Dell optiplex GX280 wont boot from CD (Solved)

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canbyte
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Dell optiplex GX280 wont boot from CD (Solved)

#1 Post by canbyte »

It's a P4 2.8gHz 1g ram. (the machines in my sig are in cold storage at the moment)

It goes through all the normal steps ..... done ..... done ..... done .... etc.
Then just at the point where the screen would come to life .... it reverts to start of boot process again.....
and again....

EDIT - i removed a flash drive with a slacko_save file on it. 421 started up ok and also 511 so maybe that's the fix at least for now. I tried 543 again but it hung while trying to load kernel modules. end edit. .....

So far I've tried 531 slacko and 543 precise.


It's does run XP ok with nvidia card for dual screen.

I've been told that this machine is susceptible to burned out capacitors on the motherboard. I mention this because while trying to get Puppy to run dual screen on another old machine, (IBM net vista) a capacitor did blow out). I can't afford to blow up this machine, at least not till after tax time!

So.... maybe it doesn't like booting Puppy and I should leave well enough alone? No point getting Puppy to run without the dual screen (I'm spoiled!) and the nvidia card does seem to be more difficult for Puppy to run than other video cards.


Thanks in advance for any suggestions.... edit - .... regarding getting 543 or 531 operation!! Meantime, i'll just 511 - although it runs noisier which bothers me because of the above concern re burning capacitors.

Cheers
Last edited by canbyte on Thu 14 Mar 2013, 19:13, edited 3 times in total.
[color=orange]1. Dell Dimension E521, AMD Athln 64, 2 GHz 1.93GB ram,
Puppy 533 on CD, accesses flash drive only,
FFox Nightly12.0
2. Compaq P3 733Hz 375RAM
Printer: Oki C3400 > LAN [/color]

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bigpup
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#2 Post by bigpup »

Try this:
Boot with the Live CD.
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.

You can also try one of these boot options:

puppy pfix=ram i915.modeset=0
puppy pfix=ram radeon.modeset=0
puppy pfix=ram nouveau.modeset=0

depending on your graphics card of course.
NB:
i915 is for intel
radeon is for radeon
nouveau is for nvidia
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)

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tallboy
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#3 Post by tallboy »

I have had problems with the Dell Optiplex P4 series too. I came across an article somwhere(?) sometime(?) that mentioned that some of the problems were caused by the Dell bios. A new bios for the Dells were not available at first, but then, for a short time, Dell PCs were available with the choice of pre-installed Linux (Ubuntu?), and I think they updated and made a new bios available for free download after that. Check if you can find one in Dells repos, I have not done it myself (yet).

If you download and upgrade the bios, please report back the result of your puppy installation. I am sure there are others that want a puppy for their silent running Optiplex!

tallboy
True freedom is a live Puppy on a multisession CD/DVD.

tytower

#4 Post by tytower »

Also following this . I have 6 Dell optiplex 740 / 745 all run OK with 5.4.3

From system info for what its worth
Computer
Processor 2x AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+
Memory 1942MB (229MB used)
Operating System Unknown distribution
User Name root (root)
Date/Time Sat 23 Feb 2013 07:55:04 PM EST
Display
Resolution 1280x1024 pixels
OpenGL Renderer Gallium 0.4 on NV4E
X11 Vendor The X.Org Foundation
Multimedia
Audio Adapter HDA-Intel - HDA NVidia
Last edited by tytower on Sat 23 Feb 2013, 22:16, edited 1 time in total.

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canbyte
Posts: 264
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Location: Hamilton, Canada

#5 Post by canbyte »

Thanks for all the suggestions. Unfortunately, nothing much so far. Bigpup's boot mods resulted in the same reboot problem (at the point it said ... loading kernel). Tallboy's suggestion is too scary for this noob - even if i knew how to change the bios, I would be very worried that XP would stop running. Maybe after tax time in May. I didn't see anything in system info but will edit later today to add this.

