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    #1

    Problems with persistent Kubuntu from USB drive


    Hi experts,

    Using the excellent tutorial at: http://www.pendrivelinux.com/2007/09...ibbon-install/
    I managed to get Kubuntu 7.10 running from my USB stick (pen drive). So far so good....

    But after changing some of the KDE desktop settings (simple background image, number of worspaces, etc.), I can no longer boot in persistent mode!
    I get errors like:

    "Could not read network connection list.
    /home/ubuntu/.DCOPserver_ubuntu_0 not running.
    Please check that "dcopserver" is running.

    After that I get thrown back to the KDE login. From that point on I am lost!

    Can anybody help. I appreciate any suggestions. (BTW, I see the same behavior with two different USB pen drives)

    One more point of info: booting from the second option: Live CD (from USB) still works, so it's just the persistent mode that is shot.

    Thanks!
    Rene
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    #2
    Re: Problems with persistent Kubuntu from USB drive

    We have some members who might be able to help you get at this—maybe they will see your post; what you describe sounds technical, along with the live persistent flash drive dimension thrown in.

    I would try the pendrivelinux link (do they have a forum?) – an excellent place, but I do see a lot of folks having difficulty with some of their recipes.

    I sorta did my own how-to by putting together other methods and taking advice from KOLO here. No problems using the flash drive so far. Mine is at:

    http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3089474.0
    Reply #7: with persistence
    Just one “situation” with a known Gutsy bug—see my references at the end of Reply #7—but I solved it * for myself * by using ext3 for both the root and the casper-rw partitions (Thx to KOLO for that tip). Please post any questions back here on the regular forum as you have (but what I know is all there )

    Herman did his how-to at:
    HOW TO make a USB Disc with Ubuntu LiveCD and Super Grub Disc in it.
    http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=575406
    Herman; Tekno_Cowboy
    I borrowed a tip or two from Tekno_Cowboy's post there re the boot stanza and the kernel options. You might post at the end of that thread as they have had some people using pendrivelinux there, and some members have been able to suggest tips (even though it's not Herman's method). Just let them know you did it for Kubuntu, although that shouldn't make any difference in troubleshooting (except Kubuntu is more fun, of course).

    That's what I know, Rene71. Sorry I can't be of more specific help to you.
    Welcome to the forum!

    An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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      #3
      Re: Problems with persistent Kubuntu from USB drive

      Apart from using Qqmike's kubuntu specific and tried and tested method I would also boot into your "persistent" install, open a terminal session and try the following:
      Code:
      cp -r ~/.kde ~/.kde.bak
      followed by
      Code:
      rm -r ~/.kde
      Now try to login in again. Does kde come up?

      If so, it'll look like normal Try changing it again and see whether you experience the same behaviour. If so, it is definitely time to revert to Qqmike's superior howto
      Once your problem is solved please mark the topic of the first post as SOLVED so others know and can benefit from your experience! / FAQ
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        #4
        Re: Problems with persistent Kubuntu from USB drive

        Dear Qqmike and toad,

        first of all, thanks for your reply!

        I'm a bit hesitent to go through the entire installation again and just wanted to clarify two points.
        Comparing the instructions that I followed with syslinux and the tutorial by Qqmike I don't see to many differences (with my beginners impression). In both cases I have a second partition. Two differences that pop up:

        a) my second partition is formated with ext2, according to Qqmike it's ext3. Could this cause a major difference?

        b) second difference is in the bootloader:
        syslink:
        LABEL persistent
        menu label ^Start Ubuntu in USB persistent mode (saves changes)
        kernel vmlinuz
        append file=/preseed/ubuntu.seed boot=casper persistent initrd=initrd.gz quiet splash --
        LABEL live

        Grub:
        title Kubuntu 7.10 LIVE Persistent
        root (hd0,0)
        kernel /casper/vmlinuz boot=casper ramdisk_size=1048576 root=/dev/ram rw quiet splash persistent
        initrd /casper/initrd.gz

        Could you explain the differences to me? Would it make sense only to replace the bootloader?
        Sorry, I'm trying to understand what's happening. With my version, it seems to be working (e.g. I can install Firefox and it remains persistant, but I do get errors like "home/ubuntu/.kde/share/config/kdeglobal not writeable" Then when I do change some KDE settings I can't get back in (haven't tried toad's suggestion though.)

        Thanks for your help.

        Cheers,
        Rene
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          #5
          Re: Problems with persistent Kubuntu from USB drive

          Hi,

          ext2 or ext3 makes no difference to whether kde should come up or not. In any case you should always go for ext3 as it is a journaled system - wikipedia is your friend if you want to find out more about filesystems.

          The bootloader is a programme which sits at the beginning of your first hard drive. All it does is point your computer to what it should load next, i.e. the kernel. Once the computer has found the kernel and loaded it the bootloader has done its job and you can forget about it. In this case it appears to do its job just fine - in both cases.

          I suggest you try the route laid out in my post and report back. A word of explanation - you're not losing anything but checking that it is kde which is at fault here. You see, the directory ~/.kde (where ~ stands for /home/username) is where all user specific kde settings are stored. Renaming this causes kde to automatically create a new, empty ~/.kde without possible corruption. Try it...
          Once your problem is solved please mark the topic of the first post as SOLVED so others know and can benefit from your experience! / FAQ
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            #6
            Re: Problems with persistent Kubuntu from USB drive

            Stick with toad's plan here, as I agree with it (and he knows more about the Linux insides than I do).


            Most how-to's use Syslinux. I decided to try it with GRUB. But, as toad said, that should not have anything to do with the problems you are getting.

            ext3:
            https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...rt/+bug/125702
            There seems to be a bug in Gutsy (on persistent flash drives); there seems to be various opinions about this bug; and there seems to be some of us who have found a workaround by using ext3 for at least casper-rw (and I also do it for the root partition). (KOLO, a member here, first tipped me off to trying ext3, though he was not aware of this bug yet.)
            An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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              #7
              Re: Problems with persistent Kubuntu from USB drive

              Hey Toad and Qqmike,

              I really appreciate your help. I'll have to try it out... but it might take some time to get back to you... my powersupply just died. Anyway, didn't want to leave the impression, that I'm not listening

              Rene
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                #8
                Re: Problems with persistent Kubuntu from USB drive

                Oh gosh,Rene, sorry to hear that. It's a real show-stopper when the juice dies. I've had two Antec (a very good company) P/S's go south on me in 3 years. Guess what I have an extra of on my shelf now ...
                An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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