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Ok, I finally got Debian loaded and LOVE IT!!! I am a command line junkie
and am adapting to the "new" file structure. (vs windows) I wanted to do
some playing with the gui options so i tried to load Xfree86 (startx) I
tried and it kicked back some errors at me. I checked the log file and
determined that my video card was too new for the version of xfree86 that is
included with Debian 3 r1. So i rebooted to windows and downloaded the
newest version of xfree86. It installed fine. Durring the install process i
chose yes to all the prompts thinking that would do a clean upgrade. I then
typed 'startx' and it loaded to a gui terminal.

PROBLEM!!! I have no keyboard, no mouse. I have tried to ctrl + c, ctrl +
break, ctrl + alt +fn, and everything else i can think of to try and get
out. Now my monitor's "built in screen saver" kicked in and I have a black
screen. I cant get out and I cant get linux to MOVE! I know I am not
supposed to hard start but I fear that I have no other option at this point.
Any other suggestions? I know if/when i restart to redo my config for
xfree86.

Any ideas?

In article <ni1Eb.432$2i.69@news.randori.com>, Sonny wrote:

> PROBLEM!!! I have no keyboard, no mouse. I have tried to ctrl + c, ctrl +
> break, ctrl + alt +fn, and everything else i can think of to try and get

Try ctrl+alt+BACKSPACE, it will kill X. Then reconfigure

--
Juha Siltala
http://www.edu.helsinki.fi/activity/people/jsiltala/

In article <ni1Eb.432$2i.69@news.randori.com>, Sonny wrote:
> Ok, I finally got Debian loaded and LOVE IT!!! I am a command line junkie
> and am adapting to the "new" file structure. (vs windows) I wanted to do
> some playing with the gui options so i tried to load Xfree86 (startx) I
> tried and it kicked back some errors at me. I checked the log file and
> determined that my video card was too new for the version of xfree86 that is
> included with Debian 3 r1. So i rebooted to windows and downloaded the
> newest version of xfree86. It installed fine. Durring the install process i
> chose yes to all the prompts thinking that would do a clean upgrade. I then
> typed 'startx' and it loaded to a gui terminal.
>
> PROBLEM!!! I have no keyboard, no mouse. I have tried to ctrl + c, ctrl +
> break, ctrl + alt +fn, and everything else i can think of to try and get
> out. Now my monitor's "built in screen saver" kicked in and I have a black
> screen. I cant get out and I cant get linux to MOVE! I know I am not
> supposed to hard start but I fear that I have no other option at this point.
> Any other suggestions? I know if/when i restart to redo my config for
> xfree86.
>
> Any ideas?

I just had a similar problem with a RedHat 7.3 machine. I did a clean install,
got the system configured (I manage a number of linux boxes; we have a standard
install / config procedure in place); fired up X on the console, and was locked
out. No keyboard or mouse response.

The problem turned out to be a BIOS setting. I made two changes - don't know
which fixed it, but I have my suspicions ....

(1) I turned APCI off ... (probably not the fix) ;
(2) I changed the PS/2 Mouse setting in the BIOS from "Auto" to "On".

After I rebooted, Kudzu came up and announced it had detected new hardware
(the mouse) and I told it to go ahead and update the hardware configuration;
X came up happily after that with full keyboard and mouse functionality.
I don't remember if I ran mouseconfig or Xconfigurator after changing the BIOS
settings; I do know that nothing I tried worked before the BIOS setting change,
and getting X running afterwards was straightforward.

Hope that helps!

Thank you Michael, I will give that a try. It sounds like my most promising
hope yet.

