MEPIS Live CD won't boot
 

I just recieved my new Mepis Live CD v3.3. I put it in the CD drive but the only thing that shows up is the GRUB prompt (grub>). I have tried all options (Tab key) but nothing seems to work.

I am currently running Mandrake 10 (with grub) and Win XP on this laptop (SysteMax Model 8599- 2.8 Ghz/256MB RAM).

Does anyone have any ideas as to how I can get the Mepis Live CD to run so that I can install it???

Thanks!!

I don understand :
you see :
grub>
then you press enter .. and ??

2 questions,

1) Did you check the md5sum of the iso before you burnt it?
2) if so, have you tried upgrading your bios?

this one of those problems if you have done both and neither work it just isnt going to work with your bios

You might also try to use Smart Boot Manager - if I'm not mistaken then it's a known fact that some computers don't like the grub configuration used with many live CDs, but the KANOTIX forum provides a nice work around here:

http://forum.kanotix.net/viewtopic.php?t=3138

Substitute KANOTIX with MEPIS and try - if it works, you've got the same problem I ran into. I managed to get the distro on the laptop after using Smart Boot Manager with no further hassles (have replaced it since, but that's another story...).

A short bit I wrote on this here. I'll paste:


If your LiveCD doesn't work, not even on a second machine you tested it on, then you have a bad burn on your hands. There are a number of things you can check:

1) Have you checked the md5sum before burning?

2) Did you burn the CD as image?

3) Did you burn it on a CD-R?

4) Did you burn it on a low speed (8x or less)?

If any of these answers can be replied with no, then you'll have to grab a new cd and do the burn over, or, in the worst case, if the md5sum doesn't pan out, a new download is in order.


Check the md5sum

I recieved the Live CD from www.mepis.com and installed it on another laptop. It booted up and installed just fine so I don't believe that the CD is the problem.

After the replies I received I will try installing from a tarball. I think that may possibly be the easiest option.

Thanks so much for everyone's help. I will keep this thread updated as I make progress.

I had something like this with slaX on dell notebook...

I have pressed <Enter> numerous times with the same result - No Boot.
I'm beginning to believe that it is a hardware/config problem.
Thanks for the idea though!!

I'm having the same problem with the SimplyMepis live cd iso. I know I have burned the iso cd correctly (twice) since I have done it many times. The md5 is also correct. The folders and files are extracted to the cd. Also, my cdrw is set as the first boot device so my computer won't even look for my HDD in the boot sequence if it finds a bootable cd.
Now, I was under the impression a live cd had it's own autorun (bootloader) since to be truly a live cd one should be able to boot from the cd even if a hard drive isn't present. Hence, no GRUB or Smart Boot Manager, etc. need be present. It would appear the 'GRUB>' prompt is generated by not finding a valid bootloader command sequence on the cd itself. I looked at the contents of the Mepis live cd and noticed the kernel image is packaged in a seperate folder with no bootloader to reference the kernel image in this folder. Shouldn't the Mepis live cd run from any compatable pc regardless of the installed operating system, or bootloader, installed on the HDD or even if the computer doesn't have a HDD? Does Mepis look for a bootloader on the HDD to transfer control to? If this is what it does, how does the bootloader know what to do to transfer control back to the kernel image on the cd? IMHO if the Mepis live cd is in any way dependent on a bootloader installed on the HDD then maybe the Mepis live cd shouldn't be considered a true "live" cd. I sure hope someone can help. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing Mepis. I just want to know what the heck is going on here. I would really like to try Mepis out.

No, it doesn't rely on a HD boot file at all. I've put it on two blank computers and two M$ computers (which wouldn't have a useful bootloader) and it worked always for me...

but grub isnt liking your bios, thus its not booting.

Thanks for the replys. It would seem the most likely reason is bios incompatablity since the cd's were burned correctly and I just updated my bios about two weeks ago. I have also tried turning the bios pnp feature off with no results. I don't think there is much more I can do to get MEPIS to boot so I guess I'll just have to chalk this one up as a no-go. One thing I don't understand though, why does every other distros live cd's I have tried work (at least they boot) and MEPIS seems to be 'different'? As I pointed out in my first post, all of the distros I have used before, whether they are live or full installs use the Windows autorun method in one form or another to load and initially boot the os from the cd. I think the reason for this is because some manufacturers have not yet recognized that Linux is a real operating system and are still designing there hardware and firmware around the "Windows way". It looks like most Linux distros have recognized this and play the game by using autorun to insure you can install your Linux or run a live cd. So why has MEPIS apparently chosen to ignore this unfortunate fact of computer architecture and design ? Doesn't this somewhat restrict MEPIS to only running on machines that are "Linux friendly"?

I had a problem with Mepis as well, when it asked me for the password, wich is root or demo. I tried both, I tried leaving it blank and still nothing.

mepis IS booting just fine, as evident by the grub> prompt. however your hardware just isnt compatable with the version of grub mepis uses, it could be compatable with lilo (another bootloader) and that may be what you have seen in the past on other livecds

Maybe your first statement should be turned around to read "The version of grub mepis uses isn't compatible with your (my) hardware". Since 11 out of 12 live cd's and all other distros recognize grub just fine. Mepis is the broken 12th live cd. As far as my hardware being compatible with lilo or any other bootloader, I agree. It is compatible with EVERY other version of grub and/or lilo. If I understand some of the previous posts it looks like mepis may be using a somewhat non-standard grub. If this is the case...Why? With regard to other live cd's, here's the thing. If you look at most live cd distros and installs you will find they use autorun or a binary (.bin) file to initialize the system. By the time grub or lilo is called (by autorun or the binary) the bios is fully conditioned to accept the grub or lilo command parameters. I don't see this in mepis. Oh Well...11 out of 12 successes isn't a bad average.
:)