10.1 install problem (stuck at blue screen)

[Guest monkey8]

I'm new to Linux, so I might be asking stupid questions... but do help me plz if you can. :)

 

First here is my specs:

P-MMX 200

a whopping 32Meg ram (yes, 32.. lol)

ATI Rage II

24x CDRom

a CRT that I think it can only go up to 800x600

WD 20gig HD

a floppy drive I found in my backyard (it's a long story..lol)

 

(Yes, I'm trying to reanimate my old system. But is my specs too low for 10.1?)

 

I downloaded 10.1 (3 CDs), and was able to boot the CD. I tired just pressing Enter and even tried typing "linux noapic nolapic", still I'm stuck at the point where it only display a blue screen with the "X" (I suppose it's the mouse cursor) I tried pressing Ctrl-Alt-F1 and it seems like it's not loading up the "X" system. So I'm guessing it's the Video driver problem?

 

I did some searching here, and I kept seeing others suggesting about the VESA driver by typing in XFdrake and so on. I tried the suggestion, but where should I type XFdrake? I'm such a newbie, so I need the help here. Where do I type XFdrake? Where do I find the VESA driver? And if I do get it, where/how do I load that VESA driver during intallation?

 

At this moment, I'm intalling 10.1 in text mode. But I know soon after installation, it's gonna load up some GUI system that the video card isn't going to agree with. So, what should I do now?

 

Should I;

1) fix/find the VESA driver, reinstall? ..or..

2) keep what you have now. Find that VESA driver, and XFdrake to install that driver? ..or..

3) neither 1) or 2) still, you need that VESA driver. but anyhow, you're stuck cuz your spec sucks! lol?

 

Help? :)

Edited September 18, 2005 by monkey8

[richfly]

Umm. I'd say that your computer really REALLY needs an upgrade, I'm afraid!

 

 

(I've just pushed a friend into this, and he had an 800MHz machine with 256 MB SD-RAM. Running WinME, and clearly failing to do that, hence the hardware upgrade!).

 

I would guess from your spec list that your computer is using the older EDO-RAM for its 32MB, and not even SD-RAM, which means that it's going to really struggle.

 

Found this on another web-site, for example:

 

I put mandrake 10.1 on my laptop (PIII 700mhz, 320 mb RAM, 20 gig hard drive, similar to yours) and wasn't very pleased with the performance, things would lag a bit when using alot of applications but otherwise the OS ran fine and had no compatability issues.

 

If you are still interested in Linux generally, why not try Ubuntu, or one of the fit-on-a-disk "Live CD" ones, like Knoppix or Morphix? You need something small and light, and the big players (SuSE, Mandriva, Fedora) seem to be going for the big modern computers (you know, 2-3 GHz processors, zillions of MB RAM, that kind of thing). Surprisingly, I couldn't find the spec list on the Mandriva site, so I can't be more specific.

[sagrath]

yes i think too that you should first try a Live CD you know Uubntu is shipped free anywhere in the world... i got 10 CDs...

[arctic]

Okay, I have to correct quite a few things here. :lol:

 

First of all, the problem you encounter is not due to the graphics card but because the graphical installer needs 64 MB Ram. Thus you will have to use the text-installation mode.

Running KDE or Gnome will be impossible with that low RAM, but you can always run alternatives like Fluxbox or IceWM. If you need a Filebrowser, there are lightweight options like Rox or MC.

 

The age of the computer is not the problem. You can run Linux (e.g. Fedora or Debian) on an old i386 PC processor if you want. It just depends on the distro you choose. If you have problems with Mandrake/Mandriva, you might be interested in e.g. Damn Small Linux (DSL, only some 50 MB big download. Download links are available at www.distrowatch.com). It works without problems on a 486 DX2-80 (32 MB Ram) and a P166 Computer (64 MB Ram) that I still have (hmm... I guess I am getting sentimental. :woops: ). And another "old" 750 MHz Duron computer I still have flies with Mandriva LE2005, using Gnome 2.8. Slow? Never.

 

Upgrading your system was a normal thing with Windows. With Linux it is not really necessary (unless you "cannot live" without KDE or Gnome)

[richfly]

The other recommendation I wil make here (& elsewhere!) is that, if you're completely new to Linux, hold off on buying a distro, and go instead for an excellent starter book, Test Driving Linux by David Brickner.

 

From Amazon.com (USA):

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...099939?v=glance

 

or Amazon.co.uk (UK)

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...3818782-0352637

Edited September 18, 2005 by richfly

[Guest monkey8]

Thanks everyone for the help and suggestions. You guys are right, the specs are too slow to run Mandriva. After a laughable 2 hr of installation, it surprisingly went into KDE fine, hance the start up took roughly 10 mins.

 

Before dipping into Mandriva I have tried Knoppix Live CD, but it gave the same result with the blue screen and the "X" mouse cursor during the boot up. I figured I should try RedHat/Mandriva since both seem a "bigger company", but my specs arn't good enough. I will try the other distros Arctic suggested tho. The main reason I wanted to try Linux was to have a beginner experience with Linux and just maybe run a Bittorrent client with it. Do you think Damn Small Linux will do?

 

Thanks for the help guys!

[arctic]

DSL can do (almost) everything any other distro can do. It does it simply a bit different. (And it can do things other distros can't do, like boot from an usb-stick)

 

First of all, when you boot into DSL you will notice that the fluxbox environment you will have is 100% different to KDE or Gnome and I guess you will need some time to adopt to it (check e.g. the different menu options your mousebuttons offer). Icewm is more Windows95/98 like, so this is an alternative environment you might be interested in (it can be installed later, alongside fluxbox and we can help you on that).

 

DSL is based on Debian, thus you can add some 15,000 packages of software to your system, including bittorrent software. However, DSL and fluxbox are not the "easiest start" if you are new to Linux. But you can test it nontheless. As it is a live-CD with harddisk-install option, you cannot really do something wrong. Boot from CD and enjoy it. If you are getting frustrated, reset the system and boot into whatever you used before (e.g. Windows 98). Liv-CDs don't touch your harddrive unles you want them to do it. And if you need help with Fluxbox and DSL, just ask us and we will gladly answer your questions.

 

I suggest you go to the distrowatch site for now and take a look at the DSL entry there. They have links with user-reviews of DSL and other information you might want to look at first before jumping into the "unknown world". :)

 

(And one side-note: Although a Company like RedHat is a "big player", it does not necessarily mean that they will support your hardware any better. If you want to use Fedora 4 e.g., you will have to strip the system like hell in order to have a system that runs on your hardware. FC 4 uses Gnome 2.10 and recommends 192 MB Ram minimum. ;))