Solved: Linux won't boot!!

[big_dog1968]

Fixed UUID.

[Fred]

big_dog1968.

I haven't forgotten you. Just a few other chores in real life to do from the "honey-do" list.

How about posting the results from these two commands. Open a terminal and type:

sudo hdparm /dev/sda

After you get the results from that one try this one:

sudo hdparm -i /dev/sda

Let's see if anything jumps out and grabs us.

Also, do you have any usb devices connected to the computer? if so what? Have you tried booting with all the usb devices disconnected except the keyboard and mouse, if they are usb?

Fred

[Acid_1]

The last few times I tried to boot linus it hung on the first welcome screen.

I just had to say, I don't think Linus Torvalds enjoys being booted, let alone many other people

[big_dog1968]

big_dog1968.

I haven't forgotten you. Just a few other chores in real life to do from the "honey-do" list.

How about posting the results from these two commands. Open a terminal and type:

sudo hdparm /dev/sda

After you get the results from that one try this one:

sudo hdparm -i /dev/sda

Let's see if anything jumps out and grabs us.

Also, do you have any usb devices connected to the computer? if so what? Have you tried booting with all the usb devices disconnected except the keyboard and mouse, if they are usb?
Fred

/dev/sda:
IO_support = 0 (default 16-bit)
readonly = 0 (off)
readahead = 256 (on)
geometry = 60801/255/63, sectors = 976773168, start = 0
===========================================================================
/dev/sda:

Model=SAMSUNG HD501LJ , FwRev=CR100-12, SerialNo=S0MUJ1CPB00043
Config={ Fixed }
RawCHS=16383/16/63, TrkSize=34902, SectSize=554, ECCbytes=4
BuffType=DualPortCache, BuffSize=16384kB, MaxMultSect=16, MultSect=?16?
CurCHS=16383/16/63, CurSects=16514064, LBA=yes, LBAsects=268435455
IORDY=on/off, tPIO={min:120,w/IORDY:120}, tDMA={min:120,rec:120}
PIO modes: pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4
DMA modes: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2
UDMA modes: udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 udma5
AdvancedPM=no WriteCache=enabled
Drive conforms to: unknown: ATA/ATAPI-3,4,5,6,7

* signifies the current active mode
===================================================================================
I have Microsoft wireless keyboard/mouse (receiver attaches via USB). Have Canon printer via USB. I have a usb card reader installed in 3.5" bay, so no way to turn off without opening case.

Would using a different boot manager besides grub make a difference? Could it be grub that is doing something to sometimes cause the Sata drive to not register with Mint?

[big_dog1968]

Fred,
Were you able to figure anything out with information I posted?

[Fred]

big_dog1968,

I have been checking around and I honestly don't see what the problem is.

Let me tell you what I am thinking:

1) It acts kind of like a bad hard drive. One that is approaching the end of life. But since it is a new system, that doesn't seem reasonable. So that is probably not worth pursuing.

2) It also could be a problem with the bios not wanting to boot that far down the partition table. But, since it is a new board that doesn't seem reasonable either. That is a problem usually seen in old bios versions that were around before drives as big as yours were around. I did find this on the abit site though.

Q: Why will my system sometimes not boot from DVD-ROM when a bootable DVD inserted? What can I do? (GD8)
A: Some DVD-ROMs have compatibility issue with the older version ITE8211 BIOS. Please update to the alpha BIOS "GD8_13.A00". The issue will be solved.


3) You say that manually forcing the xdriver worked in the other distro, so my best guess at this point is that the ATI card is the culprit. I just don't know what the fix might be. You don't have another video card laying around that you could pop-in and try, just to verify that it is the card, do you?

Hopefully Boo or one of the other more knowledgeable people will see this and jump in and help us a bit.

I'll keep looking.

Fred

[big_dog1968]

Frank,
Thanks for your help so far. I am impressed with your efforts to help a stranger and noob like me. I am committed to continue trying. I have really enjoyed the OS when it boots.

If I can't get the consistency I am looking for, I'll put it on my son's pc (handed down). I had no problems running Kubuntu on it, so Mint will for sure work, and then for me maybe I'll wait for the next release.

But again, I am not quite ready to concede the battle for Mint on my new PC!

