Not able to use ANY Linux distros on laptop

Bakryuuha · 06-21-2008, 04:54 PM

I'm using an Asus F3SA laptop, with RAM upgraded to 4 GB. I'm running Vista Ultimate x64, but I wanted something new. I thought it would be useful to have a pendrive with Linux on it, especially now that Fedora 9 now fully supports it with the new tool they came out with. I tried that to no avail. Thinking that maybe it was because of my 4 GB, I tried the x64 edition, also leading to utter failure. I have now tried gOS, Ubuntu, SUSE, Mandriva, and Ubuntu 7.10, both the x86 and x64 versions of each, booting off of the Hard Drive, Pendrive, and even the live cd. None of them worked. I was able to use Ubuntu 7.10 in the past perfectly, which is what surprised me.

I have no idea whats going on, please help me TSF!

wrench97 · 06-21-2008, 05:21 PM

When you say they don't work do you mean they won't boot or they boot with bad video or ?

Bakryuuha · 06-21-2008, 07:19 PM

Some like Ubuntu had a bad video, which I fixed with 7.10 when it used to boot with Envy. As soon as 8.04 came out, I installed it fresh, and it wouldnt boot. It would get to the boot screen with the orange bar and then give me half of a corrupted picture. Others like Fedora and gOS give me the "menu" screen, and then are black through the boot process, and remain that way until I turn off the computer. Mandriva gave me errors on boot, but I wasnt really into that distro anyway, not for me.

If possible, my original goal was to boot Fedora Core 9 from a 4 GB USB drive.

wrench97 · 06-22-2008, 01:58 AM

Did you try booting into VGA mode and installing the video drivers?
Look at the bottom of the first screen it will tell you to press F_ to enter safe vga mode.

**af3** · 06-24-2008, 08:15 AM

What stop message do you get? Do you get a reboot loop? Do you get a blank screen or does your monitor fall asleep?

Try Knoppix (Live CD), then try PCLinuxOS (Live CD). Knoppix seems to run on allmost anything.

Bakryuuha · 06-24-2008, 09:58 AM

I did try booting into VGA mode, as well as safe graphics mode (didnt know if there was a difference so I tried both), and neither worked. af3, I dont get any messages, the screen goes black and nothing ever comes up. I have yet to try Knoppix but I have tried PCLinuxOS (one of my personal favorites, I also tried to put the MiniMe version on a flash drive to no avail). I'll try out Knoppix like you said, but I have my doubts with this laptop lol.

**af3** · 06-24-2008, 10:17 AM

At what point does the screen go blank? Right after it says something about loading the kernel? In that case, trying a distro with a previous version of the kernel will work.

When I say kernel, I am talking about Linux core. Be aware that older versions of the Linux kernel may contain security vulnerabilities or bugs that have been addressed in later versions. Only trust an older version of the kernel on a PC that has internet access if it is behind a NAT router or other form of hardware firewall. If you don't have internet access on the PC you are trying to use an old version of Linux on, you should be fine so long as the wireless radio is off.

Good luck!

Bakryuuha · 07-07-2008, 01:19 PM

Thanks for that, twas a good idea that I didnt think of, but alas it didnt work. Also, sorry for the delayed reply, I guess I'm not getting email notifications anymore lol. Anyway, I did make some progress:

First, I bought an external hard drive. USB 2.0 80 GB IDE 4200 RPM. This should let me test whatever I want without hastling with flash memory (which I know wears out after a while, so best to keep that clean).

Second, I got the laptop to boot to a command prompt using Fedora Core 9. I'm not exactly sure what driver it was using by defaut (it said 'nv', but that's probably because I was using it on my desktop previously, which has an 8800 GTS). Anyway, I used "nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf" in order to edit xorg, and change the default driver to vesa, which WORKED. Unfortunatly, thats the onyl one that works. RadeonHD and Radeon drivers both have the same black screen effect, and I have no idea how to use Livna, but I'm hoping that can work if someone can explain it to me lol. I'm new to Fedora, but very used to Ubuntu, so I know most basic commands.

Thanks in advance to anyone who replies!

