Re: [newbie] Can't start X, No Devices
On Mon, 2003-11-03 at 09:48, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Fellow Linux users, I'm trying to sell a Compaq Deskpro 2000 (Pentium 200MMX w/96M RAM, 1M Video), and I have a buyer if I can get Linux on it. The thing works fine under Win 98, Win ME, Win Pro. Under Linux my first hurdle was the sudden appearance of a bad track, resolved by installing the HD on another machine (no bad track there), installing MDK9.1 and transferring the drive back. Everything seemed fine, I was using WindowMaker and IceWM, and it was groovy. But something happened along the way and now it doesn't auto-login, and once logged in, it won't run X (or any other GUI I've tried). The display information is correct. The init level is 5. When I try to run X, there are several lines dealing with authority stuffs, and then there is the error message No Devices Found. I thought Linux's strength was that it could run on almost anything from watches to supercomputers, so the limitation here must be my ability to modify Linux for this machine. BTW, the bad track is apparently back because fsck finds a bunch of bad blocks in a row. It finds the same one each time run, and I've tried employing the -l/-L switches, but must be doing something wrong there too. It must be a BIOS issue, and on these Compaqs there's no convenient access to the BIOS. BTW, I spent 11 hours on this and look at recieving $60 for the system grin. Also, the bad track thing had me throw away a harddrive a few weeks ago, same tracks reading as bad on this drive, so that drive was probably ok too. sigh Is the answer: Nope, MDK9.1 won't run on that piece of junk, install Win and sell it for less? Or is it: Sure, just adjust the Kaiser Module and MDK9.1 will be fine on there? Bah!, Did you try F-10 on boot , that will access the bios on most Compaq's Max __ Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com -- When you're being mugged..a handgun is more comfort than an ACLU lawyer Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Can't start X, No Devices
On Mon, 03 Nov 2003 10:51:01 -0800 Aronsmith [EMAIL PROTECTED] uttered: Did you try F-10 on boot , that will access the bios on most Compaq's I had the same machine, there ain't no way in hell you are going to access the BIOS without the proper util from the Compaq site. They have floppy images which will give you access to the BIOS to turn off features such as anti-virus, PNP, or whatever. The BIOS has probably overwritten some part of the boot or other sector of the drive, and this may be what is causing the prob. -- HaywireMac ++ ICQ # 279518458 Registered Linux user #282046 Homepage: www.orderinchaos.org ++ Mandrake HowTo's More: http://twiki.mdklinuxfaq.org ++ Superstition, idolatry, and hypocrisy have ample wages, but truth goes a-begging. -- Martin Luther Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Can't start X, No Devices
HaywireMac [EMAIL PROTECTED]@linux-mandrake.com on 11/03/2003 11:26:48 AM Please respond to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent by:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To:[EMAIL PROTECTED] cc: Subject:Re: [newbie] Can't start X, No Devices On Mon, 03 Nov 2003 10:51:01 -0800 Aronsmith [EMAIL PROTECTED] uttered: Did you try F-10 on boot , that will access the bios on most Compaq's I had the same machine, there ain't no way in hell you are going to access the BIOS without the proper util from the Compaq site. They have floppy images which will give you access to the BIOS to turn off features such as anti-virus, PNP, or whatever. The BIOS has probably overwritten some part of the boot or other sector of the drive, and this may be what is causing the prob. -- It is correct that the BIOS utility is normally written to a partition on the harddrive on this model of Compaq, F10 accesses that partition at boot-up. The partition was overwritten during one of my many attempts to install MDK91. It wasn't much good anyway -- there's no real BIOS control in there, just a description of the various hardwares and some minor testing software. There's no access to the important BIOS features found on modern computers (ie, no PNP, no Energy Savings, no timings, etc.). What does it mean when X claims No devices found? Does that mean it can't find the videocard or that it can't find a window manager? Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Can't start X, No Devices
On Mon, 3 Nov 2003 13:55:45 -0800 [EMAIL PROTECTED] uttered: What does it mean when X claims No devices found? Does that mean it can't find the videocard or that it can't find a window manager? It can't find a server to connect to, ie. no X server. Normally it would default to device :0, but it's not finding anything there. It could be a hardware prob, but it's more likely software. Post your XF86Config-4 and /var/log/XFree86.0.log, there might be something in there that will point to why it's not connecting. -- HaywireMac ++ ICQ # 279518458 Registered Linux user #282046 Homepage: www.orderinchaos.org ++ Mandrake HowTo's More: http://twiki.mdklinuxfaq.org ++ Wisdom is knowing what to do with what you know. -- J. Winter Smith Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