I wonder if there is another kind of boot manager that I could try to see if that makes a difference?

[Fred]

big_dog1968,

I certainly don't mind helping someone that is willing to work at learning something. Besides, it kinda pisses me off that I haven't been able to get a handle on this problem. I am not ready to give up yet either.

As far as your question goes. Yes, you could try a different boot loader but I really don't think it is worth the effort. Grub is about as solid as they come.

Let's wait a bit and see if anyone else can cast some light on this. In the mean time I'll keep looking.

Fred

[clem]

Hi there,

My guesses would be:

- make sure no USB storage devices are connected during the boot (it can change the order in which the BIOS assigns these drives... hence making /dev/sda4 something else.., but if you fixed the UUID, then maybe it's not that).

- change the grub entry to replace "quiet splash --" with "noapic noacpi nosplash --"

- check /etc/fstab ... /dev/sda4 should basically show "/" for its mount point. It could also be something wrong with the option, although I don't see why the installer would have messed with them.

- run Ubuntu Gutsy on the computer, if it doesn't work we can then look upstream, if it does it will give us a better idea of what could be wrong.

Just a few guesses as I don't really see what's wrong either yet.

Clem.

[Fred]

clem,

Thanks for responding.


big_dog1968,

Let me give some thought to what he had to say.

Fred

[big_dog1968]

Hi there,

My guesses would be:

- make sure no USB storage devices are connected during the boot (it can change the order in which the BIOS assigns these drives... hence making /dev/sda4 something else.., but if you fixed the UUID, then maybe it's not that).

- change the grub entry to replace "quiet splash --" with "noapic noacpi nosplash --"

- check /etc/fstab ... /dev/sda4 should basically show "/" for its mount point. It could also be something wrong with the option, although I don't see why the installer would have messed with them.

- run Ubuntu Gutsy on the computer, if it doesn't work we can then look upstream, if it does it will give us a better idea of what could be wrong.

Just a few guesses as I don't really see what's wrong either yet.

Clem.

Clem I have an internal USB flash card reader attached. You know one of those that installs in the 3.5 inch bay. I can't disconnect it while booting without opening case as it attaches inside. If some of the other suggestions don't work, then I will try to see if that makes a difference in consistency. I do notice that when Mint boots properly, that the LED light on the USB receiver for the wireless KB/Mouse flashes and then goes solid more quickly, and when it is slow to go solid or does not go solid at all, that boot fails. Since this light indicates that USB is working for the device, maybe there is some thing going on with the USB.

[big_dog1968]

I tried Ubuntu 7.1 and it does the same thing as Mint - sometimes boot sometimes nothing. I tried the "noapic noacpi nosplash" and checked fstab, to no avail.

I may try to install the alpha of Ubuntu 8.06 and see if it works. If it solves the problem, then I will wait for mint to release its version of Hardy Heron and install that. I will continue to check the forums, so if you think of anything, let me know, and I will try it.

In the meantime, I think I am going to try to put it on my son's PC. That way I can stay in the game.

[big_dog1968]

I was able to install PCLOS with no problems. It boots every time.

One thing I noticed that it did differently when the partitioner was resizing the Windows partition, was that rather than assign the drives created names like Mint/Ubuntu, SDA3 and SDA4, they gave them names of SDA7 and SDA8.

This may be significant since my internal usb card reader has 4 drives, and I have 2 NTFS partitions, for a total of 6 drives, so to speak. It appears that the installer decided to list the new Linuxs partitons as SDA7 and SDA8. Maybe this difference explains why I am able to regularly boot with PCLOS and not Mint/Ubuntu. Fred did mention the potential trouble USB devices could cause. What do you think?

Anyway although it runs and has a nice looking wallpaper, I like the automatic updates, faster startup (to me at least) and easier configuration that Mint offers, so if anybody thinks of a workaround for my Mint booting issues, let me know.

[big_dog1968]

I am now able to boot Mint over and over with no issues. I formatted and re-used the partitions created by PCLinux, instead of creating new ones. Now Mint boots perfectly (so far). I have rebooted at least 10 times with no issues.

I think there is something about the way the PCLOS installer recognizes the installed drives (including usb flash drives) that is different. It may go down as an unsolved mystery, but at least it works now. Thanks for all the help. It was appreciated.