Stop Microsoft
Operating Systems => Linux and UNIX => Topic started by: Dressler on 5 December 2002, 20:07
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Help!
Amd 1.333Ghz Thunderbird
512mb RAM
ms-6340 kt133 mobo
nVidia Geforce-2 MX 64mb RAM
I kinda suck at linux, so please try and make it....easy.
When I boot up my computer (dual boot with...Windows XP I KNOW I KNOW but assignments require me to have it). I chooase Linux and I get tot he login screen. And the computer freezes.
Help? I tried reinstalling it. EDIT: I think I am using Grub....
EDIT: How many of you have tried Security Linux from www.NSA.gov? (http://www.NSA.gov?)
[ December 05, 2002: Message edited by: Dressler ]
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I have a very similar system and do not have that problem. I have seen a few others here complain of the exact same problem you are experiencing. It would seem to me that it is a video card issue. I also have a GeForce2 card but mine is of the GTS variety. The first thing I would try is installing the driver from nVidia. The question is, how difficult of a task would that be to do without the graphical environment for someone who is new to Linux. For me it is easy but for someone new it could be quite a job.
In fact I just did a google search for "redhat freezes geforce" and find that many people have this problem with the GeForce2 MX card. It looks like it may be a problem with the particular version of XFree86 that is shipped with RedHat.
I'll do some more research and do some thinking and see if I can come up with an easy solution for your problem.
[ December 05, 2002: Message edited by: void main ]
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Thank you, Void Main. I appreciate it.
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quote:
Originally posted by void main:
I have a very similar system and do not have that problem. I have seen a few others here complain of the exact same problem you are experiencing. It would seem to me that it is a video card issue. I also have a GeForce2 card but mine is of the GTS variety. The first thing I would try is installing the driver from nVidia. The question is, how difficult of a task would that be to do without the graphical environment for someone who is new to Linux. For me it is easy but for someone new it could be quite a job.
In fact I just did a google search for "redhat freezes geforce" and find that many people have this problem with the GeForce2 MX card. It looks like it may be a problem with the particular version of XFree86 that is shipped with RedHat.
I'll do some more research and do some thinking and see if I can come up with an easy solution for your problem.
[ December 05, 2002: Message edited by: void main ]
Surely it would be failry simple if you give each command to enter and he follows them. The most difficult bit would probably be using vim, but thats hardly brain surgery.
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quote:
Originally posted by Tux:
Surely it would be failry simple if you give each command to enter and he follows them. The most difficult bit would probably be using vim, but thats hardly brain surgery.
Yes, but I wanted to be fairly confident that installing the nVidia drivers would in fact solve the problem before giving any instructions. Might save some time and confusion.. In fact it might be as simple as turning off the accel options in the X configuration using the existing drivers (or turning off some other option) but I haven't verified any of that yet.
[ December 05, 2002: Message edited by: void main ]
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Yes, this appears to be a problem with XFree86 and the GeForce2 MX cards. Fortunately it looks like the drivers from nVidia should solve your problem. You'll want these drivers regardless because they *significantly* improve the speed of X.
Unfortunately you are going to have to do this without the help of a graphical environment which is no problem for an experienced Linux user but could be (will be) a challenge for the person who is new to Linux. To start with you are going to have to go to this page:
http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?IO=linux_display_1.0-3123 (http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?IO=linux_display_1.0-3123)
You will want to read it over very carefully, especially the link to the README near the top. There will be two RPM files that you need to download to your machine and install. Then you will have to make a couple of minor modifications to your XF86Config file. Once this is done your Xwindows should work very well.
Of course after reading this information you are going to have to get your system booted without the graphical environment. I would suggest booting into "single user" mode and changing the default runlevel to "3". To boot into single user mode you should press "a" when the GRUB boot menu comes up which will list the exact boot command that GRUB uses to boot Linux. At the end of that line you want to add a "space" and then the word "single". This should get you to a root prompt "#". Now type:
# vi /etc/inittab
arrow down until you find the line "id:5:initdefault:"
arrow over until your cursor is over the "5" and press "r3". This should change the 5 to a 3. Now type ":wq" and press <ENTER> then reboot (<CTRL><ALT><DEL>).
