I installed Mandrake 10.1 last night (free version, 4 cds). Installation went through without problems, but when I try to boot into Linux I end up with a blue screen and the Mandrake 10.1 name/logo on the bottom right corner. It actually looks like 2 screens on top of each other, as the name/logo appears twice, the first one being partially covered by the second one. Nothing else happens and I have to turn the pc off, as it doesn't respond to CTRL-ALT-DEL. Oh, but the mouse moves anyway.

I performed the installation on a second HD (40 GB). I have W2K on the main (30 GB). CPU is a P3 866 MHZ with roughly 400 MB of RAM. Video card is Nvidia GeForce GTS, 32 MB.

All I was able to do is start the Failsafe option, but I end up in (what I suppose is) the terminal... and I have no idea what to do next.

I would really appreciate any help.

It sounds like there is some monitor/video card problems since you mention that you get two screens overlapping each other.

When you get into the console, type su and then enter your root password. After that, type xorgconfig. it is a text based configuration of your video card and monitor. For the time being, choose a generic video card (VESA) and basic vertical/horizontal refresh rate. See if that works. That would be my guess.

resolution is wrong -- try a smaller screen
or try using the vesa for the graphics card

In future, in Linux when your gui is totally locked, you should still have working terminals or command line. Use CTRL-ALT-F1 combo, login at the login prompt and type "halt" without the quotations to shutdown (better option than hard shutdown with power button), or "XFdrake" to start the Mandrake video configurator tool to implement the suggestions already given, then "startx" command to get to GUI without a shutdown even needed. CTRL-ALT-F! toF6 are command line terminals, CTRL-ALT-F7 is your GUI.

I was able to access the console from the blue screen, login to root and start xorgconfig. I specified the monitor and video card settings. After the config finished, I typed startx and ENTER, and I got the following errors:
Fatal server error:
Server is already active for display 0
if this server is no longer running, remove /tmp/.x0-lock
and start again.


Please consult the The X.Org Foundation support
at http://wiki.X.org
for help

Xlib: connection to ";0.0" refused by server
Xlib: Invalid MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1 key
giving up.
xinit: unable to connect to X server
xinit: no such process (errno 3): Server error.

So I restarted the system with CTRL-ALT-DEL. I ended up with the blue screen again, but this time it's just one and looks pretty normal. It just doesn't go anywhere else.

I would try again using # init 3 so that the X server is stopped before making changes to the xorgconfig file. Then restarting x with startx or init 5 should restart the xserver without conflict. this is always assuming that in your current state you can open a console.

HTH

No more errors, but I'm still stuck with the blue screen... how can I find out what is failing?

i'd say its a problem with KDE... maybe opening a console and typing xwmconfig and choosing gnome instead will help you. This is what I had to use in slack 9.1, so I wouldn't count on it wotking in Mandrake, but it's worth a shot unless anyone else says otherwise. I had a very similar problem to this, but KDE started up for me

Got this message:
bash: xwmconfig: command not found

ok, there might be something similar, i'll look it up for you.

edit nothing that i could find, but there definitely is something out there like it.

edit 2 i think i found something, try startx gnome at the console

Thanks!!! It worked!!! I'm writing this from Gnome. Now the question is, how do I fix KDE? Again, any help will be greatly appreciated.

I dont have an answer, but i figured something out and helped someone! Party with me!

Anyway, because you could be without KDE for a little while, it may be a good idea to change the default window manager to gnome until you get it fixed, it'll save a bit of time. To do this, open the Mandrake Control Center (Menu-->System-->Configuration-->Configure My Computer) and click auto login. Then, click the space that says Default Desktop and switch KDE to Gnome. If something goes wrong the next time you start up, then we know its a startup issue and not a kde one. But that's unlikely.

Update: I loged out of Gnome, typed init 3 and then startx... well... KDE started and I'm in. Go figure!

Now I'm trying to install the latest Nvidia drivers...

Oh, also I have to scroll the screen in order to be able to see the entire desktop.

Another update. Got my video adapter set up. I selected NV. Also got my sound card working. Still can't access KDE when I boot the system. Always end up at the blue screen. Just press CTL-ALT-F1 to go to the console and log on with my user. Then I type "su" to log on to root, type "init 3" and then "exit" to go back to my user. Finally "startx" starts KDE.

It's not the end of the world, but I'd still like to fix it. It's just no too elegant.

What does /etc/inittab show?

The line --> id:X:initdefault:

It should show id:5:initdefault: if it has id:3:initdefault:



ooooo wait unless you dont have a login manager installed like DM or KDM which would be in your /etc/init.d/ directory