hardware specific added functions. That is only provided by manufactures specific graphics drivers.
Good thing is, it usually gets you up and running.
After that, finding a better driver is an option.

What version of Puppy to use is really up to you.
Slacko is good, if it works OK.
Another version may work better. Each version of Puppy is different in some way.
That is Linux. Choices.
I personally like Lucid Puppy 528.005plus
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=70855
The things they do not tell you, are usually the clue to solving the problem.
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected :shock:
YaPI(any iso installer)

rfmjm3
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri 11 Jan 2013, 05:25

woot

#13 Post by rfmjm3 »

I'm in and followed your instructions for the boot loader. everything is slow. looking at smokeis tutorial/ help file ATM. have to get use to the single clicking I'm opening up two of everything. even typing is slow. i believe I'm using slacko puppy version 5.2 but don't quote me.

thanks again

rfmjm3
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri 11 Jan 2013, 05:25

this is all hosed up now

#14 Post by rfmjm3 »

tried the grubfor whatever to fix the boot loader and no dice still have to have cd in drive to boot up at all

i have 2 versions of windows partially installed now and one full install and cant get to any of them.

after an hour or so i finally got java installed so i could go to nvidia website to update the video drivers and i get a list of nothing that says puppy linux.

this is more like windows that i care to remember what a nightmare.

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bigpup
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#15 Post by bigpup »

after an hour or so i finally got java installed so i could go to nvidia website to update the video drivers and i get a list of nothing that says puppy linux.
There should be Nvidia drivers in the Puppy Package Manager. Try them.

The stuff for Linux, on Nvidia's web site, needs to be compiled for the specific version of Linux, to be used.
At this point in your knowledge of Linux and Puppy a little hard for you to do.

tried the grubfor whatever to fix the boot loader and no dice still have to have cd in drive to boot up at all
Give specific details on what is happening
You do what?
You see what?

The details are the clues to the answer to problem. General statements tell us nothing.

Mouse click option double or single click.
Right click on any desktop icon.
ROX-filler->options->Pinboard->Pinboard Behaviour
Uncheck single-click to open.
The things they do not tell you, are usually the clue to solving the problem.
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected :shock:
YaPI(any iso installer)

rfmjm3
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri 11 Jan 2013, 05:25

reply

#16 Post by rfmjm3 »

ill look for the nvidia drivers,

as for the boot messages

without the cd i get a blue screen with a choice of windows or puppy when puppy loads i see a message


setting root to hd0,0
file system type is ext2fs

then
1.639138 kernel panic - not syncing: vfs: unable to mount boot fs on unknown block
few more lines like that then a blinking curser and its locked up

with the disk

it boots into puppy

windows is no longer a working option.

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