Hey ya'll

Yesterday I installed Gentoo on my system. Complete with dualboot and
everything. But now I already got some problems:

1. I can't see the GRUB-menu. There's only a blank screen. But grub works,
because when I move down with the arrow, my winXP will boot and when i move
up again, Gentoo will boot. The only problem is that I can't see anything.

2. As for now, my gentoo will only boot up textbased. But, the screen is
scrambled. I can see where the letters are, but I can't read them. The
LiveCD worked fine and the first time I booted gentoo it also worked fine,
but since the second time, all I get is a scrambled screen. I can type in
commands and stuff, but I can't read anything.

3. I still have to install xwindows. I read about fluxbox and wan't to give
it a try. So I'll have to type in "emerge fluxbox", but then what? How do I
tell gentoo to automatically start fluxbox after boot? Maybe with "rc-update
fluxbox default" or am I wrong?

If anyone knows the answer to any of these questions I'd love to hear about
it. Or maybe some links to faq's, because google won't solve my problems.

Thanx
Bert

Bert Snoeckx wrote:

> 1. I can't see the GRUB-menu. There's only a blank screen. But grub works,
> because when I move down with the arrow, my winXP will boot and when i move
> up again, Gentoo will boot. The only problem is that I can't see anything.

Sounds to me that there's an incorrect link to the xpm file (the
grub-"background").

> 3. I still have to install xwindows. I read about fluxbox and wan't to give
> it a try. So I'll have to type in "emerge fluxbox", but then what? How do I
> tell gentoo to automatically start fluxbox after boot? Maybe with "rc-update
> fluxbox default" or am I wrong?

www.gentoo.org - user docs - "Gentoo Desktop guide" will give you plenty
of info about that *IF* you want to use gdm/xdm or kdm (or alternatives).

But you might as well simply use startx. => emerge fluxbox and after you
configured X, create a .xinitrc file in your home dir where you type
"exec fluxbox". This way each time you boot your gentoo, it will still
boot into console, you log in, and type "startx" to get fluxbox running.

> Bert Snoeckx wrote:
>
>> 1. I can't see the GRUB-menu. There's only a blank screen. But grub works,
>> because when I move down with the arrow, my winXP will boot and when i move
>> up again, Gentoo will boot. The only problem is that I can't see anything.
>
> Sounds to me that there's an incorrect link to the xpm file (the
> grub-"background").
At first I thought this was the case too, but it isn't. The file isn't
corrupt and the link is right.



>> 3. I still have to install xwindows. I read about fluxbox and wan't to give
>> it a try. So I'll have to type in "emerge fluxbox", but then what? How do I
>> tell gentoo to automatically start fluxbox after boot? Maybe with "rc-update
>> fluxbox default" or am I wrong?
>
> www.gentoo.org - user docs - "Gentoo Desktop guide" will give you plenty
> of info about that *IF* you want to use gdm/xdm or kdm (or alternatives).
>
> But you might as well simply use startx. => emerge fluxbox and after you
> configured X, create a .xinitrc file in your home dir where you type
> "exec fluxbox". This way each time you boot your gentoo, it will still
> boot into console, you log in, and type "startx" to get fluxbox running.
>
Thanx for this one. Stupid me, not checking the gentoo-doc's first...

Not to be insulting, but please check it again. The last time I
installed Gentoo on my notebook I pointed Grub at
"(hd0,0)/boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz" but the location was really
"(hd0,0)/grub/splash.xpm.gz" because of how I setup my partitions. I
was having the exact same problems that you are having.

If that's not it, I don't know. Are you trying to use any
non-standard video modes? If so, maybe your monitor or videocard are
not capable of displaying those modes. The last monitor I had
couldn't display any resolution below 400x300...

On Thu, 16 Oct 2003 14:39:04 +0200, Bert Snoeckx <bert@polydak.be>
wrote:

>> Bert Snoeckx wrote:
>>
>>> 1. I can't see the GRUB-menu. There's only a blank screen. But grub works,
>>> because when I move down with the arrow, my winXP will boot and when i move
>>> up again, Gentoo will boot. The only problem is that I can't see anything.
>>
>> Sounds to me that there's an incorrect link to the xpm file (the
>> grub-"background").
>At first I thought this was the case too, but it isn't. The file isn't
>corrupt and the link is right.
>
>
>
>>> 3. I still have to install xwindows. I read about fluxbox and wan't to give
>>> it a try. So I'll have to type in "emerge fluxbox", but then what? How do I
>>> tell gentoo to automatically start fluxbox after boot? Maybe with "rc-update
>>> fluxbox default" or am I wrong?
>>
>> www.gentoo.org - user docs - "Gentoo Desktop guide" will give you plenty
>> of info about that *IF* you want to use gdm/xdm or kdm (or alternatives).
>>
>> But you might as well simply use startx. => emerge fluxbox and after you
>> configured X, create a .xinitrc file in your home dir where you type
>> "exec fluxbox". This way each time you boot your gentoo, it will still
>> boot into console, you log in, and type "startx" to get fluxbox running.
>>
>Thanx for this one. Stupid me, not checking the gentoo-doc's first...

