Gentoo 2007 boot problem.

[~Rahul~]

Hi guys,

just downloaded the live dvd iso of gentoo 2007 from the official site through a torrent,

Config:- P3 700MHz, Intel 810 chipset, 20GB seagate IDE hdd, 15" samsung moniter, ps2 keyboard and mouse,

Problem is when it comes to loading 'X'(after opengl) the screen goes completely blank and the moniter LED beeps fast,

plz help me out.

[praka123]

well,is it some RAM issue?I may be wrong.
else most prolly "out of sync" error. :?

[~Rahul~]

Yea its an out of sync error, bcos when i hit Ctrl+Alt+Backspace, it goes back to bash and again returns to X,

how do i solve it.

[mehulved]

run xorgconfig

[~Rahul~]

I cant bcos the setup immediatly returns to X, im running the live dvd and am trying to install it.

[ray|raven]

^Ctrl+Alt+F2 should drop you to a console,
you can run xorgconfig or edit xorg.conf manually from there.

[~Rahul~]

But it detects my video card correctly, and i wanna install Gentoo,

when it switches over to X i get this problem,

after ctrl+alt+f2 how do i proceed with setup? (startx?)

[ray|raven]

^Using Ctrl+Alt+F2 will drop you to a terminal.
You can edit ur xorg.conf from there using vim.
Remove the resolutions that your monitor is incapable of displaying from it,
which , to me , seems to be the problem why the screen is blank.

Once xorg.conf is edited, you can start X by issuing startx.
If you get a "X is still running" error, kill X manually, or use init 3.

Btw, If you are newbie , i'd suggest against gentoo.
Better try Sabayon, if you're intrested in the gentoo way of doing things.

[~Rahul~]

Can i kill x using "xkill"? or which command do i use(plz specify in detail),

When it detects my video card(i810) it sets only 3 modes:-
And it even detects my moniter properly,

640x480
800x600
1024x768

But why does it still go out of sync,

and how do i check the livedvd for defects?

[ray|raven]

^Use init 3 at the console.Should kill X.
And as for the resolutions, perhaps due to monitor size/refresh rate?
Sometimes the monitor is detected incorrectly and wrong refresh rates and other data is given.
Post your xorg.conf along with your config.
And as far as checking for defects goes, you should get one at the boot screen, But i never used gentoo so cant say for sure.

[mehulved]

Best and most popular way to install gentoo is chroot.

[~Rahul~]

Best and most popular way to install gentoo is chroot.
Plz elaborate mate.




And init 3 did'nt work, whenever i type "startx" it says "fatal error, already running on display 0", even "gdm" doesnt work.

[praka123]

run telinit 2 from there post the /etc/X11/xorg.conf here.

[~Rahul~]

I made the screen resolution ok by using Ctrl+Alt+'+', without using xorgconfig,

But now when i run the installer(gtk+) it comes to a stage where it installs the portage and gets stuck(not hang), meaning it doesnt proceed at all from there.

Whats the problem now?




And can i install gentoo on a logical ext3 partition(+ logical swap drive)?

[ray|raven]

Yeah you can install on a logical partition, need not be only a primary one.
And as far as the installer, I have a feeling its trying to use the internet,

Do you have the net configured and working?

[mehulved]

Gentoo installer won't ask for anything from net unless you specify it to do so.
And gentoo doesn't have concept of incremental updates so it contacting anything on internet for updates is out. portage and stage 3 tarball are present on the DVD.
I haven't really used gentoo installer so can't say much.
chroot'ed install - http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/gentoo-x86-quickinstall.xml
Are you sure you want to install gentoo and especially on that config. If you ever try to compile firefox on it, it will take about 3 days.

[ray|raven]

^Thanx for the info,I never used gentoo ,so it was just a guess.
Btw, how much time would gentoo take to install on a P4 2.4 with 256 megs of RAM. I'm thinkin of trying it out , if it doesnt take ages.

[~Rahul~]

Are you sure you want to install gentoo and especially on that config. If you ever try to compile firefox on it, it will take about 3 days.

My config wont be able to handle gentoo?

Will it handle sabayon?

Btw i've given up on gentoo, it keeps hangin and causin too much problems.

[abhinandh]

My config wont be able to handle gentoo?

Will it handle sabayon?

Btw i've given up on gentoo, it keeps hangin and causin too much problems.

a good idea indeed. i too tried to install gentoo long back and the installer would just "stop" not "hang".
after making many futile attempts i finally gave up.:(

but sabayon may not be a good idea on your config.

i'd suggest something lighter like debain or xubuntu or arch.

[ray|raven]

^Zenwalk's lighter than debian or xubuntu.
Donno abt arch. But AFAIK it isnt for noob's.