After rebooting you should get a text based login prompt. Use "root" for the login name and use whatever you set up as the root password at install time for the password. This will bring you to a root shell (#). If you have network connectivity via cable/DSL you can download the drivers from this prompt by typing the following:
# wget http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86_40/1.0-3123/NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-3123.src.rpm (http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86_40/1.0-3123/NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-3123.src.rpm)
# wget http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86_40/1.0-3123/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0-3123.i386.rpm (http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86_40/1.0-3123/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0-3123.i386.rpm)
You'll really need to look over the README file at this point but basically you will install the kernel driver by typing:
# rpmbuild --rebuild NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-3123.src.rpm
Then install it by doing this:
# rpm -Uvh /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i386/NVID*
Then install the GLX RPM by doing:
# rpm -Uvh NVIDIA_GLX-1.0-3123.i386.rpm
The last thing is making the minor modifications to the /etc/X11/XF86Config file. The only thing you should have to do is change the "nv" to "nvidia" in the "Device" section next to the "Driver" tag. You can make this change with "vi":
# vi /etc/X11/XF86Config
Type "/nv" without the quotes which should take you to the exact item that needs to be changed. Now type "cwnvidia" (without the quotes) then press the <ESC> key, then type ":wq" and press <ENTER>. If all goes well you should be able to type "startx" and get a graphical environment without a lockup. Once you successfully get X running you can change your default runlevel back to "5" which will bring you to a graphical login prompt when you boot up. Type "vi /etc/inittab" and pick up the instructions at the top of this message where we changed the 5 to a 3.
I know this probably looks confusing as hell but fortunately this isn't a hugely common problem. Once you get the nVidia drivers working I believe you will be happy and hopefully find it was well worth your effort. The only problem with my instructions that I can think of is that you may not have installed the development tools when you installed RedHat which means you may not be able to do the "rpmbuild --rebuild" command until you install those tools.
[ December 05, 2002: Message edited by: void main ]
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I know this thread is old, but I am going to try this now...
Only one problem: As I have never used Linux since RH freezes, I am not connected to the internet, so how do I get the rpm files?
Thanks!
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quote:
Originally posted by Dressler:
I know this thread is old, but I am going to try this now...
Only one problem: As I have never used Linux since RH freezes, I am not connected to the internet, so how do I get the rpm files?
Thanks!
You will have to get online somehow; friend, workplace/school, family maybe?
Anyone with internet and a CD Writer is fine.
Or Buy, this month's LinuxFormat magazine which has the Latest nVidia Drivers on its cover CD/DVD.
ps. Void Main isn't here anymore.
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Thanks, Tux.
What happened to him? Did Bill Gates eat him?
I can get on line...using good ol' windows.
How can I make the floppy useable in both windows and linux?
Simpler: Do I just using windows download the rpm files, put them on the floppies and reboot and do what void said? No, how should his instructions look now that they have to be loaded from floppy?
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quote:
Thanks, Tux.
Not a problem.
quote:
What happened to him? Did Bill Gates eat him?
He left of his own accord. He (and many others) belive that these forums have gone to shit and, therefore, left.
quote:
I can get on line...using good ol' windows.
Good.
[/quote]How can I make the floppy useable in both windows and linux?[/quote]
Linux can read msdos formatted floppies, but this doesnt matter right now because the nvidia drivers are too large for a floppy.
quote:
Simpler: Do I just using windows download the rpm files, put them on the floppies and reboot and do what void said? No, how should his instructions look now that they have to be loaded from floppy?
See my next post.
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In windows:
Download these two files:
http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86_40/1.0-4190/NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-4190.src.rpm (http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86_40/1.0-4190/NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-4190.src.rpm)
http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86_40/1.0-4190/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0-4190.i386.rpm (http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86_40/1.0-4190/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0-4190.i386.rpm)
Save them to C:\nvidia
then follow this part of void's instruction:
quote:
Of course after reading this information you are going to have to get your system booted without the graphical environment. I would suggest booting into "single user" mode and changing the default runlevel to "3". To boot into single user mode you should press "a" when the GRUB boot menu comes up which will list the exact boot command that GRUB uses to boot Linux. At the end of that line you want to add a "space" and then the word "single". This should get you to a root prompt "#". Now type:
# vi /etc/inittab
arrow down until you find the line "id:5:initdefault:"
arrow over until your cursor is over the "5" and press "r3". This should change the 5 to a 3. Now type ":wq" and press <ENTER> then reboot (<CTRL><ALT><DEL> ;) .
After rebooting you should get a text based login prompt. Use "root" for the login name and use whatever you set up as the root password at install time for the password. This will bring you to a root shell (#).
then type:
# mkdir /mnt/windows
# mount -t vfat /dev/hda1 /mnt/windows
This will allow you to access you windows drive.
then:
# cd /mnt/windows/nvidia
# cp *.rpm $HOME
# cd $HOME
now we carry on where void left us:
quote:
You'll really need to look over the README file at this point but basically you will install the kernel driver by typing:
# rpmbuild --rebuild NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-4190.src.rpm
Then install it by doing this:
# rpm -Uvh /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i386/NVID*
Then install the GLX RPM by doing:
# rpm -Uvh NVIDIA_GLX-1.0-4190.i386.rpm
The last thing is making the minor modifications to the /etc/X11/XF86Config file. The only thing you should have to do is change the "nv" to "nvidia" in the "Device" section next to the "Driver" tag. You can make this change with "vi":
# vi /etc/X11/XF86Config
Type "/nv" without the quotes which should take you to the exact item that needs to be changed. Now type "cwnvidia" (without the quotes) then press the <ESC> key, then type ":wq" and press <ENTER>. If all goes well you should be able to type "startx" and get a graphical environment without a lockup. Once you successfully get X running you can change your default runlevel back to "5" which will bring you to a graphical login prompt when you boot up. Type "vi /etc/inittab" and pick up the instructions at the top of this message where we changed the 5 to a 3.
