Install Dead End
Posts: 25
I am having a problem installing Simply Mepis 6.0 rc3.
I have cut two ISO's and have repeated the install at least five times. Both of the CD's yield the same results. My box is a home brew P4 with 512 meg. of RAM with an 82845g (gigabyte mb).
I am able to complete the install process all the way up to the point where I enter the root passwd verification. Once I hit the "next" button the machine stops cold. The mouse pointer is still functional but it will not allow me to move ahead in the install process or to close out the current window.
I am using the "vesa" video driver.
Any help would be appreciated.
I redefined the partitions as suggested but the same thing happens, the installation just dies after I enter the root password for the second time and press the next button. The machine locks up and I have to power down in order to regain control of the computer.
The hd is an 80gig Western
Posts: 25
The hd is an 80gig Western Digital, with a 15gig partition for root and a 560 meg partition for swap. The ISO was burned with nero which has never let me down. The checksum is good.
The hd is an 80gig Western
Posts: 2280
Anything else we might need to know like is it sata or usb ? Are you trying to skip any install steps ? Im really groping for a clue , when the install gets to that point its usually a cinch.
jim
The hd is an 80gig Western
Posts: 565
The hd is an 80gig Western Digital, with a 15gig partition for root and a 560 meg partition for swap. The ISO was burned with nero which has never let me down. The checksum is good.
Can you set that up again and make 5GB for root and 10GB for home, the swap is ok.
regards,
Bad Dog
SimplyMEPIS 6.0-rc-3 - KDE 3.5.3 - kernel 2.6.15-25
I redefined the partitions
Posts: 25
I redefined the partitions as suggested but the same thing happens, the installation goes fine... but then just dies after I enter the root password (for the second time) and press the NEXT button. The machine immediately locks up, the CD drive stops and I have to power down in order to regain control of the computer.
My hd is sata and I am using th vesa option at boot-up. I have also completed a memory check which is A-OK. If I select the standard boot option it results in a blank screen after the usual verbose boot up feedback screen.
Strangely, both ISOs are working fine as live CDs. Moreover, the last few iterations of Mepis have all installed correctly without a hitch.
Try this
Posts: 365
There has been a problem with some Intel sata controllers with Linux distros. It usually only appears with ATA drives going through a sata controller, but try adding hdc=noprobe to the grub line when booting the CD.
If that doesn't work, my next instinct would be to try a different filesystem - e.g. reiserfs instead of ext3 - to ensure the password wasn't trying to be written to the exact same spot on the disk.
Thanks for your
Posts: 25
Thanks for your suggestions. Unfortunately, neither one seems to have solved the problem. I even changed the size of the partitions to avoid the potential for the password problem.
It seems strange that it gets almost to the end of the process before it misbehaves.
I redefined the partitions
Posts: 2280
I redefined the partitions as suggested but the same thing happens, the installation goes fine... but then just dies after I enter the root password (for the second time) and press the NEXT button. The machine immediately locks up, the CD drive stops and I have to power down in order to regain control of the computer.My hd is sata and I am using th vesa option at boot-up. I have also completed a memory check which is A-OK. If I select the standard boot option it results in a blank screen after the usual verbose boot up feedback screen.
Strangely, both ISOs are working fine as live CDs. Moreover, the last few iterations of Mepis have all installed correctly without a hitch.
Can you explain the last sentence a bit more are you saying the last few releases installed no problem ? If so i think its time to get the wizard involved at
maybe Warren and crew should know another possible devil has popped up.
jim
Although I had some
Posts: 25
Although I had some problems with printing, RC2 installed without a hitch, (i.e. everything progressed smoothly after the passwords were entered), and I was able to reboot normally.
Glad to hear one is going
Posts: 2280
Makes me think something with the iso downloaded isnt kool.Who knows though, main thing is youre up and running ! Rc2 aint bad anyway till 6.0 final is out. Have fun.
jim
It is when you want to run
Posts: 25
It is when you want to run from the HD!
I just deleated all linux partitions on the HD and created new partitions via QTaprted from within the installation procedure. I really thought I had it this time... the same thing happens, it dies after entering the root password and hitting the next button.
This one is a killer!
It is when you want to run
Posts: 2280
Im thinking its time to have a look at those partitions with cfdisk at command line , i have never had too mutch use for qtparted any way . Fire up the cd and do ctrl alt f1 & sign in as root with password root > cfdisk > enter key and see just what you have. Use the arrow keys to navigate to what you want to select & enter to do it. Swap is 82 and linux is 83 . Make sure you mark it bootable and dont worry about formatting the installer will handle that. To keep it simple just make root and swap , i have never had that combo fail. Keep in mind / is root. Then reboot to let them set in bios. Look for hidden parts. etcetra or any thing unusual that might be a snafu to your install. If that dont do it we are definately gonna have to back off and punt!
jim 
That is exactly how I
Posts: 25
That is exactly how I started out. Cfdisk was used to establish a bootable root partition (15,000 meg) and a swap partition (560 meg). They were created on my second hard drive hdb. I boot from hda and grub was set up to be located in the Master Boot Record of hda.
