install problems - several distro's

[mikegetz]

ok, i am not exactly new to linux - but by no means competent.

i have tried over the past couple of weeks to install a few different flavors, with no success. the most common problem it the graphical installer just going black and stopping.
i have tried openSUSE 10.0 dvd (coverdisc from linux user & developer)
mandrake 10.1 dvd (powerpack)
mandrake 10.0 cd (good checksums back when i burnt them, and worked on other machines)
mandrake 9.1 (just to see)

all of these failed to initialize the installer, no matter what screen/fb/text options i passed (mandrake 10's didnt even get that far)

i have semi-successfully booted to a modified knoppix disc (the penguin sleuth based on knoppix 3.2), and to gentoo 2005.1 (and compiled just fine untill i mangled the lilo config, and rendered the system useless)

hardware specs:
shuttle an35n mobo, nf2 ultra
athlon xp 3000+@3200 (mulitplier, not fsb)
2x512mb corsair value pc3200(2.5) - memtest86'd fine
60gb maxtor - win XP (1 partition)
40gb WD (27 gb ntfs, 10gb linux[32mb ext2 boot, 512mb swap, 7gb reiserfs /])
ati x850pro 256 agp
audigy gamer
onboard nic
samsung 172w tft (both vga and dvi connected for install purposes)
pioneer 106s dvd-rom
nec 3520a dvdrw

i have tried each media in both drives, tried safe mode, and text mode on the ones where i could actually get to the options.

oddly enuff, gentoo cave me the least hassle booting, and actually *almost* worked. i am just not ready for installing a gentoo system yet - i know 10x more about the command interface than i did a week ago, and my brain hurts.


if anyone has a x850pro working under any of these distro's, i would love to hear about it, as it is the newest piece of hardware in the system, and most likely my problem. i do have an old rage fury i could put in to install, but have been avoiding that as the last desperate act ...

thank you (if you bothered to read all this)

[happybunny]

i had an issue with a desktop...similar situation....finaly went back to an older distro with a 2.4 kernel with zero issues...give that a shot.

Not sure what was causing it, but it might be a start for you

[mikegetz]

wasnt mandrake 9.1 a 2.4 kernel?

[Parcival]

wasnt mandrake 9.1 a 2.4 kernel?


Yes, I think it was.

If I were in your situation I'd try to finish a Gentoo installation. One the one hand, it seems to go well, and on the other hand you'll probably learn best what your problem exactly is when using this distro. On the other hand, I have no clue if you're gonna like Gentoo since it's a pretty special distro.

If you make an error while messing with your bootloader, you don't need to wipe your system and start from scratch again. With a liveCD such as Knoppix you can fix it.

[mikegetz]

i didnt wipe the gentoo yet - just used the xp disc to fixboot and fixmbr from the recovery console
... i can still pop in the gentoo disc and chroot back in ...

i screwed something up in my network config and went back and made it blank again, so that it "should" accept the dhcp fron my router - but i get an error that something network related didnt load on boot - i would have to reboot to gentoo to remember it exactly.

i think i will try to chroot back in and install grub, and remove lilo ... might work out better. i had the prompt delay in my lilo config set for 15 seconds, and it was literally 1.5 seconds. i only got into windows once , and it think that was just luck.

[mmills]

I dont think thats the issue or the answer but I have a bunch of older linux distro's I will ISO them and put them on my ftp if you want. redhat 7.2 or 7.4 and suse 8.1 and so on

[je_fro]

i think i will try to chroot back in and install grub, and remove lilo ... might work out better...
Good Idea!
Yeah, I think you'll have better luck going with grub and the newest possible distro since you have exotic hardware...Of all the dev teams, I'm betting the gentoo ricers will have your graphics card supported (via their package management system - portage) the soonest.

[mmills]

might check on ubuntu 5.10, slackware or gentoo, current.

[cybertron]

Yes, I think it was.
Since Mandrake 9.1 was my first distro, I can definitively say that it was a 2.4 kernel.:)

As far as your installation problems, most of those distros have a text-based installation mode that you can use. In SuSE it is selected from the bootloader screen (I know because I spent a couple of days looking for it when it was right in front of me;)). It may be that if you can get started on the installation and to the point where you can select video drivers you might be able to get a GUI working.

That said, if you like Gentoo then continue right on with that. :cool:

[mikegetz]

As far as your installation problems, most of those distros have a text-based installation mode that you can use.

i think it is a video card problem, as even text mode didnt work in the suse 10 installer ...

i printed out all the gentoo install handbook, as well as the portage, USE, and gentoolkit handbooks at work today (yay for laser printers - that install one was 102 pages!). i think i will keep messing around with the gentoo install i have (sort of) going.

btw - thank you guys for the support. few forums show this level of maturity anymore.