Thanks, John. I'll probably see you then. Regards,
Dick Steffens ----- Original Message ----- From: John Jason Jordan <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sat, 17 Sep 2011 23:17:45 -0000 (UTC) Subject: Re: [PLUG] Machine won't boot On Sat, 17 Sep 2011 21:23:02 +0000 (UTC) [email protected] dijo: >Sigh. > >I opened my desktop machine (Ubuntu) to do two things. First, to try >to plug my Laptop drive in so I could dd it to an iso, Second, to pull >the memory sticks to see which size they are. > >One set of drive cables in the desktop machine has the filled-in hole >in the plug, which I assume is to insure that it is plugged into the >drive the right way. My 2-1/2" adapter does not have a pin missing. >The other set of cables is compatible, so I disconnected one of the >secondary drives I have on the machine and plugged in the drive from >my laptop. The machine would not boot. At this point I don't recall >just where it failed. But I was able to get into the BIOS and see that >it didn't see the laptop drive as installed. > >I returned the cables to their normal drive and then took out the >memory. I pulled one of the sticks and found that I have PC2700 >DDR333. So the next time I get down to Free Geek when the thrift store >is open I can get the right speed. > >Now for the problem. When I turned the machine back on the bios only >got as far as telling me it was going to check the NVRAM, but it never >started the count-up. I tried pulling one memory stick, then the >other, but that's all the farther it got. Now it doesn't even go that >far. All I get is a series of beeps and a blank screen. > >I vaguely recall something like this in the past, and IIRC it involved >the machine needing to warm up a bit. So, while I've been typing this >e-mail I left the machine powered on. Just to confirm the conditions I >mentioned above I shut it off and powered it back on. Now I can get to >the bios. I can look at the four connected drives. and now it boots, >but I have the Ubuntu message: > >Errors were found while checking the disk drive for / > >F to attempt to fix the errors, I to ignore, S to skip mounting of M >for manual > >Any advice other than to power down and bring the box to the clinic >tomorrow? With the rest of the experiences I've been having this week >I'm quite hesitant to let the machine try fixing itself without >knowing more about what's going on. I think the latest imbitations (cf. etymology of "incarnation") of Ubuntu use Palimpsest disk utility which monitors disks for bad sectors and other impending disasters. I recently found that it reliably reported a disk that was about to fail; to the point that Seagate replaced it under warranty (after additional tests). Whether Palimpsest is capable of invoking other utilities to repair the disk is a question I don't have an answer for. Unless someone else comes up with a better solution before tomorrow, bring it to the Clinic. _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
