johnwillyums

Ian and others, thanks for all your help. I have now removed all my non NTFS partitions and have ended up with a new partition on my c. drive. This is an NTFS partition and shows as K. drive in My Computer. I tried to extend the C. drive into it using Diskpart in Windows Disk Management but it wouldn't have it for some reason. Oh well at least I can now access it. Thanks for your help. I still don't understand why Linux won't work on my system but it wasn't for want of trying or want of help . Yours, John Williams

Ian, Arctic, Thanks for your replies. By spooky coincidence a CD of the new Ubuntu distro dropped through my door this very morning and guess what it won't install. It all seems to be going fine and then reaches a page finishing- [100:338510] [<c010334b>] work_notifysig=0x13/0x18 [100:338510] =========================== I've posted on the Ubuntu forum but it looks like the same story as with Mandriva. I can't understand this, my equipment is all about 2 years old and nothing exotic. Anyway, it looks like that's that for me and Linux which is a real shame. If I could just ask for one last piece of advice. How do I get rid of my Mandriva install and return my hard drive to Windows? I have downloaded GParted live CD but am not sure exactly what to do with it. Could one of you baby talk me through it please? Thanks for all your patience, John Williams

Hi. I've downloaded Wubi latest release- Wubi-7.04-test.exe. Should I try running this or do I need to remove Mandriva ? If so how? thanks, John Williams

Thanks for your reply Arctic. Can't see much point in unplugging stuff. After all I need my router to get online. Also none of my stuff is exotic- a BT router, Canon i9950 printer etc. It's all about 2 years old. You mention trying another distro. Is there really any point? Mandriva free 2007 Spring has kernel 2.6.17. I have a free dvd of Xandros desktop 4 with kernel 2.6.18. Should I try that? It doesn't look as good as Mandriva. Or would knoppix be even newer? Also should I just try another distro or do I need to get rid of Mandriva. Currently it has half my c drive. I have downloaded a copy of GParted live cd but am unsure how to use it. At the very least I'd like to get my system back to the way it was before. This has been a big disappointment so far for me but thank you all for your help. John Williams

This is driving me nuts. I just tried again and got a similar result but different code- beginning 89 1d a8 b8 etc. I could copy this out if you think it necessary but it's certainly different from the last time. The line beginning EIP was the same except for the final number. this was-0068:f7a91e08 (previously 0068:f768fe08) This was followed by the same message as before- <7>eth0:no IPv6 routers present So I'm stuck and beginning to think these problems are insurmountable. What do you think?, John Williams

Hello again. As you suggested I have tried to boot my dvd install several more times in text mode, with the 4 extra commands added to the kernel line. These are the results 1) EIP:[<019b75b> ste_page_address+0x15b/0x170 SS:ESP 0068:f768fe08 <7>eth0:no IPv6 routers present 2)Second time was different again, after several pages it stopped on a page with about 20 lines of red text as follows- SMP Modules linked in:sg sd_mod cpufreq_conservative intel_agp agpgart usb storage scsi_mod ehci hcd uhci_hcd usbcore fsdev evdev ext3 jbd then came several lines including- CPU:0 Stack... Call trace... This included- <c0103ccb>error_code+0x4f/0x54 <c01bdd3c> copy_strings_kernel+0x2c/0x40 There followed several lines of code beginning 8b 55 e8 and so on The red text ended with- EIP:[<c01bdc2f>] copy_ strings+0x13f/0x220 SS:ESP 0068:c1b41e5c After that was the message in black text about dropping to shell and typing Control-D to continue. 3) The third time was a repeat of the first, no red text and what seemed to be the same code (8b 55 e8 etc) followed by the same message- <7>eth0:no IPv6 routers present Could it be my router? It is a BT Voyager 240 ADSL Router and is connected to my pc by ethernet cable. Appreciate your help, John Williams

Hi Ian, just tried the live cd and that fails too. I got the orange screen and the bar gets about 2/3 of the way across before stopping. I tried again in verbose mode and got lots of text, loads of oks but then it stalled at this- EIP:[<c011637b>] smp_apic_timer_interrupt+0x2b/0x70 SS:ESP 0068:f540dc24 So it's something to do with apic again. Does this mean that my hardware cannot run Linux? I do hope not as I really want this to work, cheers, John Williams PS. during the boot from my dvd install if I press esc once the progress bar is moving nothing happens.

