mint12 live session fail to reach graphical mode<solved-ish>

[timwilliams]

1) I verified the md5 hash and installed the linux mint 12 iso to a thumb drive using unetbootin from crunch bang linux.
2) This particular thumb drive has successfully installed linux mint on a different computer 20 minutes prior to failing on a Dell Inspiron m5030
3) The dell successfully runs debian and crunch bang. I'm using crunchbang to type this.
4) On choosing the live session on the dell I get the mint splash screen with cursor. It hangs there. Alt-Ctrl-F1 gets me a working prompt. Alt-Ctrl-F7 brings me back to a different screen. the bottom panel displays but doesn't work and the screen above that panel is full of vertical, monochrome, narrow, light and dark grey, evenly spaced stripes. -yeah I know --- weird. the cursor still moves around as I drag my finger on the track pad.
5) Booting using the compatibility mode option dumps me directly at a bash prompt.
6) Latest Ubuntu CD hangs completely, Doesn't let me switch to a bash prompt.
7) An ancient 9.04 ubuntu cd WORKS! boots right up and goes right to the live session including wi-fi support. - go figure.
8 ) Upgrading from ubuntu 9.04 causes the computer to hang when it goes into graphical mode after restarting. booting into recovery mode gets me a working prompt.

Don't get me wrong, I've learned more in the last 12 months about linux using 1st debian then crunchbang than I ever did using ubuntu or mint, and I'm now very comfortable with the command line. However, that's the same bitter consolation a shade tree mechanic has after replacing every major component in his car.

[timwilliams]

This is obviously from crunch bang not mint but it gives my system particulars.

System: Host tcw-dell-cblx Kernel 2.6.32-5-amd64 x86_64 (64 bit) Distro CrunchBang Linux statler
CPU: Dual core AMD Athlon II P360 (-MCP-) cache 1024 KB flags (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4a svm) bmips 9178.24
Clock Speeds: (1) 800.00 MHz (2) 800.00 MHz
Graphics: Card ATI M880G [Mobility Radeon HD 4200] X.Org 1.7.7 Res: 1366x768@60.1hz
GLX Renderer Gallium 0.4 on AMD RS880 GLX Version 2.1 Mesa 7.10.3 Direct Rendering Yes
Audio: Card ATI SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA) driver HDA Intel BusID: 00:14.2
Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Version 1.0.21
Network: Card-1 Atheros AR8152 v2.0 Fast Ethernet driver atl1c v: 1.0.0.2-NAPI at port d000 BusID: 05:00.0
Card-2 Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) driver ath9k BusID: 04:00.0
Disks: HDD Total Size: 320.1GB (2.6% used) 1: /dev/sda WDC_WD3200BEVT 320.1GB
Partition: ID:/ size: 42G used: 7.9G (21%) fs: ext4 ID:swap-1 size: 5.04GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 75.1C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info: Processes 146 Uptime 1:11 Memory 459.9/3711.0MB Runlevel 2 Client Shell inxi 1.4.21

[awd-s]

It is a problem with the underlying Ubuntu and the acpi infrastructure. On the Dell M5030 try:

1...Ctrl+Alt+Fn+F1 This keystroke sequence should switch you to a terminal window with a mint@mint$ prompt.

2...Type: sudo shutdown now -r This should reboot the machine.

3...At the Boot: prompt, just before Mint loads, press Enter immediately followed by the Shift key, which should expose the Grub menu.

4...Select the first item and press e to edit it.

5...At the end of the edit-line add pci=noacpi

6...Boot the machine and it should now go all the way to the desktop.

Checkout this thread on the Ubuntu forums for information on how to permanently add the change to the boot parameters:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1713733&highlight=m5030

Basically, it is this:

Open a Terminal window and type:
gksudo gedit /etc/default/grub

Add the boot parameter:
pci=noacpi 

Run the command:
sudo update-grub

I hope this helps.

[timwilliams]

Correct me if I'm wrong but acpi controls power settings. Sure I could get linux mint to boot but is disabling power management on a laptop such a great idea? this has been a problem in ubuntu and mint since whatever they changed after ubuntu 9.10. When is it going to be fixed? Who - where do I need to donate money to to encourage it to be fixed since I'm not a developer.

[awd-s]

You are correct. ACPI is the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface, an open standard for device configuration and power management by the operating system. Strictly speaking it is not a good idea to disable it. However, it is a matter of personal choice. In this instance, you would be disabling acpi for PCI, the Peripheral Component Interconnect (Peripheral Controller Interface), a computer bus for attaching hardware devices in a computer. Remaining acpi facilities would continue to function. For me it isn't a problem as I run my Dell M5030 from the mains almost all the time, so battery life doesn't enter into my use-case equations. This annoyance will be a problem for any distro based on Ubuntu.

I don't know where to direct donations in order to get the problem corrected. Still, the good thing about Linux is that there are multiple ways of doing things. I've been looking at Linux Mint as an alternative since Ubuntu is now poised to become more like Apple. Canonical appears to moving towards a model that coexists on an Android platform, so that docking the telephone with a keyboard and monitor would give the user access to Ubuntu in all its glory while having Android phone functionality available simultaneously, hence advent of the Unity GUI that is more touch oriented.

