Kubuntu Wont Boot On It's Own

[dibl]

Re: Kubuntu Wont Boot On It's Own

I think you've got a computer that is pre-configured to boot from a network boot image:

http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~brecht/s...com/UG/pxe.htm


You're going to have to disable that "boot agent" before it will boot from a hard drive. Check #2 under "Client Setup" on that link.

[Snowhog]

Re: Kubuntu Wont Boot On It's Own

Thank you.

Even though you formated the HD, there is a boot agent in the MBR: Broadcom NetXtreme Ethernet Boot Agent v7.7.5. That, or it's built onto the Mobo. My thinking, is that it is getting in the way of Grub. By your previous posts, you installed Grub to the root partition and not to the MBR, is that correct? There is no other OS still installed on this PC, yes?

[maevik]

Re: Kubuntu Wont Boot On It's Own

There is no other OS installed on the computer. I may have installed GRUB to both (as a result of being confused as to which was "correct") I would say the most successful installation of GRUB was:

grub-install /dev/sda

which I believe installs to MBR

[maevik]

Re: Kubuntu Wont Boot On It's Own

Thanks for the link dibl. Unfortunately the only info it gives me about disabling is that it should be disabled by default. Would I be able to do the following from bash instead of DOS?

Enable/Disable

MBA is disabled by default. To enable MBA, boot up into DOS. The Broadcom software CD should be placed into the CD drive.

d:\DOS\utility

b57udiag -mba [ 0-disable | 1-enable ] -c <devnum>

where:

devnum= specific device(s) number (0,1,2,...) to be programmed

and if so, would the command be

b57udiag -mba 0-disable -c 0

?
If so, would I have to be in root menu?

[Snowhog]

Re: Kubuntu Wont Boot On It's Own

No, you won't be able to run the *windows* command in bash.

What happens, after booting, when you see:

Broadcom NetXtreme Ethernet Boot Agent v7.7.5
Copyright (C) 200-2004 Broadcom Corporation
All rights reserved.
Press Ctrl-S to enter Configuration Menu

and you press Ctrl-S? Are you able to enter the Configuration Menu? If you can, is there any option within to disable?

[maevik]

Re: Kubuntu Wont Boot On It's Own

I can enter the configuration easy enough, but no, I cannot find any option that allows me to disable it.

[Snowhog]

Re: Kubuntu Wont Boot On It's Own

I think you are going to have to download/burn a NetXtreme II 1 Gigabit Drivers diagnostic boot disc for what ever version of Windows you had on the PC before you wiped it. I'm going to assume that this diagnostic disc will allow you to remove/uninstall this driver.

See NetXtreme II 1 Gigabit Drivers

[maevik]

Re: Kubuntu Wont Boot On It's Own

Looking at the files, I'm not sure I can even do this without reinstalling XP on the system (and even then I'm not 100% certain that this was the OS running before as I got it from a friend who got it from a software company where he used to work)

In any case, I really appreciate the help guys. I realize that this part of it is outside your field of expertise, but you guys really helped to identify the problem. I'll update if I'm fortunate enough to make some progress with this.

[maevik]

Re: Kubuntu Wont Boot On It's Own

I've had no luck with the Broadcom drivers or their diagnostic tools. Someone suggested I try the following:

1: boot from a linux live cd
2: determine what the drive is represented as (/dev/sda, /dev/hda, w/e - just can't have numbers after it)
3: enter the command "dd if=/dev/zero of=" followed by the drive name. Wait about a minute, then repartition it and put the bootloader on.

How this works is that it completely zeroes the MBR so that there aren't any residual things like that Boot Agent. It pretty much gives you a clean slate with it.

What are the dangers of zeroing the MBR? Is this a viable option?

[maevik]

Re: Kubuntu Wont Boot On It's Own

zeroing the MBR did not help. However, I recieved support from my motherboard manufacturer and successfully got rid of the boot agent. Kubuntu STILL does not boot on it's own. Any other ideas of what might be causing this?

[dibl]

Re: Kubuntu Wont Boot On It's Own

You say Kubuntu will not boot. More information!

Does anything boot from the CD ROM drive? Any Linux Live CD should boot from there, if it is burned correctly (ISO file md5sum checked, burned at 4X or 8X speed). Is the CD ROM drive set to boot first, in the BIOS list of boot devices? Is the optical drive actually connected -- does it show up in BIOS?

[maevik]

Re: Kubuntu Wont Boot On It's Own

You say Kubuntu will not boot. More information!

Does anything boot from the CD ROM drive? Any Linux Live CD should boot from there, if it is burned correctly (ISO file md5sum checked, burned at 4X or 8X speed). Is the CD ROM drive set to boot first, in the BIOS list of boot devices? Is the optical drive actually connected -- does it show up in BIOS?

Sorry, I've answered some of this but it's buried in the thread.

The live CD works just fine. I can boot with the CD and was able to install successfully. I can even boot the system using the option on the Live CD "Boot first from hard disk"

The Hard Drive is connected, shows up in the BIOS and is set as the first boot device.

When I attempt to boot, I get the boot screen, then a blinking cursor. After a minute or so it Boots from CD. If I set HD as only boot device I get a cursor that blinks forever.

[dibl]

Re: Kubuntu Wont Boot On It's Own

OK, I'll take it on faith that you managed to get rid of the boot agent that was the previous source of trouble.

It looks like you attempted a "dd" lobotomization of the hard drive. Since I wasn't there and didn't see it, here's what I would do to try to get control of it:

1. From a booted Linux Live CD (and assuming there's only one hard drive on the system):

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=1

2. Boot a Parted Magic Live CD, made from the ISO downloaded from here: http://partedmagic.com/download.html

Choose "Partitioning" and choose drive /dev/sda

When it pops up a message about writing a Partition Table, choose "MS-DOS" for the type.

not knowing anything about your hard drive, make a 15GB partition for the OS and a 1GB partition for a swap space.

Set the "boot" flag on the first partition, and exit the Parted Magic CD.

3. In your BIOS, if it is an IDE drive, set it to "master" on the channel. If this is a problem, you need to pull the side cover off the case, get the drive out, and take a look at the jumper. It needs to be on "CS" which means "cable select", and not on the "master" or the "slave".

If it is a SATA drive, then in BIOS set the mode to "legacy IDE" for now. If you are successful in installing Kubuntu, after installation you can set it back to AHCI.

4. Now boot your Alternate Install CD, and on the first of the installation screens choose "manual" partitioning. Choose the 15GB partition for the "/" filesystem and the swap partition for swap. Let it install Grub on the MBR of the hard drive.

5. Finish and eject the CD. Now reboot. If it boots to a black screen with blinking cursor, go to #2 on the FAQs in my signature and see what kind of a video issue you have.