The 511 seems to be the best bet so far - it runs, albeit in vesa which I suspect won't support dual monitors. It (xorg.conf) seems to want to revert to the built-in ibm video instead of using the nvidia card, at least for monitor2, which so far hasn't come to life. I'll keep plugging away, though i've been hit by the flu bug so my apologies for being slower than usual.

Thanks all.

EDIT: per tytower's suggestion, here is some info from the hardinfo utility
-Display-
Resolution : 1024x768 pixels
Vendor : The X.Org Foundation
Version : 1.7.6
-Monitors-
Monitor 0 : 1024x768 pixels
-Extensions-
BIG-REQUESTS
Composite
DAMAGE
DOUBLE-BUFFER
DPMS
DRI2
Generic Event Extension
MIT-SCREEN-SAVER
MIT-SHM
RANDR
RECORD
RENDER
SECURITY
SHAPE
SYNC
X-Resource
XC-MISC
XFIXES
XFree86-VidModeExtension
XINERAMA
XInputExtension
XKEYBOARD
XTEST
XVideo
-OpenGL-
Vendor : Unknown
Renderer : Unknown
Version : Unknown
Direct Rendering : No

PCI devices
VGA compatible controller : nVidia Corporation G98 [GeForce 8400 GS] (rev a1) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
2nd EDIT: just tried 528. Even better, the 2nd screen briefly flickers during startup.
Last edited by canbyte on Mon 25 Feb 2013, 00:30, edited 1 time in total.
[color=orange]1. Dell Dimension E521, AMD Athln 64, 2 GHz 1.93GB ram,
Puppy 533 on CD, accesses flash drive only,
FFox Nightly12.0
2. Compaq P3 733Hz 375RAM
Printer: Oki C3400 > LAN [/color]

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bigpup
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Location: S.C. USA

#6 Post by bigpup »

You will need to get the Nvidia manufactures graphics driver loaded and used to get dual monitors. Vesa driver does not support dual monitors.

One thing that usually helps. If you have on board graphics and a separate Nvidia graphics card.
In bios, disable the on board graphics so only the Nvidia graphics card is working.
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)

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tallboy
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#7 Post by tallboy »

Hi Canbyte, take a look at the attached list of nvidia drivers/cards and links to their repo.

tallboy
Attachments
nvidia-supported-cards.txt.gz
(4.5 KiB) Downloaded 383 times
True freedom is a live Puppy on a multisession CD/DVD.

amigo
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Joined: Mon 02 Apr 2007, 06:52

#8 Post by amigo »

I have the exact same machine. The problem is with the video driver -one of the most notorious of all time. If you can, try to use an off-board card, but you will have to disable the on-board one in the BIOS -not hard.

Or, you need to disable compositing in the xorg.conf.
Here's a copy of my xorg.conf:

Code: Select all

Section "ServerLayout"
	Identifier     "X.org Configured"
	Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
	InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
	InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "Files"
	RgbPath      "/usr/share/X11/rgb"
	ModulePath   "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
	FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/TTF"
	FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/OTF"
	FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/Type1"
	FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/misc"
	FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled"
EndSection

Section "Module"
	Load  "dbe"
	Load  "extmod"
	Load  "GLcore"
	Load  "glx"
	Load  "dri"
	Load  "record"
	# Load  "xtrap"
	Load  "freetype"
	Load  "type1"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
    Option 	"AutoAddDevices"	"False"
	Option 	"AllowEmptyInput" "False"
	Option 	"AutoEnableDevices" "False"
	Option    "DontZap"       "false"
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
    Option      "Composite"     "Disable"
EndSection