Happy Holidays!
Shane

"Michael K. Heney" <mheney@mach-25.com> wrote in message
news:slrnbu1egc.3rn.mheney@mach-25.com...
> In article <ni1Eb.432$2i.69@news.randori.com>, Sonny wrote:
> > Ok, I finally got Debian loaded and LOVE IT!!! I am a command line
junkie
> > and am adapting to the "new" file structure. (vs windows) I wanted to do
> > some playing with the gui options so i tried to load Xfree86 (startx) I
> > tried and it kicked back some errors at me. I checked the log file and
> > determined that my video card was too new for the version of xfree86
that is
> > included with Debian 3 r1. So i rebooted to windows and downloaded the
> > newest version of xfree86. It installed fine. Durring the install
process i
> > chose yes to all the prompts thinking that would do a clean upgrade. I
then
> > typed 'startx' and it loaded to a gui terminal.
> >
> > PROBLEM!!! I have no keyboard, no mouse. I have tried to ctrl + c,
ctrl +
> > break, ctrl + alt +fn, and everything else i can think of to try and get
> > out. Now my monitor's "built in screen saver" kicked in and I have a
black
> > screen. I cant get out and I cant get linux to MOVE! I know I am not
> > supposed to hard start but I fear that I have no other option at this
point.
> > Any other suggestions? I know if/when i restart to redo my config for
> > xfree86.
> >
> > Any ideas?
>
> I just had a similar problem with a RedHat 7.3 machine. I did a clean
install,
> got the system configured (I manage a number of linux boxes; we have a
standard
> install / config procedure in place); fired up X on the console, and was
locked
> out. No keyboard or mouse response.
>
> The problem turned out to be a BIOS setting. I made two changes - don't
know
> which fixed it, but I have my suspicions ....
>
> (1) I turned APCI off ... (probably not the fix) ;
> (2) I changed the PS/2 Mouse setting in the BIOS from "Auto" to "On".
>
> After I rebooted, Kudzu came up and announced it had detected new hardware
> (the mouse) and I told it to go ahead and update the hardware
configuration;
> X came up happily after that with full keyboard and mouse functionality.
> I don't remember if I ran mouseconfig or Xconfigurator after changing the
BIOS
> settings; I do know that nothing I tried worked before the BIOS setting
change,
> and getting X running afterwards was straightforward.
>
> Hope that helps!

"Juha Siltala" <jsiltala@gmx.net> wrote in message
news:slrnbu1i4f.ql4.jsiltala@marvin.mosa.homelinux .org...
> In article <ni1Eb.432$2i.69@news.randori.com>, Sonny wrote:
>
> > PROBLEM!!! I have no keyboard, no mouse. I have tried to ctrl + c,
ctrl +
> > break, ctrl + alt +fn, and everything else i can think of to try and get
>
> Try ctrl+alt+BACKSPACE, it will kill X. Then reconfigure

But if X starts again, he might be back at the same situation.
You would think if ctr+alt+F1 didnt work, then ctrl+alt+backspace would not
either.

Whats the way to change run level when booting ?

linux single su, to get to single user mode ? then fix the XF86Config-4 ,
and then go back to a normal runlevel


>
> --
> Juha Siltala
> http://www.edu.helsinki.fi/activity/people/jsiltala/

In article <3fe11a1f$1@news.rivernet.com.au>, Leon. wrote:
>
> "Juha Siltala" <jsiltala@gmx.net> wrote in message
>>
>> Try ctrl+alt+BACKSPACE, it will kill X. Then reconfigure
>
> But if X starts again, he might be back at the same situation.
> You would think if ctr+alt+F1 didnt work, then ctrl+alt+backspace would not
> either.

Yes. I'll crawl under my bed now

> Whats the way to change run level when booting ?
>
> linux single su, to get to single user mode ? then fix the XF86Config-4 ,
> and then go back to a normal runlevel

If I still dare, 'linux single' will give you single user mode.

--
Juha Siltala
http://www.edu.helsinki.fi/activity/people/jsiltala/

Well, my P.O.S. bios (piece of $h!t) doesnt have the "goodies" it is a very
limited bios. The only setting in there that I could remotely affect
anything is plug 'n' play OS. I changed it to no and tried to walk through
the video/mouse/kebd setup again.
and.............................