06-21-2008, 04:54 PM	#1 (permalink)
Bakryuuha Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 70 OS: WinXP	Not able to use ANY Linux distros on laptop I'm using an Asus F3SA laptop, with RAM upgraded to 4 GB. I'm running Vista Ultimate x64, but I wanted something new. I thought it would be useful to have a pendrive with Linux on it, especially now that Fedora 9 now fully supports it with the new tool they came out with. I tried that to no avail. Thinking that maybe it was because of my 4 GB, I tried the x64 edition, also leading to utter failure. I have now tried gOS, Ubuntu, SUSE, Mandriva, and Ubuntu 7.10, both the x86 and x64 versions of each, booting off of the Hard Drive, Pendrive, and even the live cd. None of them worked. I was able to use Ubuntu 7.10 in the past perfectly, which is what surprised me. I have no idea whats going on, please help me TSF!

06-21-2008, 05:21 PM	#2 (permalink)
wrench97 Tech Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 2,389 OS: XPSP2	Re: Not able to use ANY Linux distros on laptop When you say they don't work do you mean they won't boot or they boot with bad video or ?

06-21-2008, 07:19 PM	#3 (permalink)
Bakryuuha Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 70 OS: WinXP	Re: Not able to use ANY Linux distros on laptop Some like Ubuntu had a bad video, which I fixed with 7.10 when it used to boot with Envy. As soon as 8.04 came out, I installed it fresh, and it wouldnt boot. It would get to the boot screen with the orange bar and then give me half of a corrupted picture. Others like Fedora and gOS give me the "menu" screen, and then are black through the boot process, and remain that way until I turn off the computer. Mandriva gave me errors on boot, but I wasnt really into that distro anyway, not for me. If possible, my original goal was to boot Fedora Core 9 from a 4 GB USB drive.

06-22-2008, 01:58 AM	#4 (permalink)
wrench97 Tech Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 2,389 OS: XPSP2	Re: Not able to use ANY Linux distros on laptop Did you try booting into VGA mode and installing the video drivers? Look at the bottom of the first screen it will tell you to press F_ to enter safe vga mode.

06-24-2008, 08:15 AM	#5 (permalink)
af3 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: USA Posts: 757 OS: Windows XP SP3 My System	Re: Not able to use ANY Linux distros on laptop What stop message do you get? Do you get a reboot loop? Do you get a blank screen or does your monitor fall asleep? Try Knoppix (Live CD), then try PCLinuxOS (Live CD). Knoppix seems to run on allmost anything.

06-24-2008, 09:58 AM	#6 (permalink)
Bakryuuha Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 70 OS: WinXP	Re: Not able to use ANY Linux distros on laptop I did try booting into VGA mode, as well as safe graphics mode (didnt know if there was a difference so I tried both), and neither worked. af3, I dont get any messages, the screen goes black and nothing ever comes up. I have yet to try Knoppix but I have tried PCLinuxOS (one of my personal favorites, I also tried to put the MiniMe version on a flash drive to no avail). I'll try out Knoppix like you said, but I have my doubts with this laptop lol.

06-24-2008, 10:17 AM	#7 (permalink)
af3 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: USA Posts: 757 OS: Windows XP SP3 My System	Re: Not able to use ANY Linux distros on laptop At what point does the screen go blank? Right after it says something about loading the kernel? In that case, trying a distro with a previous version of the kernel will work. When I say kernel, I am talking about Linux core. Be aware that older versions of the Linux kernel may contain security vulnerabilities or bugs that have been addressed in later versions. Only trust an older version of the kernel on a PC that has internet access if it is behind a NAT router or other form of hardware firewall. If you don't have internet access on the PC you are trying to use an old version of Linux on, you should be fine so long as the wireless radio is off. Good luck!

07-07-2008, 01:19 PM	#8 (permalink)
Bakryuuha Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 70 OS: WinXP	Re: Not able to use ANY Linux distros on laptop Thanks for that, twas a good idea that I didnt think of, but alas it didnt work. Also, sorry for the delayed reply, I guess I'm not getting email notifications anymore lol. Anyway, I did make some progress: First, I bought an external hard drive. USB 2.0 80 GB IDE 4200 RPM. This should let me test whatever I want without hastling with flash memory (which I know wears out after a while, so best to keep that clean). Second, I got the laptop to boot to a command prompt using Fedora Core 9. I'm not exactly sure what driver it was using by defaut (it said 'nv', but that's probably because I was using it on my desktop previously, which has an 8800 GTS). Anyway, I used "nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf" in order to edit xorg, and change the default driver to vesa, which WORKED. Unfortunatly, thats the onyl one that works. RadeonHD and Radeon drivers both have the same black screen effect, and I have no idea how to use Livna, but I'm hoping that can work if someone can explain it to me lol. I'm new to Fedora, but very used to Ubuntu, so I know most basic commands. Thanks in advance to anyone who replies!