[abhinandh]

^Zenwalk's lighter than debian or xubuntu.
Donno abt arch. But AFAIK it isnt for noob's.

i don't think installing arch is more difficult than installing gentoo.(personal opinion though)
and yes, Zenwalk is also a good idea.

[ray|raven]

^Only gripe i got abt arch , that prevents me installing it,
is that i need a super fast net connxn to get it up and running.
If only they provided a full cd with atleast X and some wm like fluxbox.

[~Rahul~]

Man i was so pissed i just broke the gentoo dvd in 2, :mad:
what a waste cos i spent frikkin 2 days downloadin it.



Moreover every gutdamn distro ive tried has NEVER worked(slackware. gentoo, ubuntu)
i get the same f!ukin problems(hanging, some speaker beep or somether $hit like this)
Or is all this bcos of my $hitty comp?


im thinkin of givin up on linux :(

[ray|raven]

^Chill dude,
Linux isnt abt Click-Click-Done.
You need a lot of patience.And yeah your system does seem to be a part of the problem.
Couple of days back, a friend asked to me to get linux working on his old pc,
Celeron 1.2 Ghz, with 256 MB SB RAM.
Darn thing had some outdated onboard trident graphics.
X kept crashing, his old serial mouse wasnt recognized,
Keyboard would hang suddenly.
I spent the whole day tweaking his zenwalk install to get everything working smoothly.And on top of it , he didnt have net access.

Stuff like that happens, you just gotta keep your cool and live through it.

P.S : Does that mean ur avatar's gonna go ? :p

[abhinandh]

P.S : Does that mean ur avatar's gonna go ? :p
already went:p :p

and rahul try arch if you have a good net connection.
i also warn you that you need to spend a lot of time to get arch up and running.
one more suggestion is zenwalk.

[~Rahul~]

Avatars have nothing to do with it:p:p:p:p

Just wanted a change!

Maybe i'll put back the gentoo penguin sometiime l8r:D

[mehulved]

^Use init 3 at the console.Should kill X.
Gentoo uses a different init system. Read up on it.
Rahul, I am sure gentoo will work on that machine. Only gripe is it will take ages to compile stuff on such a processor. Also, gentoo install process is slow because lots of things are done on your PC. About your problem, I believe it's just taking time cos of your slow processor.
I would rather recommend debian on this kind of config cos it eliminates the overhead of compiling and it's built with lower end configs in mind. It has a little more manual work compared to ubuntu or such but it's much more simpler.

[ray|raven]

^Thanx again.I will read it up.
Btw, Please answer my question.
How much time would gentoo take to install on a P4 2.4 Ghz with 256MB Ram.

[mehulved]

How much time would gentoo take to install on a P4 2.4 Ghz with 256MB Ram.
There's no such thing with gentoo. It depends on a lot of stuff. The method of install, what applications you want, install time of each application, how much you fine tune your distro, how many compile options you give, use flags, how much you automate stuff.
About gentoo init system (http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?part=2&chap=4)

[~Rahul~]

Thnx everyone,

Btw from where can i order for gentoo dvd?

And mehulved cud u plz explain how to install gentoo properly.




And while installing whenever i tried to partition the disk or configure it setup wud just exit saying "there was an error".

[praka123]

@rahul:if u r new to GNU/Linux,I wont recommend u to first try these "intermediate to advanced distros" like slackware,gentoo and even archlinux!

you should try "Ubuntu alternate edition" download,install it.
if u want Gnome or kde.

If u are happy with xfce,I'll suggest get Antix Linux,a stripped Mepis based distro.

So,finally it is Ubuntu alternate edition which seems good for u:
download URL=>
http://ftp.science.nus.edu.sg/linux/ubuntu-ISO/gutsy/ubuntu-7.10-alternate-i386.iso

[ray|raven]

^Dude, Ubuntu's gonna crawl on his config.
Did you see that he's got a 700Mhz proccy?Its gonna take ages to boot.

[PcEnthu]

@Rahul, Why don't u try a mini distro first. I suggest u go 4 Nimblex. It also has USB Installer, which can perform install to HDD as well.

[~Rahul~]

Just installed Ubuntu 7.10,

Even here it hangs and when it hangs the keyboard LEDs keep beeping :(





PS - Which other linux can i use which'll suite this dabba(P{3 700MHz, 256MB ram, intel 810 chipset, ps/2 kboard, mouse, 15" moniter)?

[praka123]

I'll suggest Antix Mepis!

[~Rahul~]

One more thing,

I use a realtek lan card for my pc(dlink),

When i type 'ifconfig -a' it shows eth0,

but when i switch on my router and type 'sudo pppoeconf' it says
'could not find any pppoe access concentrator'.