I've been using Ubuntu since 2005 (Breezy) and stopped upgrading with the appearance of Unity, as it has a less efficient work-flow than that provided by Gnome v2.x. Unity also requires that you know and type name of the function you need, though I understand that the new HUD facility is supposed to solve this problem by being clairvoyant of the user's intentions. From a normal computer user's perspective it looks a bit brain-dead, but makes sense when considering Canonical's long-range plans. Needing a new home, I've looked at several other distros, including Bodhi Linux and Zenwalk.

Bodhi is based on Ubuntu, so the same booting problem will be present on the Dell. I was unable to select any resolution other than 800x600 on another fanless PC. The trouble seemed to point to hardware discovery by the kernel. Even adding and manipulating an Xorg.conf file to define the specific hardware didn't produce any improvement.

Zenwalk is based on Slackware. I can report that the Zenwalk Live CD works immediately on my Dell M5030 without having to give it any fancy keyboard work from the command-line. I don't know if acpi is active or not, but since it's baked into the kernel I assume that it is. Thus far, Zenwalk looks like a promising alternative to Ubuntu. Standard edition of Zenwalk uses xfce for the GUI, but a Gnome version is available too. Xfce is lighter weight than Gnome, so it's worth a try in the interests of improved performance.

This is likely much more than you want to know, so I apologize for boring-on. I felt that you or any other passers-by deserve a broader narrative. Active use of and solving problems with Linux makes the user stronger whereas passive use of Microsoft and Apple products is OK for the less adventurous among us. Good luck and may the Tux-force be with you.

[timwilliams]

...Not boring at all. I appreciate the info. Right now I'm using Mint Debian with cairo dock and it does the job. I will have to wait until I get back from overseas to try some of your suggestions. Right now I'm living in the land of expensive low bandwidth, SSL and proxy blocking. (powers that be don't realize I can encrypt the info in a packet before I send it out on port 80 "unencrypted" to my home computer which decrypts and forwards it on to its destination...)

[forger]

Sorry to butt in but this really covers exactly my present problem. Does

In this instance, you would be disabling acpi for PCI, the Peripheral Component Interconnect (Peripheral Controller Interface), a computer bus for attaching hardware devices in a computer. Remaining acpi facilities would continue to function.

mean that suspend and hibernate function would still work?

[awd-s]

....Does

In this instance, you would be disabling acpi for PCI, the Peripheral Component Interconnect (Peripheral Controller Interface), a computer bus for attaching hardware devices in a computer. Remaining acpi facilities would continue to function.

mean that suspend and hibernate function would still work?

It's not something I use, but I've just tested it on my M5030. In my configuration, Suspend appears to work normally whereas Hibernate appears to operate no differently from Shutdown. I left a document open on the desktop then activated Hibernate; I assume pushing the On-Off button resumes from Hibernate; on log-in the document was closed and the system appeared as it does after a cold-start.

[awd-s]

...Right now I'm using Mint Debian with cairo dock and it does the job....

That's interesting. Perhaps I should investigate Mint Debian. It begs the question: If Mint Debian is working for you, why do you want to use Mint flavoured Ubuntu?

[forger]

Hi, thanks for your help.

I still can't get anything other than the

mint@mint ~s

prompt. I have tried adding nomodeset and acpi=off or pci=noacpi to the boot instruction line via Unetbootin which I used to set up my live USB.

I think I will now investigate Mint Debian and Crunchbang.

BTW Plop is a great utility, does just what is says on the tin.

[forger]

I have reached a resolution by using Mint 12. I was trying to use Mint 9 but when that failed I thought there was no point trying 12. But i got cover disc with Ubuntu 12.04 on it and that booted up in a Live session so I thought I would try Mint 12 and it worked.

Thanks for your help

[awd-s]

I have reached a resolution by using Mint 12. I was trying to use Mint 9 but when that failed I thought there was no point trying 12. But i got cover disc with Ubuntu 12.04 on it and that booted up in a Live session so I thought I would try Mint 12 and it worked.

Thanks for your help

Well, that's good news. You didn't give up, which is the key thing to remember when using Linux as there is nearly always a way to get where you want to go. Diagnosis is often helped by trying the live CDs of other distributions. The live CDs of PCLinuxOS present boot options that allow you to turn off some features if you are having trouble booting, accessible via the keyboard function keys.

[cafepost]

This does not work on my m5030 dell laptop. Is it assumed an earlier version of Linux is already installed?

Edit. I hit tab and was able to edit boot config. Installing now.

Update: FINALLY! The pci=noacpi in the grub file did not work for me. I had to add:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="nomodeset pci=off"

Maybe I was supposed to add:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="pci=noacpi"

I simply added just a new line: pci=noacpi
which only worked on the install grub edit.

Additionally, gksudo gedit would not work for me either. I had to type "sudo vi /etc/default/grub". Then the "sudo update-grub"

So. Bottom line:
sudo vi /etc/default/grub
Add: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="pci=noacpi"

then sudo update-grub

I hope this helps someone.