IT LOCKED UP AGAIN! i have NO keyboard, no mouse and am forced to shut down
hard.
Here is my list:
P4 2.6 ghz
256 Ram
80 gig HD, (40 windows/40 debian)
Standard 2button scroll mouse.
Standard Keyboard
Intell 82845G onboard video, (8mb ram onboard 32 shared)
Debian 3.0 r1

any other ideas? Thanks to all who have helped me up to this point and a
Big THANK YOU to all for having this board!!

Shane

"Michael K. Heney" <mheney@mach-25.com> wrote in message
news:slrnbu1egc.3rn.mheney@mach-25.com...
> In article <ni1Eb.432$2i.69@news.randori.com>, Sonny wrote:
> > Ok, I finally got Debian loaded and LOVE IT!!! I am a command line
junkie
> > and am adapting to the "new" file structure. (vs windows) I wanted to do
> > some playing with the gui options so i tried to load Xfree86 (startx) I
> > tried and it kicked back some errors at me. I checked the log file and
> > determined that my video card was too new for the version of xfree86
that is
> > included with Debian 3 r1. So i rebooted to windows and downloaded the
> > newest version of xfree86. It installed fine. Durring the install
process i
> > chose yes to all the prompts thinking that would do a clean upgrade. I
then
> > typed 'startx' and it loaded to a gui terminal.
> >
> > PROBLEM!!! I have no keyboard, no mouse. I have tried to ctrl + c,
ctrl +
> > break, ctrl + alt +fn, and everything else i can think of to try and get
> > out. Now my monitor's "built in screen saver" kicked in and I have a
black
> > screen. I cant get out and I cant get linux to MOVE! I know I am not
> > supposed to hard start but I fear that I have no other option at this
point.
> > Any other suggestions? I know if/when i restart to redo my config for
> > xfree86.
> >
> > Any ideas?
>
> I just had a similar problem with a RedHat 7.3 machine. I did a clean
install,
> got the system configured (I manage a number of linux boxes; we have a
standard
> install / config procedure in place); fired up X on the console, and was
locked
> out. No keyboard or mouse response.
>
> The problem turned out to be a BIOS setting. I made two changes - don't
know
> which fixed it, but I have my suspicions ....
>
> (1) I turned APCI off ... (probably not the fix) ;
> (2) I changed the PS/2 Mouse setting in the BIOS from "Auto" to "On".
>
> After I rebooted, Kudzu came up and announced it had detected new hardware
> (the mouse) and I told it to go ahead and update the hardware
configuration;
> X came up happily after that with full keyboard and mouse functionality.
> I don't remember if I ran mouseconfig or Xconfigurator after changing the
BIOS
> settings; I do know that nothing I tried worked before the BIOS setting
change,
> and getting X running afterwards was straightforward.
>
> Hope that helps!

Sonny wrote:
> Ok, I finally got Debian loaded and LOVE IT!!! I am a command line junkie
> and am adapting to the "new" file structure. (vs windows) I wanted to do
> some playing with the gui options so i tried to load Xfree86 (startx) I
> tried and it kicked back some errors at me. I checked the log file and
> determined that my video card was too new for the version of xfree86 that is
> included with Debian 3 r1. So i rebooted to windows and downloaded the
> newest version of xfree86. It installed fine. Durring the install process i
> chose yes to all the prompts thinking that would do a clean upgrade. I then
> typed 'startx' and it loaded to a gui terminal.
>
> PROBLEM!!! I have no keyboard, no mouse. I have tried to ctrl + c, ctrl +
> break, ctrl + alt +fn, and everything else i can think of to try and get
> out. Now my monitor's "built in screen saver" kicked in and I have a black
> screen. I cant get out and I cant get linux to MOVE! I know I am not
> supposed to hard start but I fear that I have no other option at this point.
> Any other suggestions? I know if/when i restart to redo my config for
> xfree86.
>
> Any ideas?
>
>
You have no keyboard so you will have to reboot into the fixit floppy
you made or the cd. You will have to get into command line mode 3 and
edit the file:
/etc/X11/XF86Config or maybe ti has a -4 at the end. You may be able to
fix the keyboard and mouse this way. If you can't figure your way with
this, I think you may have to reinstall. Most times when you do a hard
reset things will still be ok because of the journalling.
Lots of luck.