Bert Snoeckx wrote:
> Hey ya'll
>
> Yesterday I installed Gentoo on my system. Complete with dualboot and
> everything. But now I already got some problems:
>
> 1. I can't see the GRUB-menu. There's only a blank screen. But grub works,
> because when I move down with the arrow, my winXP will boot and when i move
> up again, Gentoo will boot. The only problem is that I can't see anything.
>
> 2. As for now, my gentoo will only boot up textbased. But, the screen is
> scrambled. I can see where the letters are, but I can't read them. The
> LiveCD worked fine and the first time I booted gentoo it also worked fine,
> but since the second time, all I get is a scrambled screen. I can type in
> commands and stuff, but I can't read anything.
>
> 3. I still have to install xwindows. I read about fluxbox and wan't to give
> it a try. So I'll have to type in "emerge fluxbox", but then what? How do I
> tell gentoo to automatically start fluxbox after boot? Maybe with "rc-update
> fluxbox default" or am I wrong?
>
> If anyone knows the answer to any of these questions I'd love to hear about
> it. Or maybe some links to faq's, because google won't solve my problems.
>
> Thanx
> Bert
>
First question:

Does your system have onboard video? If so then grub is the incorrect
boot loader. You will have to use lilo.

Second question:

Are you absolutely sure that the link that points to the correct
location for the splash screen? Double check it to confirm.

Third: Do not attempt to boot directly into x until you've configured it
because if things are scrambled then you can't boot. The other reason is
the fact that the root user should never boot automatically into X, but
with a simple script, you can autostart x for any normal user.

Add this to the .bashrc for each user that wants to autostartx


if [ ! -e "/tmp/.X0-lock" ]
then
xinit
fi

Much easier to use and it doesn't force your system to start a gui when
in single user mode.


--Registered Linux User 286636

I used to have similar problem. I cant remember if the grub menu was
visible or not, but the boot up sequence was definately not visible. I
think I wasnt even able to see the console.
Anyway, to sum it up, I had enabled console framebuffer support in my
kernel and most likely wrongly configured. In the forums I was told
that the quickest fix would be to simply recompile my kernel without
console framebuffer support. And what do you know, it worked.

On Thu, 16 Oct 2003 16:37:54 GMT
Whyld-Chyld <test@example.com> wrote:

> Bert Snoeckx wrote:
> > Hey ya'll
> >
> > Yesterday I installed Gentoo on my system. Complete with dualboot and
> > everything. But now I already got some problems:
> >
> > 1. I can't see the GRUB-menu. There's only a blank screen. But grub works,
> > because when I move down with the arrow, my winXP will boot and when i move
> > up again, Gentoo will boot. The only problem is that I can't see anything.
> >
> > 2. As for now, my gentoo will only boot up textbased. But, the screen is
> > scrambled. I can see where the letters are, but I can't read them. The
> > LiveCD worked fine and the first time I booted gentoo it also worked fine,
> > but since the second time, all I get is a scrambled screen. I can type in
> > commands and stuff, but I can't read anything.
> >
> > 3. I still have to install xwindows. I read about fluxbox and wan't to give
> > it a try. So I'll have to type in "emerge fluxbox", but then what? How do I
> > tell gentoo to automatically start fluxbox after boot? Maybe with "rc-update
> > fluxbox default" or am I wrong?
> >
> > If anyone knows the answer to any of these questions I'd love to hear about
> > it. Or maybe some links to faq's, because google won't solve my problems.
> >
> > Thanx
> > Bert
> >
> First question:
>
> Does your system have onboard video? If so then grub is the incorrect
> boot loader. You will have to use lilo.

Excuse me but I am running a gentoo box here with framebuffer support enabled , X and windowmaker. It is using its onboard video and grub works flawlessly.


--
regards
Gary

"The cosmos is all it is, all it ever was and all it ever will be" - Carl Sagan

The problem is not with ALL onboard video, just most of it.

