Non Bootable CD install

[aRTee]

About the video:

at the lilo bootpromt you can hit [esc] and type:

linux init 3

so the system will start in non-graphical mode.

You can then log in as root, and do

drakxconf

for system configuration, or

drakx11

for just graphics configuration.

 

If things work fine there, you can do

telinit 5

to go to graphics mode.

 

Why the test works but after rebooting it doesn't, no clue. Buggy software?

 

 

If you are trying things and you want to get the logfile so you can share it with us, you can ftp into the linux machine from the windows machine, just make sure the ftp server is running, if necessary start it:

service proftpd start

and if it's not installed, install it:

urpmi proftpd

(you'll have to insert the required installation cd, the system will ask you)

Naturally, you'll then have to start it.

You can now log into ftp from the windows machine with any ftp client that allows you to specify a username and password.

 

The respective logfiles are:

/var/log/XFree86.0.log

and similar named files (*.old and such).

 

 

As for setting up your machine to be approachable via vnc:

make sure you have tight-vnc-server installed, to install it do:

urpmi tightvnc-server

 

I'm copying this from my website:

file:/home/robert/webhtml/mandrake.tips.for.free.fr/howtos.html#network

 

On linux (contrary to windows) the VNC session is actually not what is running on the screen; a different x-session is started, which can have a different resolution and colour depth. Start it by typing (as a user, not as root!):

vncserver :1 (remember the number!)

If you haven't set a password, it will tell you to do so first (vncpasswd).

After that, you can connect to it from another (or the same, for testing) machine by typing: vncviewer or by K-menu - Networking - Remote Access - TightVNC

Now type the address of the server, followed by a colon (:), followed by the number that you started the vncserver with: 192.168.0.1:1 Then type your vnc password in the next appearing box.

 

If your server is actually not running a graphical environment (my server doesn't even have a monitor attached to it), it can still run a vncserver. If the graphics of the server don't allow anything more than 8 bit at 1024x768, you can still have more via your vncserver; I start mine with:

vncserver :3 -geometry 1280x1024 -depth 16 so I have some more screen real estate, and a higher colour depth. (This is not possible with windows.) This does somewhat slow down the whole thing, but in my case the connection takes about 20KB/s, which is not a lot on a 100Mbit/s network.

The nice thing with the vncserver is that you can shut down your client pc, connect again later etcetc. Viz. if your server is downloading a large file, you can shutdown your pc and keep the server running.

 

Logging on with ssh and starting an application locally that runs on the server you logged onto. (the application you start can also be vnc, so that you can subsequently do everything in there) From the cli, do:

ssh 192.168.0.1 give the username (if different from the one proposed) and password. You should now be on that other system, where you can give commands like:

vncserver :1

or so (which is what I used to do to start the vncserver after the server has been rebooted, now I just make sure the vncserver is started when the server is booted)

BTW "telnet" would/could give similar functionality, but since it is one gaping security hole, it is adviced to never use it, and even never to install it.

 

There are some more points to mention - first see if you can get this going - make sure you run the vncserver as regular user.

To log in as regular user, you can hit alt-F2 and use that console. Switch back to the other/first one with alt-F1. (You can go up to F6; F7 to F12 are reserved for graphical sessions.)

 

These extra points include starting icewm instead of kde (much lighter, gives the computer the same speed it would have running win98 or 95), and starting vnc at boot time, automatically. I have some notes somewhere, but it's really time for bed.

 

Last but not least: to turn off the computer, do, as root:

shutdown -h now

(-h means: halt; -r would mean: reboot)

 

Hope this helps!

[Guest karigar]

Thanks aRTee, for the tips. Makes it most convenient to try different settings for video.

 

I did some attempts using "linux init 3" followed by "drakxconf" as root (drakx11 doesn't work). Now the test FAILS at exactly the same settings for which it passed during install !! It pretty much fails for all the settings I've tried so far. By fail I mean dead black screen, & no response to "ctrl-Atl-bkspc" or anything, so I have to reboot.

 

So I'm still stumped on that one.

 

I've, in the meantime, "urpmi" ed the "proftpd" and "tightvnc-server" and started them as a test.

 

I need to configure my networking (via drakxconf) so I have the right IP address, DNS, mask, etc, & then I'll give VNC a shot soon.

(Any good guides/cheatsheets available on proper networking procedures ?)

 

I think I'll just keep it simple and just use a crossover eth cable between the old(linux) and the new(windows) PC.

 

Will get back with more feedback soon.

 

BTW: I'm a Mech E with just enough experience with UNIX and (bad)experience with windows (9x) to get into trouble....