"Leo (Bing) Whiteway" <bclinux_ca@yahoo.ca> wrote in message
news:9PlEb.107670$bC.76733@clgrps13...
> Sonny wrote:
> > Ok, I finally got Debian loaded and LOVE IT!!! I am a command line
junkie
> > and am adapting to the "new" file structure. (vs windows) I wanted to do
> > some playing with the gui options so i tried to load Xfree86 (startx) I
> > tried and it kicked back some errors at me. I checked the log file and
> > determined that my video card was too new for the version of xfree86
that is
> > included with Debian 3 r1. So i rebooted to windows and downloaded the
> > newest version of xfree86. It installed fine. Durring the install
process i
> > chose yes to all the prompts thinking that would do a clean upgrade. I
then
> > typed 'startx' and it loaded to a gui terminal.
> >
> > PROBLEM!!! I have no keyboard, no mouse. I have tried to ctrl + c,
ctrl +
> > break, ctrl + alt +fn, and everything else i can think of to try and get
> > out. Now my monitor's "built in screen saver" kicked in and I have a
black
> > screen. I cant get out and I cant get linux to MOVE! I know I am not
> > supposed to hard start but I fear that I have no other option at this
point.
> > Any other suggestions? I know if/when i restart to redo my config for
> > xfree86.
> >
> > Any ideas?
> >
> >
> You have no keyboard so you will have to reboot into the fixit floppy
> you made or the cd. You will have to get into command line mode 3 and
> edit the file:

Is keyboard available at reboot time? Then he can boot into single user mode
with "linux 1" or "linux single" or whatever is appropriate for his boot
options.

Also, doing a "linux 3" should provide all the non-X-based tools including
setting up the network, and not start the automatic X-windows tools, which
may be a more workable for him.

And if the thing is running sshd, you should be able to log into it remotely
with an SSH client to reboot, disable the auto-X-login screen stuff by
editing "/etc/inittab" and changing the default boot to runlevel 3, etc.

Last: Debian stable is not famous for actually working on any hardware less
than 3 years old: Debian puts a lot of feature enhancements, including
hardware support, in the "unstable" list of available packages. This often
makes it like driving your mom's 10-year-old beater of a mini-van. Useful
for stability, but not ideal for any challenging environments or specialized
tasks and in need of upgrading to be comfortable to use.

"Juha Siltala" wrote
> Leon wrote:
> > "Juha Siltala" wrote
> >> Try ctrl+alt+BACKSPACE, it will kill X. Then reconfigure
> >
> > But if X starts again, he might be back at the same situation.
> > You would think if ctr+alt+F1 didnt work, then ctrl+alt+backspace
> > would not either.
>
> Yes. I'll crawl under my bed now
>
> > What's the way to change run level when booting ?
> >
> > linux single su, to get to single user mode ? then fix the XF86Config-4 ,
> > and then go back to a normal runlevel
>
> If I still dare, 'linux single' will give you single user mode.
Maybe Ctrl-alt-F1 didn't seem to work because X was running on alt-F1;
you'd also have to try Ctrl-alt-F2 to make sure the keyboard wasn't working.
He also didn't explicitly say he'd tried Ctrl-alt-delete , which hopefully has
an /etc/inittab entry that says do a shutdown and reboot.
As to making a permanent change to boot into runlevel 3 instead of 5,
probably changing /etc/inittab line
id::5: to instead be id::3: is the ticket. Would be in Redhat anyway...
And again on Redhat, I'd check that /dev/mouse was a link to or clone of
/dev/psaux {major device number 10, minor 2 if you fabricate it using mknod}
I'm a little fuzzy on how to configure just it, not the graphics card too, for X use.
You might test it is working properly by running the gpm and testing cut-n-paste.