This configuration has worked perfectly with Arch, Fedora Core 5, Mepis RC2 and Ubuntu over the past three weeks. I always clean out the MBR record with fdisk and start from a clean hdb.
That is exactly how I
Posts: 2280
Well thats a fine mess ya got me into catfish ! Heh Heh
Hmmm... it doesnt sound possible but there must be something wrong with the iso. No one else has this problem that i know of. In theory at least even if the md5sum is correct it could have gotten garbled in transit or during burn.
The only remaining suggestion i have at this point is try another download from a diffrent source or mirror. Sorry but i think we are both out of options . The path we last followed has allways worked for me without fail. May try the iso on another rig to see what it does....
jim
Been thinking
Posts: 2280
I always clean out the MBR record with fdisk and start from a clean hdb.
My mind keeps going back to your last sentence about the mbr and a clean hdb. I dont know why it keeps trippin my trigger but could you run down the procedure youre using? It may be nothing but as Enigma One said its in the back of my mind an its not safe back there.
The more i think about trying that cd on another rig better i like it. Most sensible thing out of my keyboard in a while.
jim
I set up a new distribution
Posts: 25
I set up a new distribution as follows:
Using "System Rescue Disk" I proceed as follows :
1. Boot the CSD from my CD.
2. Login as root
3. # dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hdb bs=1M
4. # reboot
5. Start the system with a DOS boot disk
6. c:/ fdisk /mbr
7. create new partition scheme on /dev/hdb
a.) by reusing System Rescue Disk, or
b.) boot from the distribution ISO and create the partitions from within the installation ISO.
5. set Grub to reside on the MBA (/dev/hda).
This procedure has always worked for me and I must have done at least 25 installs over the past three months.
Sorry for the double post,
Posts: 25
Sorry for the double post, I just got up.
Hey sparks and Jim
Posts: 5513
You guys going back and forth trying to get sparks40's system going makes me wonder about one thing that hasn't been mentioned.
Sparks40, you stated that you have tested the md5sum of the download. Great. Have you checked the md5sum of the burned cd?
With any valid Linux that you have running on the system, you can check the md5sum of a cd-rom by not mounting it. Insert the cd and perform
md5sum /dev/cdrom # or /dev/something that's your cd-rom drive. You should get exactly the same string as the md5sum of the iso image. I have had one case of getting a valid download, but a bum burn. My install didn't get as far as yours did, but tracking down the problem was just as weird and frustrating!
Your suggestion was a good
Posts: 25
Your suggestion was a good one.
I checked the md5sum specified by MEPIS against the md5sum of the ISO CD I burned and they are identical. However, "Still no joy in beantown!"
Thanks to all for your help and suggestions. I guess I'll just wait for the final version and hope for the best.
Your suggestion was a good
Posts: 2280
Yep frustrating is the word. But im wondering if we could go a little further with this time permitting . My sentiments in a situation like this is i need to know what is happening so i can avoid in future if possible for benefit of all. Not to mention having to admit it whipped me!
So i would like you to try to eliminate some possibilities by making your secondary drive a master by its self & try the install again . And if that doesnt work try the cd on a totally diffrent drive and then possibly if needed on another machine. Its sutch a strange and off the wall thing an i would really like to understand it.
jim
After checking the md5sum
Posts: 25
After checking the md5sum and finding it to be accurate, I started thinking about trying another distribution to see if the problem would persist. Since MEPIS 6.0 rc3 uses the same kernel as Ubuntu, I overwrote the MEPIS distro with Ubuntu and am responding to your most recent comments. Absolutely no problems installing Ubuntu on the second hd with the same exact partitions. Although Ubuntu is a very good distro, I want the additional applications and tools in the stock MEPIS environment.
I've about burned up all my spare time for today, but I am still open to suggestions on how to proceed.
TNX
After checking the md5sum
Posts: 2280
Yes that proves linux can be installed on that drive but unfortunately it doesnt explain the Mepis install problem. Things like this drive me nuts till i find out why its happening.
If your willing to spend the time to get to the bottom if this i will hang in there with you when time permits. I will jot down the main thread url to check back from time to time . In the mean time best regards & have fun!
jim
Install Dead End
Posts: 2280
Well thats a new one ! The only thing that comes to mind is space or size of your partition or something off the wall like a bad spot on platter???? Maybe if you provide more details about your harddrive burning software , disk media etc. someone will get an idea whats happening. Some of the silliest things like cd-rr have been known to cause strange things. Allso have you checked the download & cd md5sum for errors?
jim