Hello everyone,

I'm trying to get Linpus Linux to work on my brothers notebook with a live rescue cd that I've downloaded. both when I start the livecd and after I have installed linux, it gives me the following error message:

"Failed to start the X server (your gfx interface). it is likely that it is not set up correctly". after some more windows it tells me "The X server is now disabled, restart GDM when it's configured correctly" and after the 'OK' the screen goes completely black and I can't do anything anymore.

and to clarify it, my brother tried to remove the pre-installed linux and gnu grub to install windows 7. he followed some instructions from an internet site and formatted the HD. I fear he might have messed something up, and he can't tell me exactly what he did.

[edit] of course I've searched the internet and this forum already for solutions, but the answers did not make much sense to me, or were different from my specific problem, I hope you can help me.

And I'm absolutely unfamiliar with Linux syntax, so far, I've never worked with it. so if you have a solution, please try to explain very detailed what to do. if you need further details dont hesitate to ask of course. Thank you very much already in advance.

-----------------------------------------------
[System]
Linpus Linux 9.4 Lite
Acer Aspire 5250
AMD C-50
AMD Radeo HD 6250

Welcome to LQ.
Does X work with the live CD?
Do you have X installed?
Take a look in the logfiles.
Kind regards

thanks for the reply and the welcome, I'm getting the same error message on both the live CD and after I have installed the OS on the HD. and I'm not sure if X is installed or not, should that not have happened during the setup?

how would I be able to check this log file? the screen turns completely black after I clicked OK on that error messages =)

Press
(All three at the same time)
till you see a login prompt.
login as root
Does it work with windows?
Which video card are you using?
Which linux distribution was installed before?
Any reason why you want to use linpus?
You could try to use an ubuntu or mint live cd.

Kind regards

the reason why I choosed Linpus Linux is because that was pre-installed already when he bought it. after he messed around with the formatting, windows installation does interrupt with a question for a cd/dvd driver, now I'm to repair the whole system/HD with linux to it's orignial settings to be able to later install windows as a chainload.

ok, I've been trying to view the log, but it seems that the combo was Ctrl+Alt+F9, could that be possible? It prompts me now "Linpus login" where I entered "root". Here a few details about the result:

------------------------
Current OS: Linux LINPUS 2.6.20.1-litearima #13 SMP
Build ID: xorg-x11-server 1.1.1-47
Module Loader Present
Using config file: "/etc/X11/xorg.conf"
Device "ATI graphics Adapter"
(WW) The directory "/usr/share/X11/fonts/75dpi" does not exist.
Entry deleted from font path.
(WW) The directory "/usr/share/X11/fonts/CID" does not exist.
Entry deleted from font path.
(WW) The directory "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/type1" does not exist.
Entry deleted from font path.
(WW) The directory "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/encodings" does not exist.
Entry deleted from font path.
(WW) Open ACPI failed (/var/run/acpid.socket) (no such file or directory)
(II) No APM support in BIOS or kernel
Fatal server error: no screens found
...

if you need any other info out of the log file, tell me. thanks for your time.

Please post the 10 last entries of the log file.

Kind regards

What difference does it make? Mint it very good for new Linux users.

ok, here are the last entries:

@MTK: it was just my first thought to use what was already installed before, I would give MINT a try as well of course, but I fear that something else is messed up on the HD that causes all the problems anyway... =)

You're not trying to save anything on that drive, right? If so, just let the Mint installer reformat it and that will get rid of any problems.

no, at least that. no data yet on it. I've started to download the iso file for the latest katya release already and I'll give it a try. do I have to uninstall anything before to avoid interferences?

No.

It will completely overwrite your drive, and it will not depend on anything that's currently on it.

Cause of your problem: Linpus Linux 9.4 is from 2007, your notebook is from 2011. That version of Linux knows nothing about the hardware in that machine.
Solution: Use a recent distro, like the others already have stated.

This may be reason. At least in my country pre-installed Linpus doesn't come with graphical environment and other needed stuff. It is just there to bypass restriction not to sell empty computers. If someone will come test they will switch it on and show that this computer has OS.

I tried to install the MINT now, with no success. the setup initializes with something like the following messages: "loading casper.... ready". then the screen turns black completely and HD seems to stop writing data - the setup freezes. I tried it several times already... any ideas?

I'm pretty sure that the images are without errors (checksum, slow burning speed)....

Seems a hardware problem to me.
What happens if you install windows?

Kind regards