Section "DRI"
	Mode	0666
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier  "Keyboard0"
	Driver      "kbd"
	Option       "XkbModel"  "pc105"
	Option       "XkbLayout"  "de,us"
	#Option "XkbVariant" ""
	Option 	"XkbOptions"	"terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier  "Mouse0"
	Driver      "mouse"
	Option	    "Protocol" "auto"
	Option	    "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
	Option	    "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
	#DisplaySize	  380   300	# mm
	Identifier   "Monitor0"
	VendorName   "GSM"
	ModelName    ""
 ### Comment all HorizSync and VertRefresh values to use DDC:
	HorizSync    30.0 - 83.0
	VertRefresh  56.0 - 75.0
	Option	    "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
        ### Available Driver options are:-
        ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>: "True"/"False",
        ### <string>: "String", <freq>: "<f> Hz/kHz/MHz"
        ### [arg]: arg optional
        #Option     "NoAccel"            	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "SWcursor"           	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "ColorKey"           	# <i>
        #Option     "CacheLines"         	# <i>
        #Option     "Dac6Bit"            	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "DRI"                	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "NoDDC"              	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "ShowCache"          	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "XvMCSurfaces"       	# <i>
        #Option     "PageFlip"           	# [<bool>]
	Identifier  "Card0"
	Driver      "intel"
	VendorName  "Intel Corporation"
	BoardName   "82845G/GL[Brookdale-G]/GE Chipset Integrated Graphics Device"
	BusID       "PCI:0:2:0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier "Screen0"
	Device     "Card0"
	Monitor    "Monitor0"
	DefaultDepth 16
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     1
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     4
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     8
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     15
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     16
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     24
	EndSubSection
EndSection


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canbyte
Posts: 264
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Location: Hamilton, Canada

#9 Post by canbyte »

Thanks for replies - lots to digest so i'll record & edit here as i go along.

Amigo - what Puppy are you running? I tried plunking in your xorg into mine (changing a few items such as monitor) but it seems very different than my xorg.conf. I'll post below what i tried. I did check the bios and found that it was set to look for a card.

Tallboy - Thanks for that file. Some questions -

* the first link given (murga) is for a topic related to puppy 528 (lupu). Right now, this machine is running on 511 wary. I have a copy of 528 somewhere so i'll try that b..EDIT <snip>
528 runs and shows promise. I hope nobody saw how my next question embarassed me (didn't read your links well enough!! It says to select nvidia-glx-sdl-295.33.sfs (UPDATE: 2012-04-06) :oops:

so that makes me look around and i see a bunch of nvidia related options in the pet manager and puppy package manager!! Too many choices for a noob so i'll try to carry on with this suggestion and put any further questions at bottom. .
end edit .......

I found my nVidia card (GEforce 8400GS) on the list 4 times. A note at the end says:
* If two IDs are listed, the first ID is the PCI Device ID and the second ID
is the PCI Subsystem Device ID.

example for first finding:
NVIDIA GPU product Device PCI ID* VDPAU features
GeForce 8400 GS 0x0404 A
so where do i put that info? ..... or how does that indicate the correct file to use.


So while I follow up on the basic instructions, I'll be wondering how to fit that thought into the xorg file?? or should it all 'just work'?

Here's the xorg.conf setup i tried using amigo's format - no luck though.
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "X.org Configured"
Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0
InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "kbd"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc102"
Option "XkbLayout" "dvorak" #xkeymap0
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse0"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2" #mouse0protocol
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
#Option "Emulate3Buttons"
#Option "Emulate3Timeout" "50"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5" #scrollwheel
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
Option "AutoAddDevices" "False"
Option "AllowEmptyInput" "False"
Option "AutoEnableDevices" "False"
Option "DontZap" "false"
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
Option "Composite" "Disable"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "Monitor Model"
HorizSync 31.5-48.5
VertRefresh 40-70
#UseModes "Modes0" #monitor0usemodes
Option "PreferredMode" "1024x768"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor1"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "Monitor Model"
HorizSync 31.5-48.5
VertRefresh 40-70
#UseModes "Modes0" #monitor0usemodes
Option "PreferredMode" "1024x768"
EndSection

Section "Modes"
Identifier "Modes0"
#modes0modeline0
EndSection


Section "Device"
Identifier "Card0"
Driver "nv" #card0driver
VendorName "nVidia Corporation"
BoardName "nvidia 8400 gs"
BusID "PCI:6:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 16
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 16
Modes "1024x768"
EndSubSection
Monitor "Monitor1"
DefaultDepth 16
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 16
Modes "1024x768"
EndSubSection
EndSection
Sorry for being such a noob & thanks for your patience.

