LinuxQuestions.org - Another slacker! :)

- Slackware (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/)

- - Another slacker! :) (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/another-slacker-611388/)

Quote:

Press TAB key twice? :-)

LOL - now that's a good one.

Code:

Display all 3238 possibilities? (y or n)

I've no intentions to go over a long debate 'CLI or GUI', but, from what I understand from the word 'intuitive' (and I might be wrong with this and maybe that's the problem), when you call something 'intuitive' is when you 'see something' that tells you what to do or where to go next...

Unless you see something displayed like:

Code:

Hi, this is your new system.

Don't be affraid, we're here to help you

I'm sure you've questions, we can answer :)

Please, to login to your new system type root and press Return

and when you'll be asked for as password, type toor and press Return

login:

Then I can't see the CLI as 'intuitive'...

Regards

Quote:

Originally Posted by geek745 (Post 3013540)

Code:

Display all 3238 possibilities? (y or n)

Yes, yes, yes! :D

Well, Slackware didn't get installed. In fact, nothing did. I tried 5 different distributions, and they all crashed. At first, I couldn't figure out what was going on, then came to the conclusion that the machine had bad ram.
Some distros wouldn't even boot the installation cd and others crashed on first boot into system.
After shrinking the xp partition, downloading, burning, and trying to install any linux distro, I gave up for now. I have to verify the bad ram and then let the client know what is wrong and if she still wants linux enough to buy some ram and just get used to xp.
So, so much for another slacker for now :(

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by multios (Post 3015150)

Did you run memtest86 on the machine? Memtest86 is also available on Knoppix.

Are You saying that the machine shows no problems with XP?

I ran memtest86+ for a while, but had to return the computer to her.
xp ran fine every time I booted it which was quite often.
I will give her a cd (minime or riplinux) with memtest on it to run over night and see what happens.

FWIW, the distros I tried:
Slackware 12
Vector 5.8 SOHO
OpenSUSE 10.3
Mandriva 2008
PCLinuxOS MiniMe

If memory serves me correctly, about all were kernel panics, even trying to boot in safe-mode.

You don't really need to run memtest overnight, just until it completes one round of tests. It takes not more than 1 hr usually.

Her chipset is too new (probably). You need to run with newer kernel. Or maybe some bios features are incompatible.

Thanks again for the info.
I will double-check bios features and see if there is something I can turn off, when I can next get to the computer.
I did call her to double-check the model number. It's HP Pavilion a400n.

One thing I do remember when trying to install all the different distros, is that Slackware 12 with the huge.s kernel did install, but had kernel panics when doing first boot. That was the furtherest any distro got. At least Slackware got that far! ;)

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by multios (Post 3016054)

The HP Pavilion a400n is not that new, circa 2004.

Did you read the Slackware 12.0 CHANGES_AND_HINTS.TXT, UPGRADE.TXT and RELEASE_NOTES?

Quote:

excerpt from CHANGES_AND_HINTS.TXT;
It is recommended that you use one of the generic kernels (either the plain
kernel-generic or kernel-generic-smp) for daily use. For most systems,
you should use the generic SMP kernel if it will run, even if your system
is not SMP-capable. Some newer hardware needs the local APIC enabled in
the SMP kernel, and theoretically there should not be a performance penalty
with using the SMP-capable kernel on a uniprocessor machine, as the SMP
kernel tests for this and makes necessary adjustments. Furthermore, the
kernel sources shipped with Slackware 12.0 are configured for SMP usage,
so you won't have to modify those to build external out-of-tree modules
(such as NVidia or ATI proprietary drivers) if you use the SMP kernel.

If you are using one of the non-SMP kernels (huge.s or generic.s) and need
to compile third-party modules (such as the proprietary NVidia driver),
have a look in /extra/linux-2.6.21.5-nosmp-sdk/ for information on what
is needed to build them.

