Boot Problem, Maybe?

Ashken'sHouse · 08-07-2008, 09:19 PM

I am running a Dell B110 Deminsion with a sad 256 MBRAM. I have previously dual-booted Windows XP and PCLinuxOS, but I found the Linux software to be superior when it came to the speed, and I comepletly turned my computer into a Linux-based computer.

About three months later (About two hours ago, to be exact) I finally got a chance to put my computer on a high-speed internet network as opposed to the horrible 14.4 kbps that I was limited to by Linuxant's hsfdriver for dial-up survice. With this, I decided to try my hand at downloading WiNE (And a few other MP3s) onto my computer. I did, didn't tinker with it anymore, and I felt like uploading said MP3s onto m MP3 Player. I plugged it into the USB drive, and Linux could not recognize it... strange, I thought.

So, I restarted my computer, which was were the real problem occured. I got through the booting and the login fine... but, when I heard the login little welcome music like Window's has with it's piano thing, all I could see was my mouse arrow, which I could move around, but that was all (I felt a bit taunted by this...). I could even start apps and such: I even clicked on Switch User and tried it as root, but the same thing occured.

I have tried everything I could think of, which isn't a lot because I don't have a whole lot of experience with Linux, if you haven't been able to tell. If you have any solutions to my problem, I woluld be very grateful, and, if not, I would at least like a method that could be used to back up my data some how... I ahve a lot of valuble info...

Ashken'sHouse · 08-08-2008, 08:38 AM

P.S. I noticed this morning (the next day after this post) that, when left alone, the screen saver actually does come up. I use the little 3-D matrix thing with the genetic codeing (ATCG) But, instead of the letters falling, there are just a bunch of fading blocks.... I find that strange and could also be a problem created by whatever is messing up my comp...

hal8000 · 08-10-2008, 03:41 AM

So you plugged in a USB drive, rebooted and the desktop is messed up, (won't display properly?)

Press cttl-alt-F1 should take you to alternate console 2. Login as NORMAL user and user password.
Type the following
cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | grep EE

This will just display any error messages from your Xorg logfile.
Press alt-F7
to return to graphics mode.

Plugging in a USB drive won't change resolution, you did state you downloaded wine, so maybe a dependency of this program or some other utility has altered your setup.
I suppose youve rebooted without the USB drive connected and still the same problem?

08-07-2008, 09:19 PM	#1 (permalink)
Ashken'sHouse Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 2 OS: PCLinusOS	Boot Problem, Maybe? I am running a Dell B110 Deminsion with a sad 256 MBRAM. I have previously dual-booted Windows XP and PCLinuxOS, but I found the Linux software to be superior when it came to the speed, and I comepletly turned my computer into a Linux-based computer. About three months later (About two hours ago, to be exact) I finally got a chance to put my computer on a high-speed internet network as opposed to the horrible 14.4 kbps that I was limited to by Linuxant's hsfdriver for dial-up survice. With this, I decided to try my hand at downloading WiNE (And a few other MP3s) onto my computer. I did, didn't tinker with it anymore, and I felt like uploading said MP3s onto m MP3 Player. I plugged it into the USB drive, and Linux could not recognize it... strange, I thought. So, I restarted my computer, which was were the real problem occured. I got through the booting and the login fine... but, when I heard the login little welcome music like Window's has with it's piano thing, all I could see was my mouse arrow, which I could move around, but that was all (I felt a bit taunted by this...). I could even start apps and such: I even clicked on Switch User and tried it as root, but the same thing occured. I have tried everything I could think of, which isn't a lot because I don't have a whole lot of experience with Linux, if you haven't been able to tell. If you have any solutions to my problem, I woluld be very grateful, and, if not, I would at least like a method that could be used to back up my data some how... I ahve a lot of valuble info...

08-08-2008, 08:38 AM	#2 (permalink)
Ashken'sHouse Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 2 OS: PCLinusOS	Re: Boot Problem, Maybe? P.S. I noticed this morning (the next day after this post) that, when left alone, the screen saver actually does come up. I use the little 3-D matrix thing with the genetic codeing (ATCG) But, instead of the letters falling, there are just a bunch of fading blocks.... I find that strange and could also be a problem created by whatever is messing up my comp...

08-10-2008, 03:41 AM	#3 (permalink)
hal8000 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: UK Posts: 229 OS: PCLinux2009/Ubuntu/XP	Re: Boot Problem, Maybe? So you plugged in a USB drive, rebooted and the desktop is messed up, (won't display properly?) Press cttl-alt-F1 should take you to alternate console 2. Login as NORMAL user and user password. Type the following cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log \| grep EE This will just display any error messages from your Xorg logfile. Press alt-F7 to return to graphics mode. Plugging in a USB drive won't change resolution, you did state you downloaded wine, so maybe a dependency of this program or some other utility has altered your setup. I suppose youve rebooted without the USB drive connected and still the same problem?