[SOLVED] Is it worth trying to install a linux OS on this computer?
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That's correct. The point I was making was in regard to the image you posted, post 26. In the image showing what you entered in the terminal you were not using sudo and you left out "/mnt" after --rooot-directory.
Quote:
Okay, everything went as planned. It said the bootloader was installed successfully. But when I remmoved the live CD and rebooted from the hard drive, the CD tray ejected (as if asking for the CD)
Generally on reboot, the CD tray will open and you remove the CD. If it opens again for whatever reason, ignore it. Putting the CD in and running the sudo update-grub command is pointless and the error message is telling you that you are trying to update grub on the CD. The CD is an iso9660 filesystem which means it is read-only. If you can boot to the installed system on the harddrive, run: sudo update-grub. There is not point in running it from the CD.
Quote:
I left it at that. And I did not attempt a full install.
Now that's confusing. Why are you trying to reinstall Grub if you don't have anything installed. Maybe I missed something in the numerous posts above but the commands you are referring to are for "re-installing" Grub. Have you read the information at the Ubuntu site below on Grub2?
I appreciate your honesty Greg. I hope you appreciate mine.
I really do wish you good luck. I like your honesty and tenacity. I hope you appreciate mine.
Hey rokytnji. Yes, I appreciate your honesty. Just to be absolutely clear though, I was kidding about your motorcyles and the "labor" and all. Sorry if I offended. If I did, I assure you it was completely unintentional.
I think you need a new hard drive. If you plan to buy a SATA drive, you can boot to a LiveCD and check which SATA type your system supports by typing the code below
Code:
dmesg | grep -i sata | grep 'link up'
In my system, the output is
[ 0.000000] ata2: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 300)
[ 0.000000] ata3: SATA link up 3.0 Gbps (SStatus 123 SControl 300)
[ 0.000000] ata1: SATA link up 6.0 Gbps (SStatus 133 SControl 300)
My system supports SATA ( 1.5 Gbps ), SATA II ( 3.0 Gbps ) and SATA III ( 6.0 Gbps ).
PS: I would also recommend getting a new DVD-ROM as well because ti can become tedious sticking a pin to open it.
Or better yet, get a raspberry PI 3 as a temporary solution until you buy a new and better desktop. The rasp PI 3 has a 1.2GHZ quad core and 1.5GB ram with wifi and bluetooth for $35. And more if you buy extras.
Thanks JenkinsCW. Yeah, it's starting to look like the hard drive is the culprit. I'm still trying a few last ditch things though to see if it's salvage-able. Thanks for the command. I'll use that if I bail on salvaging the hard drive.
I've got other computers I can use so don't need the PI 3 but thanks for suggesting it.
[QUOTE=Gregg Bell;5529622]
"Recently I inherited a (crashed) Dell Optiplex GX520, which is only a year newer but it is 64 bit. Here are the specs:
...
And in terms of installing a linux distro, the computer does not seem to accept a USB flash drive for installation purposes and the CD tray does not eject."
My second computer happens to be an Optiplex GX520, 12 years old. After trying Lubuntu that never worked well and Mint, which demanded too much resources, I installed elementary OS (from a USB stick, it is available in the BIOS here). It is an excellent alternative - the computer is like new.
I think you need a new hard drive. If you plan to buy a SATA drive, you can boot to a LiveCD and check which SATA type your system supports by typing the code below
Code:
dmesg | grep -i sata | grep 'link up'
In my system, the output is
[ 0.000000] ata2: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 300)
[ 0.000000] ata3: SATA link up 3.0 Gbps (SStatus 123 SControl 300)
[ 0.000000] ata1: SATA link up 6.0 Gbps (SStatus 133 SControl 300)
My system supports SATA ( 1.5 Gbps ), SATA II ( 3.0 Gbps ) and SATA III ( 6.0 Gbps ).
PS: I would also recommend getting a new DVD-ROM as well because ti can become tedious sticking a pin to open it.
Or better yet, get a raspberry PI 3 as a temporary solution until you buy a new and better desktop. The rasp PI 3 has a 1.2GHZ quad core and 1.5GB ram with wifi and bluetooth for $35. And more if you buy extras.
I ran the command in the terminal. It didn't return anything. Hmm.
That's correct. The point I was making was in regard to the image you posted, post 26. In the image showing what you entered in the terminal you were not using sudo and you left out "/mnt" after --rooot-directory.
Generally on reboot, the CD tray will open and you remove the CD. If it opens again for whatever reason, ignore it. Putting the CD in and running the sudo update-grub command is pointless and the error message is telling you that you are trying to update grub on the CD. The CD is an iso9660 filesystem which means it is read-only. If you can boot to the installed system on the harddrive, run: sudo update-grub. There is not point in running it from the CD.
Now that's confusing. Why are you trying to reinstall Grub if you don't have anything installed. Maybe I missed something in the numerous posts above but the commands you are referring to are for "re-installing" Grub. Have you read the information at the Ubuntu site below on Grub2?
Thanks yancek. Well... I got the grub installer because when I booted up (without the disc) it led to the 946 screenshot. Then I powered down. Then I put the live disk back in and booted up. It led to the live Bodhi and then I tried installing Bodhi again. This time it installed. Got the Disk Utility and turns out everybody was right--it's a bad hard drive (133 bad sectors).
"Recently I inherited a (crashed) Dell Optiplex GX520, which is only a year newer but it is 64 bit. Here are the specs:
...