Hi Ian, that got me a lot further in the boot process than previously. I added the four commands as you suggested, so the full line read- kernel(hd0,4)boot/vmlinuz BOOT IMAGE=Linux root=/dev/hda5 resume=/dev/hda6 splash=silent vga=788 noapic nolapic acpi=off load_modules=off This got me back to the blue screen and the progress bar moved nearly halfway across before stalling and I got a semi transparent text overlay finishing with this- <6>bootsplash:status on console 0 changed to on [FAILED] ***An error occurred during the system check ***Dropping you to a shell; the system will resume ***when you leave the shell Give root password for maintenance (or type Control-D to continue:_ The word FAILED was in red. Needless to say I tried typing but could not. When I saw the progress bar moving across I thought it was really going to work this time, it's only moved a few centimetres previously. Does this help? What do you suggest I try next? Thanks again for your help, John Williams

Thanks for your input Blin. How do I disable ACPI in my BIOS? Will certainly download the live cd. Should I then try a fresh install with it? Thanks again, John Williams

Hi Ian, have tried the following- 1)Deleted kernel line back to hda5- added noapic load_modules=off result- Give root password for maintenance (or type Control-D to continue) I tried to type but could not. 2)Deleted kernel line back to hda5- added noapic nolapic load_modules=off result- udevd-event[1672]:run_program:'/sbin/pam/_console_apply' abnormal exit 3)deleted kernel line back to hda5-added noapic nolapic acpi=off load_modules=off result- udevd-event[1672]:run_program:'/sbin/pam/_console_apply' abnormal exit Attempts 2) and 3) achieved the same result. Is this of any help? Am I getting any nearer to achieving a result? Thanks for your support, John Williams :wall:

Dear Aussie John and IanW, Thanks for your continuing help, I tried adding code as you suggested. Having deleted the end of the line up to hda/5 I added first- noapic nolapic This gave me- udevd-event [1564] run_ program: '/lib/udev/path_id' abnormal exit Secondly I tried all three- noapic nolapic acpi=off This gave me- udevd-event[1262]:run_ program:'/lib/dev/usb_id' abnormal exit As you can see the only difference seems to be the number after event. It feels like I'm getting somewhere, what do you think? I'm off to work now, it's just before 8.00am in Uk but will be back to try whatever you can suggest around 7.00pm Thanks again,John Williams

Just noticed something else. I just went into My Computer (in Windows) and noticed that my d drive now appears in blue text rather than black as it did before. I opened the d drive and the adobe file is also appearing in blue type. I opened the adobe file and files marked acrobat 5.0 and acrobat 7.0 are in blue. Other folders in there are still black eg adobe photoshop cs2 and adobe photoshop elements 2.0. This seems a mysterious thing to have happened and coincidental with my installing Mandriva on the c drive. Does this help throw any further light on my problem? I'm currently playing some music off the d drive so it's still functioning. Haven't tried photoshop yet, should I? Thanks for listening, John

Hi, thanks for your reply I just tried what you suggested. The full line after /hda5 finished -resume=/dev/hda6 splash=silent vga=788 I deleted all of the last part from hda5. I then added noapic and tried to boot and got to this- EIP:(<co1bdc2f7>) copy_strings+0x220 SSI:ESP 0068:f7919e5c /etc/rc.sysinit:line 507 segmentation fault modprobe $module>/dev/null 2&1 So I seem to be getting a bit further. What should I try next? Thanks very much for your continuing help John Williams PS. I just tried again. This time I added noapic directly after resume/= That got me to- EIP is at clear_local_APIC+0x32/0x180 Another thought occurred to me. I have installed Mandriva on my c. drive alongside Windows, I also have a d. drive, a120gb Maxtor IDE which is over 3/4 full of music and photographs. I had thought this has nothing to do with it as I haven't touched it. Could this be what's messing me up? I really want this to work. Thanks again, John

I used Falko Timme's "how to" to try and install the free 2007 Spring version of Mandriva. See my post "Free edition will not first boot for first timer" Despite some helpful hints from IanW I am at a dead stop and can't seem to get anywhere. I posted a similar report on "HowToForge" and got this reply: "It seems that Mandriva doesn't like your hardware. You could try to install it again, but if that doesn't help, then there's probably no cure..." I have tried a reinstall but it still won't boot up and I am now desperate. Since then I posted again asking for help to remove it as it's taking up half my hard drive but he hasn't replied yet. John Williams

"It seems that Mandriva doesn't like your hardware. You could try to install it again, but if that doesn't help, then there's probably no cure..." Hi, I posted a similar mailing on HowToForge Forums as I originally posted here and this above is the reply I got from Falko Timme. Do you think this is the case or can I salvage this? Anyway I've looked at the post about uninstalling Mandriva and each reply seems to be saying it's difficult and not for non techy people. I can't believe I've just thrown away half of my hard drive. Please help John Willams

