Upgraded to testing and now X will not start
I just upgraded from the "stable" to the "testing" distribution (in order to get a version of FireFox that is compatible with GreaseMonkey, but that's a different story), and now the X server will not start. During boot I now notice an error saying that udev is not started because it requires at leaset a 2.6.15 kernel, but I am running a 2.6.7 kernel. And in the X log file I see errors about not being able to open devices. Anyone know how to fix this?
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Welcome to linuxquestions :D
You answered the question already. Install new kernel which version is 2.6.15 or higher. You could also tell your distribution you're using... :) I'm quessing Debian though... |
If kernel upgrade is needed, why doesn't aptitude install it?
Thanks for the help. I'll try upgrading the kernel. Must I recompile my own kernel, or is there a debian package that I can just install via aptitude (or apt-get)? (Yes, I am using debian; sorry I forgot to mention that.) How do I know what version I should use? I see several packages with the word "kernel" listed when I search:
[oops, I am not allowed to post the URL until I have posted 3 messages] Can I just install one of those using aptitude? If so, which? This one, [sorry, had to delete the URL again] , for example, says that "It does _not_ provide a usable kernel for your full Debian system." |
There are many things that can go wrong with an "upgrade" from Sarge to Etch, mostly related to the conversion from XFree86 to Xorg. I maintain that it's better to do a clean Etch install. In Testing the kernel packages are named "linux-image-2.6...". I think the current one is 2.6.17 or 2.6.18. Get both the linux-image, and linux-headers files with apt-get or aptitude. After that, reboot and do an apt-get dist-upgrade just to be sure. If your X server still doesn't work, ... ask again.
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Success! (After also installing fonts)
I followed your guidance and that helped, thanks! :) The kernel upgrade seemed to go smoothly and the udev error is now gone, as are the errors about being unable to open devices. I used "aptitude install kernel-image-2.6-686" and "aptitude install linux-kernel-headers", though apparently I already had the headers. It took me quite a bit of web surfing to figure out what architecture my computer has (Compaq nc6000 with Pentium M processor), but I eventually found info on wikipedia indicating that a Pentium M is a 686 architecture. (Shouldn't there be an easier way to determine one's architecture?)
HOWEVER, I then got a bunch of "Could not init font path element" errors, culminating with a Fatal Server error from X: "could not open default font 'fixed'". I searched the debian packages for fonts, took a guess at installing the "xfonts-75dpi" and "xfonts-base" packages, and now it works! Hallelujah!!! Thanks very much for your help! |
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