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Old 05-28-2013, 07:01 PM   #16
EDDY1
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ATI Wonder (9600) Video Adapter if this card is anything like the rage pro that I have it will possibly be loading gnome in fallback mode. I think that I had to install linux-firmware-nonfree to get it going, also desktop wouldn't load.
The only thing that saved me was it was an addon card, so I was able to connect monitor to onboard & install firmware.
 
Old 05-28-2013, 10:16 PM   #17
John Ferrell
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RE:
Well, I really don't know what he problem is, but I think TobiSGD is giving good advice in trying a text based installer. Personally I recommend Debian since that is what I'm most familiar with and the current stable release is quite new. But there are also many Slackware users here at LQ, that could help you out if you choose to go that route.

I don't know what a "text based installer" is. My initial look at Slackware was confusing. I looked at Slackware.com and Wikipedia. While the stated goals are to be stable and simple just getting an ISO download for a DVD requires choosing among unfamiliar methods. It just does not appear to be catering to Newbies. Perhaps I just misunderstood. I think it best to stick with the Debian theme.
73, de John W8CCW
 
Old 05-28-2013, 10:35 PM   #18
evo2
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Hi,

in this context the idea of a "text based installer"*, is that it will walk you through one step at a time, and you'll see more of what it is actually doing. Then if it fails you are more likely to understand why.

There is a link to the debian installer for 32 bit and 64 bit "PCs" in the top right corner of www.debian.org

Cheers,

Evo2.

* The installer does not necessarily need to be text based for this - it could be a very pretty gui - but traditionally the "older" style text based installers give more control and feedback to the user.
 
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Old 05-28-2013, 11:10 PM   #19
DavidLee1A
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All the people on this thread know a lot more than me. I will testify that Debian worked for me where Mint and openSUSE were a problem. If the graphics drivers don't work right then Debian defaults from Gnome 3 to Gnome 2. In my case I was able to then download a Debian package that fixed my driver problem. I have seen DSL, Puppy, and Slitaz all work well on older systems but I must say again that Debian has been extremely reliable for me... wheras I have also experienced the dreaded blinking cursor on a restart.
 
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Old 05-29-2013, 09:12 AM   #20
John Ferrell
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From: http://www.debian.org/releases/stabl...h02s01.html.en
Your computer must use the ISA, EISA, PCI, PCIe, PCI-X, or VESA Local Bus (VLB, sometimes called the VL bus). Essentially all personal computers sold in recent years use one of these.

From the MB Specs: AGP Pro/8X Expansion slot (Video Card)

re: TobiSGD, FWIW, no installer will damage a harddisk, so are you sure that this is the case here?
I don't mean to imply that the software damaged the HDD. I think the crash that occurred left the HDD in an unusable state. In current practice the platters are written (in manufacturing) by hardware that is not included on the drive control board. I have several examples that I have put aside over the years.

I believe the problem is a result of my failing to verify that Debian supported my hardware. I should have checked out these dependencies.

I hope to check out the unusable HDD,s but time is short and it is not a priority with me.

Thanks to all who offered suggestions, I probably would not have got here without your help.

73, de John W8CCW
 
Old 05-29-2013, 09:57 AM   #21
TobiSGD
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Debian supports your hardware. The A7N8X uses the PCI bus for its peripherals, AGP is only used for the videocard. And even then, AGP is nothing more than a turbocharged PCI bus.
Regarding your harddisks, your case would be the only case I have seen where any software does that to a disk and I have literally seen thousands of defective computer parts.
 
Old 05-29-2013, 12:12 PM   #22
DavidLee1A
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Why can't you use a live Puppy linux (or some similar) and look at the hard drive (I do believe there is testing software and software to reformat/"erase" the drive)?

Puppy: http://bkhome.org/blog2/?viewDetailed=00275
 
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Old 05-29-2013, 02:06 PM   #23
John Ferrell
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RE: DavidLee1A...Why can't you use a live Puppy linux ....

I have Knoppix live running on the machine now. I was able to reformat a little of this last disk with an ext4 mode using gparted under Knoppix. I hate to start off in another direction until I get a solid Distro running. I have too many open projects at the moment. I was unsuccessful at recovering the drive with an old copy of Partition Magic under XP as well. Of course I will try whatever is recommended but I have zero experience with disk utilities under Linux.