Ian,hope you are there After pressing escape at the boot choice I was taken to- GNU GRUB version 0.97 (639klower memory/1046784kupper memory) This gave me the following choice- linux linux-nonfb windows windows1 I tried both linux and linux-nonfb. I selected linux and pressed e to edit the command before booting. This gave me two choices- Kernel(hd0,4)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=linux root=/dev/hda5 resume=/ This had an arrow after the slash pointing to the right Secondly there was- initrd(hd0,4/boot/initrd.img Once again I selected e to edit the command. I tried it with both commands. I then typed your suggestions (linux noapic etc) directly on the end of the commands with no spaces and pressed enter. This took me back to the previous screen with the two commands but with my addition now added to the end of the line. As prompted I then pressed b to boot. This took me back to the original blue splash screen and sadly the boot bar progressed a few centimetres and then stopped. So, having reinstalled I still cannot access the system. Am I typing in the commands correctly or should I be starting a new line? Am I choosing the right command? The magazine suggested that this was going to be easy and no problem for newbie windows users like me. It's turning into a nightmare. I now have half my hard drive taken up with a system I can't use and I'm growing despondent. I appreciate your help but perhaps this is just beyond me. Thanks, John Williams

Thanks for your swift response. I put the DVD back in and chose that in the BIOS. I could not find "Installation- ACPI disabled" but managed to get into a text booter, I typed in linux no ACPI and that got me into a fresh install. When prompted I selected "upgrade" rather than install. This went very quickly and I was once again prompted to reboot. I now have several choices in my boot menu- Boot Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring Boot Microsoft Windows windows 1 Boot Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring(safe mode) alt_windows alt_windows1 I chose Mandriva safe mode and got this- EIP:(<c01bdc2f>) copy_strings+0x13f/0x220 SS:FSP 0068:f7903e5c/etc/rc.module:line 14:1208 segmentation fault 109ge-t $o "Loading Module:$mdule" <6>floppy drive(s) fd0 is 1.44m So, I am no farther forward and this is getting scary. I have to go to work now but will be back on line tomorrow afternoon (GMT) Please help! John Williams

Hi. Thanks for your swift response. As I said I'm a newbie to computers in general let alone Linux. I've looked in my control panel and I think my drive is IDE. The drive I am using is a Samsung SPO842N and I have controllers for IDE/ATA/ATAPI in my control box. I am also using a NVidia GeForce 6600le graphics card. I don't really understand where you want me to add the extra code. In the safe mode after it has stalled? Sorry to be such an idiot, John Williams Edit-I just tried booting Mandriva in safe mode another couple of times. First time I got- Fixing recursive fault but reboot is needed so I rebooted in safe mode again and got- EIP:(<C011772d>) smp_apic_timer_interrupt+0x2d/0x80 SS:ESP 0068:f7e97dbc I escaped and tried again and got to- EIP is at clear_local_APIC+0x32/0x180 Both times I had a little flashing cursor in the bottom left corner. I tied typing in linux noapic as you suggested but could not type anything at all. Perhaps you could explain in more detail. Thanks John Williams

Hello. I'm a total newbie. I'm not even very knowledgable with Windows XP home. I purchased Linux Magazine and got a free DVD of Mandriva Linux Free 2007 Spring and installed it following Falko Timme's method on howtoforge.com. Everything seemed to be going well but when it came to the first boot I got the blue screen with a progress bar at the bottom left. This progress bar moved along about half an inch and then stopped. I left it for over an hour and it did not move. I pressed esc and nothing happened so I rebooted using the tower button and tried Mandriva safe mode. After a few pages of text the screen froze with this- <kernel panic-not syncing:fatal exception in interrupt <1>BUG:unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address ffffe320 printing eip: c 0116b82 *pde=00004067 *pte=378be021 Dops:0003(#26) SMP Modules linked in intel_agp agpgart usb storage SCSI-mod ehci_hcd uhci_hcd usbc one tsdev evdev ext3 jbd cpu:o EIP:0060(<c0116b82>) not taintedVLI EFLAGS:0001000(2.6.17-13mdv#1) EIP is at clear_local_APIC+Ox32/0x180 I then escaped using the tower button and rebooted into Windows. Windows informed me I had installed new hardware and needed to reboot so I did. This time I tried the straight boot into Mandriva again and again the progress bar stopped after about half an inch. Therefore I tried booting into safe mode again and once again it quickly stalled but on a different page. I got: EIP:(<LC01bdc2f>) copy_strings+0x13f/0x220 SS:ESP 0068:f7ebbe5c /etc/rc.modules:line 14:1195 segmentation fault modprobe $module$args >/dev/null 2>&1 I'm really disappointed as I've been so looking forward to trying Mandriva. I am using a Celeron 3.06 on an 80gb hard drive which I've divided roughly in half with Windows XP home and Mandriva. XP seems to be working ok but I don't know what to do next to get Mandriva running. Please help, John Williams