On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 00:14:52 GMT, krusadr <who@cares.com> wrote:

>On Thu, 16 Oct 2003 16:37:54 GMT
>Whyld-Chyld <test@example.com> wrote:
>
>> Bert Snoeckx wrote:
>> > Hey ya'll
>> >
>> > Yesterday I installed Gentoo on my system. Complete with dualboot and
>> > everything. But now I already got some problems:
>> >
>> > 1. I can't see the GRUB-menu. There's only a blank screen. But grub works,
>> > because when I move down with the arrow, my winXP will boot and when i move
>> > up again, Gentoo will boot. The only problem is that I can't see anything.
>> >
>> > 2. As for now, my gentoo will only boot up textbased. But, the screen is
>> > scrambled. I can see where the letters are, but I can't read them. The
>> > LiveCD worked fine and the first time I booted gentoo it also worked fine,
>> > but since the second time, all I get is a scrambled screen. I can type in
>> > commands and stuff, but I can't read anything.
>> >
>> > 3. I still have to install xwindows. I read about fluxbox and wan't to give
>> > it a try. So I'll have to type in "emerge fluxbox", but then what? How do I
>> > tell gentoo to automatically start fluxbox after boot? Maybe with "rc-update
>> > fluxbox default" or am I wrong?
>> >
>> > If anyone knows the answer to any of these questions I'd love to hear about
>> > it. Or maybe some links to faq's, because google won't solve my problems.
>> >
>> > Thanx
>> > Bert
>> >
>> First question:
>>
>> Does your system have onboard video? If so then grub is the incorrect
>> boot loader. You will have to use lilo.
>
>Excuse me but I am running a gentoo box here with framebuffer support enabled , X and windowmaker. It is using its onboard video and grub works flawlessly.

You were right. I double-checked last night and the link to the splashimage
in grub.conf was wrong. Thanx guys!

in article m1etovsjuufjsu7bltlgh33es6cgb1ba68@4ax.com, Jason at
noneofyourbusiness@biteme.net wrote on 16-10-2003 17:28:

> Not to be insulting, but please check it again. The last time I
> installed Gentoo on my notebook I pointed Grub at
> "(hd0,0)/boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz" but the location was really
> "(hd0,0)/grub/splash.xpm.gz" because of how I setup my partitions. I
> was having the exact same problems that you are having.
>
> If that's not it, I don't know. Are you trying to use any
> non-standard video modes? If so, maybe your monitor or videocard are
> not capable of displaying those modes. The last monitor I had
> couldn't display any resolution below 400x300...
>
> On Thu, 16 Oct 2003 14:39:04 +0200, Bert Snoeckx <bert@polydak.be>
> wrote:
>
>>> Bert Snoeckx wrote:
>>>
>>>> 1. I can't see the GRUB-menu. There's only a blank screen. But grub works,
>>>> because when I move down with the arrow, my winXP will boot and when i move
>>>> up again, Gentoo will boot. The only problem is that I can't see anything.
>>>
>>> Sounds to me that there's an incorrect link to the xpm file (the
>>> grub-"background").
>> At first I thought this was the case too, but it isn't. The file isn't
>> corrupt and the link is right.
>>
>>
>>
>>>> 3. I still have to install xwindows. I read about fluxbox and wan't to give
>>>> it a try. So I'll have to type in "emerge fluxbox", but then what? How do I
>>>> tell gentoo to automatically start fluxbox after boot? Maybe with
>>>> "rc-update
>>>> fluxbox default" or am I wrong?
>>>
>>> www.gentoo.org - user docs - "Gentoo Desktop guide" will give you plenty
>>> of info about that *IF* you want to use gdm/xdm or kdm (or alternatives).
>>>
>>> But you might as well simply use startx. => emerge fluxbox and after you
>>> configured X, create a .xinitrc file in your home dir where you type
>>> "exec fluxbox". This way each time you boot your gentoo, it will still
>>> boot into console, you log in, and type "startx" to get fluxbox running.
>>>
>> Thanx for this one. Stupid me, not checking the gentoo-doc's first...
>

krusadr wrote:
> On Thu, 16 Oct 2003 16:37:54 GMT
> Whyld-Chyld <test@example.com> wrote:
>
>
>>Bert Snoeckx wrote:
>>
>>>Hey ya'll
>>>
>>>Yesterday I installed Gentoo on my system. Complete with dualboot and
>>>everything. But now I already got some problems:
>>>
>>>1. I can't see the GRUB-menu. There's only a blank screen. But grub works,
>>>because when I move down with the arrow, my winXP will boot and when i move
>>>up again, Gentoo will boot. The only problem is that I can't see anything.

Snipped

>>First question:
>>
>>Does your system have onboard video? If so then grub is the incorrect
>>boot loader. You will have to use lilo.
>
>
> Excuse me but I am running a gentoo box here with framebuffer support enabled , X and windowmaker. It is using its onboard video and grub works flawlessly.
>
>
Framebuffer support isn't the problem that grub has. It's a memory
alocation issue that affects some systems with onboard video chips.
Examples are the Nforce2 along with some of the low end boards that
include S3 video chips along with several others. As I have one of the
problematic onboard video chips, grub does the same thing on my system,
forcing me to use lilo, I asked for clarification and explained why I
asked and what the most likely solution was.

Since this is an open forum, the information I provided was not only to
provide a solution to the original poster but for others who have
experienced the same problem.
--
Registered Linux User 286636