As stated earlier, it is recommended that you use one of the generic kernels
rather than the huge kernels; the huge kernel is primarily intended as
an "installer" and "emergency" kernel in case you forget to make an initrd.
However, if you do use one of the huge kernels, you will likely encounter
errors like this:
kobject_add failed for uhci_hcd with -EEXIST, don't try to register
These occur because the respective drivers are compiled statically into the
huge kernels but udev tries to load them anyway. These errors should be safe
to ignore, but if you really don't want them to appear, you can blacklist the
modules that try to load in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist. However, make sure you
remove them from the blacklist if you ever decide to use the (recommended)
generic kernels.

You needed to make initrd for the machine since your filesystem was not available in the kernel you selected. You should read the '/boot/README.initrd' to get the information on how to make a initrd.

Quote:

Originally Posted by multios (Post 3016054)

For the memtest86, did you get any error(s)? Booting WinXp doesn't mean there are not any hardware problems. When you ran the test(s) did you have the case open or closed? If open then close it to put the machine in the same state as to when you got the errors.

If you do have the machine case open then check to make sure that the fans are operating for the power supply, CPU cooler and the case fan. Check the CPU heat sink fins to make sure that they are clean. If the inside is dirty then use some clean dry air to blow out. Be sure to do this maintenance with the power off.

Since you stated that Slackware 12 did install but failed on boot initially then I would suggest that you create the initrd as I suggested. Then see what happens.

Check the BIOS version on boot then goto the HP site to check for any ECO or BIOS changes for the level of BIOS in the machine. It could be something as simple as a BIOS update. If you do a BIOS update, be sure to backup the BIOS in case there is a problem with the update.

Slax is another Livecd with memtest86.

These links and others can be found at 'Slackware-Links' .

Thanks :)
I guess I understood or read the kernel installation section wrong. I thought that was for daily use not initial installation.
My thinking was after the system was installed, then change kernels. Guess I was wrong.
Yes, the case was closed and in normal operating environment, and yes, the fan was working. I had to check it because it was pretty dusty.
Also, yes, I knew the computer had some age, since it was her sons computer that he gave her after buying a new one, and having visited HP website myself.
The ram was just something I thought of at the time that could cause problems with other systems and not always systems from Richmond.
When I get the computer next, I will check some bios settings and then retry with the huge smp kernel and see how it goes.
Sorry for my misunderstanding of the kernel installation. Could have saved a lot of frustration :)

[SOLVED] Another slacker! :)

The problem turned out to be a video card that had been installed:
PNY GeForce FX 5200 DDR-128MB and it looks like in small print "64-bit".

I removed it, used the onboard video chip and linux boots.
FWIW- I have a back-up slave hd with OpenBSD 4.2 and I hooked it up to the computer and it booted just fine. I didn't try X, but at least the system booted with that video card.

Also, Slackware 12 booted just fine with the huge.s kernel that I installed from originally, and the onboard chip. I may re-install everything now that I know what was wrong, but slack is running beautifully at the moment :)

Thanks everybody.

Quote:

Originally Posted by multios (Post 3018405)

I may re-install everything now that I know what was wrong, but slack is running beautifully at the moment :)

Thanks everybody.

Awesome. I'm glad you figured it out.:cool:

:) My mother thinks IE in Windows is difficult

She has been using Firefox in Slackware Linux for years. Once she went to my uncle's and tried to check her mail. When she came home she told me Windows is weird, slow and difficult to use.

By the way, I'm writing this from a friend's PC using Firefox in Windows XP. :)

Ok. I am back, was locked up with my examinations. Haven't forgotten about this thread. I got an answer from my friend, so. He says that it must have been this article: http://osnews.com/story/6282
came there from here: http://phd.pp.ru/Russian/Texts/cmdline.txt (unfortunately in Russian)
some fortune: http://phd.pp.ru/Russian/Texts/cmdline.txt
then he gives several other links in Russian, but it is useless to post them here