73, John, W8CCW
 
Old 05-31-2013, 06:58 PM   #24
John Ferrell
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Smile

Lots have happened! Knoppix fixed the HDD. I was finally able to put the strange HDD problems aside by removing it from the bios setting in the PC. Apparently Linux can get to the HDD without it being enabled in BIOS. However, Bios must be properly set up to boot the HDD. It was mentioned that I should try to install via text mode. I determined that was the default choice in the Debian Install process. The problem with that is I don't yet understand the terms used. I noticed that there was a GUI install that I had not tried. I selected that and started responding to the questions. The Distro I chose is the one that installs via network rather than download everything. The in country mirror balked so I went to the Canadian mirror assuming it would consume the least resources. I gave me the opportunity to add components so I added one. It eventually ejected the CD and called for a reboot. This is the point I enabled the HDD in the bios. Debian booted up ok, but there is a message that Gnome 3 failed to start due to Graphics hardware and is running in fallback mode. Probably not a big issue to me, but I will check The bash terminal and the root terminal come up remote but I need to figure out the Remote Desktop. Much of what I do is remote. Also, I need to get my login in the sudoer's file. Being one of those people that enjoys a cluttered desktop, I am still looking to see how to get a few icon's on my desk top!

I doubt I would have got to the bottom of this without the group's assistance and encouragement...
Thanks to all, 73, de John W8CCW

ps: for those who might wonder, "73" is "goodbye" in Ham Radio Lingo, de means "from" (same place), and W8CCW is the Call sign assigned to me by the USA FCC.
 
Old 05-31-2013, 09:01 PM   #25
DavidLee1A
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Quote:
but there is a message that Gnome 3 failed to start due to Graphics hardware
When I had that problem I just had to do a google search for drivers for my graphics card (AMD Radeon) and then downloaded the appropriate drivers and used something like GDebi Package Installer. Then restart the computer but before logging in select Gnome on the login options.
 
Old 06-01-2013, 09:42 AM   #26
John Ferrell
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidLee1A View Post
When I had that problem I just had to do a google search for drivers for my graphics card (AMD Radeon) and then downloaded the appropriate drivers and used something like GDebi Package Installer. Then restart the computer but before logging in select Gnome on the login options.
I will try that. At the moment my number one problem is getting Remote Desktop to work. The Bash & Root terminals work OK. I am an old guy (73) with a computer history that reaches all the way back to relays & counters. I spend nearly half my waking hours in a living room recliner and the other half in my Workshop/Lab/Computer room. The Laptop connection keeps the computers accessible!

The connection I prefer is Microsoft Remote Desktop. It works well with the other Windows machines and with the Raspberry Pi machines (2 at this time). The Pi's are running the Wheezy standard distro and a modified one from Adafruit. The terminals connect with ssh & Putty on all of the Linux machines. The Pi's connect to Microsoft Remote Desktop clean. With the new Debian (Wheezy) I issue a "startx" from a root terminal (xrdp installed first) and then attempt a Remote login. It starts up accepting the userid & password but stops, stating an error has occurred. There is a Youtube showing how to set up xrdp for Ubuntu and claiming the process ports to other distros easily. I need to learn more to make it work for me. I installed xrdp from the GUI screen. Perhaps I should go back and do an install from a terminal... apt-get has spoiled me!
As usual, thanks for the tips. It makes the journey much more rewarding.

73, de john W8CCW...
 
Old 06-02-2013, 09:28 PM   #27
EDDY1
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Quote:
but there is a message that Gnome 3 failed to start due to Graphics hardware
Did it fail to load DE or did it load in fallback mode?
 
Old 06-02-2013, 11:17 PM   #28
John Ferrell
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After a reboot the option was given to load Gnome, Gnome Classic or default. I have been taking default, this time I took "Gnome". It worked OK. Further reading across the net has led me to believe that xrdp + MS Remote Desktop simply will not work with Gnome 3. There are alternatives.
de John, W8CCW.
 
Old 06-03-2013, 10:32 PM   #29
EDDY1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John Ferrell View Post
After a reboot the option was given to load Gnome, Gnome Classic or default. I have been taking default, this time I took "Gnome". It worked OK. Further reading across the net has led me to believe that xrdp + MS Remote Desktop simply will not work with Gnome 3. There are alternatives.
de John, W8CCW.
If gnome is loading in fallback mode there will be applications & places at the top left of the menu bar
 
Old 06-04-2013, 09:12 AM   #30
John Ferrell
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EDDY1 View Post
If gnome is loading in fallback mode there will be applications & places at the top left of the menu bar
I will try to answer that later today. I believe that all of the problems disappear simply by disabling the HDD in the PC BIOS until you are ready to boot it. Linux seems to have no problems with formatting or generating a bootable disk without help/interference from PC BIOS. When the time comes in the process to remove the CD/DVD and Boot the HDD, the PC BIOS must be set up pointing to the proper boot drive. To verify this hypothesis I have generated an Ubuntu system with no exceptions. I don't have any way of knowing if this anomaly extends beyond the ASUS-A7N8 motherboard. I do know that the procedure solves my original problem.

The remote desktop issue is high on my list of unsolved problems but not related to this issue.

Thanks again to all, de John W8CCW
 
  


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