And in terms of installing a linux distro, the computer does not seem to accept a USB flash drive for installation purposes and the CD tray does not eject."
My second computer happens to be an Optiplex GX520, 12 years old. After trying Lubuntu that never worked well and Mint, which demanded too much resources, I installed elementary OS (from a USB stick, it is available in the BIOS here). It is an excellent alternative - the computer is like new.
Thanks HT. Elementary looks cool. The GX520 is looking pretty hopeless but I will definitely try Elementary on a different computer.
It returned something. I don't really know what it means though. see screenshot
Unfortunately, the information doesn't show what JenkinsCW was referring to.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gregg Bell
And I couldn't even get an email sent from Bodhi. Could that bad drive be affecting that too?
If the OS was installed on the hard drive, quite possibly. If running live, I doubt it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gregg Bell
And so I ran Disks on the computer I'm using now and all it said is "Smart is not enabled." see the other screenshot. What does that mean?
You will need to enable S.M.A.R.T. to get the needed information concerning the hard drive. Please see the threads below for information on how to enable it...
Unfortunately, the information doesn't show what JenkinsCW was referring to.
If the OS was installed on the hard drive, quite possibly. If running live, I doubt it.
You will need to enable S.M.A.R.T. to get the needed information concerning the hard drive. Please see the threads below for information on how to enable it...
OMG! That's what I love about Linux! Every thing you do in it you have to learn FIVE TONS OF INFORMATION! LOL ('Just read these three threads THAT WILL TAKE YOU TEN YEARS TO READ AND YOU WILL NOT UNDERSTAND 90% OF THEM!') Ah, I'm just joking with you, ardvark. I appreciate your help. It is kind of funny though. The other way was just open the Disks utility and it tells you and this way seems quite complicated. (This is SMART?)
Anyway, I'm thinking about opening up the GX520 and switching out the hard drive with another one of my computer's hard drives. I read about this $9 brand new hard drive on Newegg but it overheated (and burned the guy operating the computer to death). Okay, okay, I made that up about the guy dying, but it did overheat terribly (according to the review--and remarkably it was a 5* review! The guy was like 'I just bought a better fan...').
Hope you're enjoying the weekend. Nice here in Illinois.
That's what I love about Linux! Every thing you do in it you have to learn FIVE TONS OF INFORMATION! LOL ('Just read these three threads THAT WILL TAKE YOU TEN YEARS TO READ AND YOU WILL NOT UNDERSTAND 90% OF THEM!') Ah, I'm just joking with you, ardvark. I appreciate your help. It is kind of funny though. The other way was just open the Disks utility and it tells you and this way seems quite complicated. (This is SMART?)
You're very welcome. I'm glad to be of help, even if it's what you don't want to hear!
Actually, it's not just Linux. When I first started working on computers, it took 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for about 3 months, (at a volunteer job I had) to get a good basic understanding of hardware and how to install an OS. Of course, there was a lot more to learn.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gregg Bell
Anyway, I'm thinking about opening up the GX520 and switching out the hard drive with another one of my computer's hard drives. I read about this $9 brand new hard drive on Newegg but it overheated (and burned the guy operating the computer to death). Okay, okay, I made that up about the guy dying, but it did overheat terribly (according to the review--and remarkably it was a 5* review! The guy was like 'I just bought a better fan...').
You can do that, that's one way of solving it.
I'd be curious to know what the normal price was. Something's wrong with a drive that gets that hot. This might be a case of the old adage proving true: "You get what you pay for."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gregg Bell
Hope you're enjoying the weekend. Nice here in Illinois.
Thank you, we're having partly cloudy weather here. Spring in western Oregon is normally quite rainy.
You're very welcome. I'm glad to be of help, even if it's what you don't want to hear!
No pain no gain.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ardvark71
Actually, it's not just Linux. When I first started working on computers, it took 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for about 3 months, (at a volunteer job I had) to get a good basic understanding of hardware and how to install an OS. Of course, there was a lot more to learn.
Good to hear. When I first was asking about Linux (in a different forum) a couple of people told me I wouldn't be able to learn it. I'm glad I didn't listen to them. When I first got it I was baffled by not having all the buttons. I remember dealing with: 'What is this 'mount' stuff when it comes to flash drives.' Now I know a lot but it's still so little.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ardvark71
You can do that, that's one way of solving it.
I could buy the cheapie but this way I'll learn a lot more.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ardvark71
I'd be curious to know what the normal price was. Something's wrong with a drive that gets that hot. This might be a case of the old adage proving true: "You get what you pay for."
I'm sure you're right. Plus they don't tell you the brand. Here's a link for a different cheap one. Have you ever heard of this website? Think it's reliable? https://www.discountelectronics.com/...rd-drive-80gb/ [/QUOTE]
Quote:
Originally Posted by ardvark71
Thank you, we're having partly cloudy weather here. Spring in western Oregon is normally quite rainy.
Regards...
Ha ha. I was out that way a couple of years ago. Visited Portland. But my fav was Cape Disappointment (just north of Portland in Washington). What a great name! And the waves! Breathtaking. I really liked it out there. Cool people. Not snooty at all. (And drivers stop at crosswalks! (I almost killed someone when I first got there! We don't do that in Illinois.) Courtesy--what a concept! But yeah, the rain. But when it was nice, it was PERFECT!
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If I did, I assure you it was completely unintentional.
