I've just ran into problem trying to improve my computer: I've installed a huge Zalman cooler with new round IDE cables and an internal 100Mo Zip drive and it messed up my mandrake 10 installation evnthough everything works in my windows boot.

I'm relatively new to linux, this is the error messages I get in verbose mode during startup:

checking for new hardware [FAILED]
...
bringing up interface eth0 [FAILED]
...
startx font server : execvp : no such file or directory [FAILED]
....
checking internet connections to start at boot sciocdelrt [FAILED]
....
starting crond : execvp : no such file or directory

It ends up with

kernel...blablabla
localhost login:

in console mode.

So I use my user login and password, this is what i get:

-bash : dircolors : command not found
-bash : locale : command not found
-bash : tty : command not found
/etc/profile.d/java.sh : permition denied
-bash : tty : command not found
-bash : head : command not found

It ends at the prompt, I can navigate in console mode in my directories, but when I try startx it gives me -bash startx command not found.



Any Ideas

The fact that you have a prompt is a good thing. If you have a portable distro, like Mandrakemove or MEPIS, you should boot and mount your partitions so that you can inspect the /etc/fstab. I can't explain why, but it seems your directory dtructure is out of sync with your system map. If you don't have a protable system, then explain where your ide stuff was prior to your hardware install, and what it is now. In other words, what is on hda, hdb, hdc, and hdd.

Yeah, sounds like
/usr
is lost.

That's what I suspect, and I think there was some odd partition rearrangement. Editing /etc/fstab should correct it, if that proves to be the problem.

Thank you, for your help, I went to bed yesterday hoping a good night rest would restore my mandrake ....but no. Still, there are people willing to help and THAT'S GREAT! Thanks guys!

So I used the Insert distro (for some curious reason knoppix, on which Insert is based, wouldn't work, my screen remains black telling me "out of reach", but that's an other problem...) and I looked in my fstab file:

/dev/hda1 /mnt/win_c ntfs umask=0,nls=iso8859-15,ro 0 0

/dev/hda5 / ext3 defaults 1 1

/dev/hda6 swap swap defaults 0 0

/dev/hda7 /home ext3 defaults 1 2

/dev/hdb1 /mnt/win_c2 vfat umask=0,iocharset=iso8859-15,codepage=850 0 0

/dev/hdd /mnt/cdrom auto umask=0,user,iocharset=iso8859-15,codepage=850,noauto,ro,exec 0 0

none /dev/pts devpts mode=0620 0 0

none /mnt/floppy supermount dev=/dev/fd0,fs=ext2:vfat,--,umask=0,iocharset=iso8859-15,sync,codepage=850 0 0

none /proc proc defaults 0 0


I must say that when I added my zip drive I switched my tdk dvdrom which is on
the same ide cable from slave to master, does it have an impact? I case it has, it's said...


I used auto partition during mandrake install. A win 2000 view of my disks is in the file attached to this message.

/swap is the 500Mo one
my /home/alexandre/ is on the 27Go one
C: and D: are windows disks
the others two must be
/hda5 the root folder /
and the other one /usr ???

I must say I'm too new to linux to have a clear view of the problem


thank you

not according to your fstab.this says your /home is on the primary hd 4,49Go which is probably suppose to be
/usr
Your home, IF the 27Go should be on hdb either hdb2 or hdb5.

So if I guessed, I'd say your fstab should read

anyone want to confirm the same?

Well it doesn't seems to work ARGHH!

Here is more detailed information on what's inside the disk. I should have started by that:

hda: win

hda5:
bin/
boot:
dev/
etc/
home/
initrd/
...

hda7:
alexandre/
lost+found/

hdb1: windows

hdb5:
X11R6/
bin/
etc/
games/
include/
java/
...

Also, in the fstab of Insert, hdb5 is said to be an ext2 partition

Yeepee! Got it back to work...after 2 days of efforts (I'm waisting my life with computers!)
But I ran in a new problem

So apparently the correct fstab file turned out to be:

/dev/hda1 /mnt/win_c ntfs umask=0,nls=iso8859-15,ro 0 0

/dev/hda5 / ext3 defaults 1 2

/dev/hda7 /home ext3 defaults 1 2

/dev/hdb5 /usr ext3 defaults 1 2

/dev/hdb1 /mnt/win_c2 vfat umask=0,iocharset=iso8859-15,codepage=850 0 0

/dev/hdd /mnt/cdrom auto umask=0,user,iocharset=iso8859-15,codepage=850,noauto,ro,exec 0 0

none /mnt/floppy supermount dev=/dev/fd0,fs=ext2:vfat,--,umask=0,iocharset=iso8859-15,sync,codepage=850 0 0

none /dev/pts devpts mode=0620 0 0

/dev/hda6 swap swap defaults 0 0

none /proc proc defaults 0 0



to sum up: hda7 -> home
hdb5 -> usr
and hda5 1 1 => 1 2


But it only runs in root mode!!!!
Otherwise it says that my session lasted less than 10 seconds and crashed:

/ect/profile.d/java.sh permission denied

ArgH!
Linux is a never ending "try and see" time killer!!

I guess there is a execution rights issue but I've no idea how to cope with it. I've just learned to use the fstab file, do you have something else to teach me guys?

Thanks

Because of the juggle in the partitions, something you have done has altered the permissions in x, my guess. I think maybe your /home permissions are messed up. As root, make sure your user has permission to use your home files! If you like to use gui, open kde as root. Using konqueror, navigate to your /home/user file folder. Right click, go to the permissions tab and make sure that your user is the owner and the group. That should fix it.

probably end up having to create a new user.