Is it possible to slow boot messages down?
 

Hello,

Im trying to install Slack 14 to my netbook, but part way in and after some scrolling of text, the screen goes black.

Is there a way of finding out what went wrong?

I believe that the pause|break key is what you're looking for, but it has been a while since I tried it out.

It may be a video driver issue, or soemthing else. What netbook, chipset?

Did it happen with you all the time? I sometimes have the same issue on an rather old laptop, but not always. Maybe newer kernels do not work well with some old hardware.

My solution for this was installing a GUI log-in manager (I used slim). It always appeared at the end of the boot process.

About your question in the title, I believe you can use ctrl-s/ctrl-q combinations.

Its a Samsung N102s using the Intel Cedarview (GMA3600) PowerVR 545 graphics core. I know there was a problem with this chip and kernel support, but I thought it had been resolved in 3.2x kernels.

*EDIT* Although reading this:

http://people.freedesktop.org/~zhen/...ADME.cedarview

I may have to set those kernel options.

But Im not sure how to do that, without first being in the system.

You have my sympathy. I (unfortunately) have responsibility for a netbook that uses the GMA500. What a bloody fiasco (on Intels behalf IMHO). Alan Cox' recent work with the driver are starting to bear fruit, but it's a crap chip - hopefully yours is better.
Try nomodeset on the kernel line to see if a basic VESA display will get you the messages.

I just looked and the 3.2 config does not have the GMA3600 option at all, but in the config files for the huge kernels in /testing it is enabled by default. So after trying it with the nomodeset option I would recommend to go for the 3.5 kernel instead of 3.2.

A really slow computer will do it.

On the Lilo screen I did 'boot: slackware.14 nomodeset'

(slackware.14 being my install name).

It started the boot process, but unfortunatey it produces the black screen also.

How would I go about installing the newer 3.5 kernel?

*EDIT* I've compiled a kernel before so that shouldnt be a problem, its just getting into the system to do it. I need to use the slackware install dvd, can you give me any advice on that?

I've downloaded the 3.5.4 kernel form kernel.org and moved and decompressed that into to a folder on my install's root partition.

I've also transfer the 3.5.4 huge kernel config from the slackware dvd into the decompressed kernel folder.

However, when I try to build the kernel by typing 'make', it gives me an error:

Do I understand that right that you can boot from the install-DVD without that problem? If so, chroot into the installed system, then start the compile action, install the new kernel and don't forget to run lilo after you have changed lilo.conf.

TobiSGD,

Yes I can boot from the install DVD to access my root partition.

I will look into chroot.

Not exactly related but the huge kernel will lock hard on my system with my TV card installed. Has done that for years with all past releases. The only way I can boot into my system with the huge kernel is either remove the card or blacklist the module. I have no problem with a custom built kernel.

I share this because you might be experiencing something similar, although not necessarily a TV card. :)

I guess it is a conflicting drivers problem, of the kind that using a generic kernel usually can solve. But of course you knew that before I did...