******************************************************
EDIT: Upon restart using 528, noticed that the 2nd monitor came to life and was used briefly because the resolution was too high for the 1st (smaller). When i set resolution down to 1028 x 768, the screen reverted to using monitor0 (the first, smaller unit). But at least this indicates (i believe) that the nVidia card is now active and just needs to be told what to do.

Here's another strange thing - xorg.conf looks completely different.
# Xorg 7.4, Ubuntu Jaunty, CTRL-ALT-BACKSPACE is disabled by default...

Option "DontZap" "false"

EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "kbd"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc102"
Option "XkbLayout" "us" #xkeymap0
Option "XkbVariant" "dvorak"
EndSection

#everything past here is auto-generated by Puppy's Xorg Wizard...

#PuppyHardwareProfile=NVIDIA
normally there is a whole bunch of code before the last statement that is auto-generated by Puppy. Perhaps it is just waiting for me to figure out how to implement tallboy's suggestions and therefore bypasses the auto-generation????

Anyway, in trying to get the sfs file started, lots of confusion. I noticed that left clicking on the file got a menu offering to run/install the sfs file so i did that. Got hung up where it wanted to save something and got this dialog (also get it from trying to run nvidia x server settings in the setup menu)
You do not appear to be using the NVIDIA X driver. Please edit your X configuration file (just run `nvidia-xconfig` as root), and restart the X server.
.
I searched for/ found this item and ran it (in terminal <= root i hope!!> but no change occurs ie. still a single screen with no obvious menu items to set ie 'nvidia x server settings' item which has no dual screen entry.

Annoyingly, every time i restart x server, i lose the keyboard layout i normally use. Unlike before, the selection doesn't carry over properly. I have to change xorg.conf manually and restart x. Why does this happen all of a sudden?

Stay tuned :D .

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tallboy
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#10 Post by tallboy »

Sorry about the 528 links, I have used dpup_484/485 for years, but have now migrated to Lupu_528, I actually run LupuPlus 5.2.8.005-1, found here: http://diddywahdiddy.net/Puppy500/lupup ... .005-1.iso. The forum pages are here: http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 054#622054 I am waiting for the new Slacko_5.4 to finish development, but the LupuPlus_528 is absolutely the best puppy I have run so far!

Ok, ok, I'm sorry, I digress, enthusiasm made me do it! :D

The link to download the driver you mention: http://101.141.98.253/puppy/opt/nvidia- ... 295.33.sfs
amigo wrote:The problem is with the video driver -one of the most notorious of all time.
amigo is far more experienced, and way ahead of me in these matters, so I leave the two of you to play without interfering with xorg settings!

I don't know how you run your puppys, I always run live, that way I can download and install a driver or an application for testing, if it doesn't work or freezes everything, I just turn off the machine, pull the power cord, and plug it in and turn it on again 20 sec. later.
you wrote:I searched for/ found this item and ran it (in terminal <= root i hope!!> but no change occurs ie...
I hope you don't mind me suggesting the following steps - after all you're the one who said you are a nooby! (in many ways, so am I!)
After you have run with just one monitor and installed the nvidia .sfs, you can boot your new 528, and set keyboard, resolution and other info in the dialog window, and it will restart X. After getting X to run with one monitor, I suggest you switch windowmanager to JWM, I don't know if it helps, but it is a more mature WM. Choose the top of the menu 'Desktop' -> Desktop Settings -> WM Switcher near bottom of the submenu. When that process is over, press 'Ctrl-Alt-backspace' to get to a terminal window. You are always 'root' when you use a puppy, entering 'pwd' will tell if you are in /root/ as well. Run 'nvidia-config', and then 'xwin' to restart your X. Our fingers are crossed...

tallboy
True freedom is a live Puppy on a multisession CD/DVD.

amigo
Posts: 2629
Joined: Mon 02 Apr 2007, 06:52

#11 Post by amigo »

The operative thing here is not which version of Puppy, ubuntu, etc. It's what version of xorg-server and what version of the driver being used.