I know this probably looks confusing as hell but fortunately this isn't a hugely common problem. Once you get the nVidia drivers working I believe you will be happy and hopefully find it was well worth your effort. The only problem with my instructions that I can think of is that you may not have installed the development tools when you installed RedHat which means you may not be able to do the "rpmbuild --rebuild" command until you install those tools.
[ February 15, 2003: Message edited by: Tux ]
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Thank you so much, greatly appreciated!
Before I start: This won't in any way affect my windows partition, will it? Won't format or do anything "strange" I wouldn't like?
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mounting is non-destructive, basically it just opens a door to a partition on your drive. What we are doing her is copying the required files from the win drive to the lin drive. The MES FAQ (link at top of Linux/Unix forum) tells you more about 'mount'.
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I tried pressing a. Nothing happens.
I am using grub 0.9
Help?
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Erm, when you start Linux press [CTRL]+[ALT]+[F1] this should bring you to a terminal.
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I just tried doing that all the way to the localhost.localdomain login screen (the one that freezes). Nothing happens, no terminal... :confused:
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Strange, pressing 'a' at the GRUB menu should definitely work. Do you have a european keyboard?
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Yeah. a Danish one. With
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Well on my Uk keyboard 'a' is the key derectly yo the right of 'Caps lock'. Try pressing that, GRUB is no doubt only made for american type keyboards.
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Same here.
a is right to the right of left caps lock.....
??
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hmm, then I am confused.
does you keyboard usually work before an OS is loaded. Does it work in the BIOS menu for example. I have come across some USB keyboards that dont work in boot menus.
I dunno :confused:
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Maybe you should ask Void. (http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/forums/index.php?sid=78cfbbafd852fa1d2f02949f3e761fdc)
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All right, I'll ask him. Yes, it works in bios.
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Something is wrong with the forums there, can't register thus I cannot ask him...
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When you pressed 'a' at the GRUB menu, had you highlighted the linux entry?
Because if you didn't do this then pressin a will do nothing.
Just a thought...
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Ok, I know this thread's old, but I want this to work!
Since you must be eager to convert a Windows user (By God do I hate it) to a Linux user, please help me...
You've read through the posts- what do I do?
Using Grub 0.9. Nothing happens when pressing "a" or any other key except "p" and "Enter". "P" does some password thingy.
What am I supposed to do? I installed it correctly, even in the old windows fashion i reinstalled it several times.
Not to hail Windows, but XP atleast works when booting. Windows doesn't really work anyhow, so that doesn't say much.
I want to try this Linux, help me by God help me!
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When you are pressing 'a' at grub have you gone up or down yo higlight the redhat linux entry?
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I have tried with both RH and Windows XP hi-lighted....
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Well buddy im all out of ideas.
Head to void main's (http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/forums/index.php)
The link^^ should work now.
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or you could use lilo instead till you figure it out.
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Is reinstalling the only way to change to Lilo?
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no. did i ever say it was?
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Dressler, I think we can sort this out.
All you need to do is get access to your linux partition to change /etc/inittab.
The easiest way to do this is by a boot disk.
Either tomsrtbt, as Calum previously suggested or maybe Knoppix if you have it.
One in you need to mount your RedHat partition:
mount /dev/hdxY /mnt/rh
x being the letter of your hardrive and Y being the partition in question.
Then
vim /etc/inittab
and change the initdefault value from 5 to 3.
Once that is done you would have to reboot (into redhat -remove floppy from drive). Instead of a graphical login you would be presented with a text based one.
Login with your user/pass
then:
wget http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86/1.0-4349/NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4349.run (http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86/1.0-4349/NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4349.run)
-this downloads the nvidia driver-
then, sh ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4349.run
to install it.
Then you have to edit your XF86Config file.
vim /etc/X11/XF86Config
look for a line that says Load "glx", uncomment this line (remove the #).
Look for a line that says Driver "nv" replace the "nv" with "nvidia"
Look for a line that says Load "dri", put a '#' at the start of this line.
Then edit inittab again:
vim /etc/inittab
change the 3 back to a five.
Next type
telinit 5
to bring you back to graphical login. If the driver has installed correctly you should see an nvidia splash screen and it shouldnt crash anymore.
Good Luck.
[ April 15, 2003: Message edited by: Tux ]