[Guest karigar]

Update:

Can finally open a graphical interface of the old PC linux on the new PC, using tightvnc (thanks aRTee for the instructions, worked great!)

 

 

Of course I've been since then!

 

Now I believe I should get to start the old PC linux BY DEFAULT at "linux init 3" so I don't need to hang around, connected to the video terminal, waiting to press ESC at the LILO boot prompt.

 

I suppose I need to edit the "start-up" file to do this. (Any tips?)

Also, any way to cycle power / go on standby etc..after I do a "shutdown -() now" or is this a purely hardware / BIOS domain?

 

I'm trying to work out how I could put this PC remote (in the basement) and still have decent access/ control over it...

 

It's been fun, should be more fun in future...

(Linux Rocks!! )

[aRTee]

Ok, glad things are working out.

 

Now, what you have to do:

 

make linux start in non-graphics mode. To do this on a permanent basis, edit the file

/etc/inittab

and make the first real line (i.e. not commented out by hashes: # ) look like this:

id:3:initdefault:

(it likely has the number 5 instead of 3).

 

This tells the system to boot to init level 3.

 

You will need to create a script to start your vncsession under the regular user account.

The easiest way is to work this out in 3 steps.

 

1 - create the scriptfile that starts the vncserver the way you like it, so that you can execute it from the command line as that particular user

2 - make sure it starts, even if before it has crashed, i.e. not exited properly

3 - call this script during bootup

 

 

For point 1 and 2, the regular unix way is to create a dir in your user homedir called bin:

cd

(this makes sure you are in your home dir)

mkdir bin

and inside it, create a scriptfile with the necessary info:

cd bin

create the file "vncautostart.sh" and put the following inside; I'm assuming that you will use the display number 3 (can be anything I guess, not sure about number limitations though), of size 1024x768 and 16 bit colour.

 

 

#!/bin/bash
cd /home/[username]
rm -f /tmp/.X3-lock
rm -f /tmp/.X11-unix/X3
vncserver :3 -geometry 1024x768 -depth 16

 

The first cd command is to be placed in a known path, not sure how necessary it is; it may be that vncserver doesn't use the info from .vnc if you're executing that command elsewhere, not sure.

In any case, substitute the [username] with the actual username.

 

The 2 rm commands are to delete the lockfiles - these are to avoid starting an xserver if one is already running. If your machine should get shut down (hang, power loss, whatever) or in any case the vncserver doesn't get killed in the proper way (vncserver --kill :3 would be the right thing), the lock files will block another server from getting started; in this case, the script should only get executed at boot (which you only do once, namely when you boot), so no worries there - if the files are there, they shouldn't be, and if they're not, no problem. The -f makes sure there's no questions asked, they get wiped.

 

Now, one more thing on this file, you have to make it executable:

chmod +x vncautostart..sh

Note: the .sh doesn't mean anything to the system, just to you that it's a shell script. The chmod command tells the system that that file can be executed.

 

Next thing: to have icewm instead of kde (if you want a light wm, that will give you the same speed on that machine as win98 would), edit the file /home/[username]/.vnc/xstartup to look like this (this is mine on my server)

#!/bin/sh

# Mandrake Linux VNC session startup script
#exec /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc
exec /usr/X11R6/bin/icewm

 

Basically, I replaced (well, commented out) the standard routine with the direct call to start icewm. I hope this actually still works like that - this particular file hasn't been used in 402 days (last time I booted my server - P2 350).

 

Very last thing to do, add this command to the startup scripts that get executed at boot time; that would be the file:

/etc/rc.local

and the command to add would be:

sudo -u [username] /home/[username]/bin/vncautostart.sh

which you can most easily add by doing, as root:

echo "sudo -u [username] /home/[username]/bin/vncautostart.sh" >> /etc/rc.local

 

Let me know if this works for you, I hope I didn't mess up..

[Guest karigar]

aRTee,

 

Per your instructions, everything worked fine, except the last line, i.e. adding the command to the startup scripts that get executed at boot time.

 

Looks like I could be needing some more instructions in order for the startup file to use the "sudo".

 

Right now, I'm first logging on using puTTY, and then starting the vncserver at the cmd prompt. icewm works fine, and is much lighter.

 

I do not seem to have any "auto login user" working, although I remember asking for that at install.

[aRTee]

If you setup the system to go to init 3, you cannot have any autologin working I think - autologin only works if you boot to graphics mode.

 

To debug your issue with the line to be added to the boot startup script, just execute it from the commandline, as root:

sudo -u [username] /home/[username]/bin/vncautostart.sh

and tell if that works or not, and if not, what it responded.