I'd suggest trying the normal xorg.conf that comes with Puppy, but simply adding the section which disables compositing. That said, you are likely caiught with an intermediate version fo xorg-server and driver before the intel 82845G/GL support was fixed, but after it was broken. For a long time, one had to use an ancient version(1.3.0.0) of the server in order for the card to work. Only with xorg-server-1.9.5 and driver xf86-video-intel-2.15.0 was this again fixed.

You may find it preferable to use another card, although that may have its' own problems. On my machine (which I use everday now), I was unable to use an extra card as I couldn't successfully disable the on-board card. Dell sucks...

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tallboy
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#12 Post by tallboy »

amigo, have you had any experience with installing a reviced bios from Dell, i.e. would that be any help at all?

tallboy
True freedom is a live Puppy on a multisession CD/DVD.

amigo
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Joined: Mon 02 Apr 2007, 06:52

#13 Post by amigo »

In this case, a BIOS update would not help. The problem is in the video hardware. You know, intel writes/maintains the linux drivers themselves, so you'd think they would always work pretty good. But, there was a long period between sever versions 1.3.0.0 and 1.9.5 where no intel driver would work for any of the 82845 video card variants. The drivers do now work for 82845's, but only if compositing is disabled.

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tallboy
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#14 Post by tallboy »

Thank you, amigo.

tallboy
True freedom is a live Puppy on a multisession CD/DVD.

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canbyte
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#15 Post by canbyte »

Tried the various suggestions with no luck. I seem to have the correct sfs file installed per tallboy. Apparently the video card is in control (not the mb video) because when it (somehow) went to a higher resolution, the smaller monitor(0) would not work (says cannot display this video mode) and the other monitor came to life and works properly.

First though, how do i edit x as per this message (tried above but likely wrongly)?
You do not appear to be using the NVIDIA X driver. Please edit your X configuration file (just run `nvidia-xconfig` as root), and restart the X server.
Finally i figured out how to run this file - got the following errors
Using X configuration file: "/etc/X11/xorg.conf".

VALIDATION ERROR: Data incomplete in file /etc/X11/xorg.conf.
At least one Device section is required.

sh: pkg-config: command not found
Backed up file '/etc/X11/xorg.conf' as '/etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup'
New X configuration file written to '/etc/X11/xorg.conf'

Script completed hit RETURN to close window.
I'm debating about trying to run nVidia's driver on this page
http://www.geforce.com/drivers/results/52240
Installation instructions: Once you have downloaded the driver, change to the directory containing the driver package and install the driver by running, as root, sh ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86-310.19.run
What should the extension .run be changed to??

So now all i have to figure out is how to tell it to do twinview or whatever it's called. Well, the above may be suspect since i no longer see a nVidia item on the menu as it was before. Hmm... Here's what menu item 'report video GLX' says:
Wed 27 Feb 2013 Operating System: Lucid -528 Linux 2.6.33.2
0.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation G98 [GeForce 8400 GS] (rev a1)
oem: NVIDIA product: G98 Board - 05610002 Chip Rev

X Server: Xorg Driver: (II) glx: vendor=NVIDIA Corporation
X.Org version: 1.7.6
dimensions: 1152x864 pixels (304x228 millimeters)
depth of root window: 24 planes

Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz
Core 0: 2792 MHz

...the above also recorded at '/tmp/root/report-video-glx'.
EDIT Mar 14:
Running successfully in 528
Also got the dual screen nvidia card working - go to

http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... 0&start=50
[color=orange]1. Dell Dimension E521, AMD Athln 64, 2 GHz 1.93GB ram,
Puppy 533 on CD, accesses flash drive only,
FFox Nightly12.0
2. Compaq P3 733Hz 375RAM
Printer: Oki C3400 > LAN [/color]

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