Can't boot, can't update

English Install/Boot/Login
#1

I have upgraded from SuSE version 11.3 (which worked well) using zypper dup. Unfortunately, an earlier post regarding resolution of a CPU crash during boot turned out to be premature, as it is now intermittent. When booting, the system:
(1) UDV reports a CPU crash (on-screen dump)
(2) if the computer is reset (turned off, then on again), it will eventually either boot up normally (rare) or display a screen with a very wrong resolution setting. Repeatedly rebooting will eventually tease the system into normal operation, but it usually takes several attempts. Several Grub parameters have been tried but don’t seem to make any difference. The display adapter is an Intel 845G for which a /etc/dhcpd.conf file has been configured.
(3) Once operating, the system cannot update, either using zypper up or the Gnome GUI update manager. Running zypper update from root yields:
GLib-GIO:ERROR:gdbusconnection.c:2279:initable_init: assertion failed: (connection->initialization_error == NULL). After several such messages, the update proceeds, but locks up with:
Retrieving: timezone-2011b_2011c-1.2.1_0.3.1.i586.delta.rpm [0% (0 B/s)]
Interestingly, the download of timezone data often continues up to 74%, then stalls. Initially, the timezone file begins to download, but stops at 74%. The B/s then counts down to zero. The download attempt will time out, then continue to retry until manually aborted.
The GLib error can be supressed with su - root, but update still fails with the timezone download.
Any help appreciated.

All seems normal until it reaches a time

#2

Here is a paste of /var/log/Xorg.0.log
URL: SUSE Paste

#3

Did you give any though to doing a new install?

If that were my machine, even if I managed to get it working, I’d never be content with it., having all that history

#4

I’d rather resolve the issues with the display driver and update manager. The rest of the system seems ok (it has been used to send this message).
A reinstall is a good 12 hour project, with reconfiguration and re-installation of an admittedly few applications.

#5

12 hours
Heavens above!

I have a fairly simple install too but a couple of hours is more than enough.

Re Your issue. If you boot to level 3 is the network still down?

#6

Init 3 brings me to a terminal prompt. The network seems to be functional, (ping shows response to another computer in the LAN here, and so Internet should also be accessible) but attempts to run firefox indicate a screen is not defined, and startx brings up a desktop in an invalid screen resolution.
12 hour install is not unusual by the time one spends teasing programs that need special configuration and interface (access to a printer though another computer for example) in a Windows workgroup network. Try installing Irfanview with the proper desktop icon, for example. Turns out one has to manually install the icon file and then reconfigure the launcher. To get the Intel screen driver to work (at least in 11.3) it is necessary to install dhcp.conf, which was borrowed from a working system (after hours of configuration) and transfer the file from a terminal. Could be the dhcp.conf file is not identified properly in 11.4, and that is what is wrong with the 11.4 installation. A number of other special stunts are needed to get a SuSE Linux OS operating properly on the Dell computers here, and the stunts change with each new release.
With the accolades presented on the OpenSuSE page for 11.4, I thought I’d see if some of the particularities would disappear, but… It does seem to run faster when it is working.

#7

One curiosity, I notice in the System Monitor screen the report of two CPU’s, even though the system has only one processor. It is a Pentium 4 with 512MB memory.

#8

You can’t run a graphical firefox in level 3

My thought was considering your comment

(3) Once operating, the system cannot update, either using zypper up or the Gnome GUI update manager
That you could try running updates from level 3

You can run yast like this BTW
Boot to Level 3, then Yast and More…

#9

On 03/19/2011 05:36 AM, hbco2 wrote:
>
> One curiosity, I notice in the System Monitor screen the report of two
> CPU’s, even though the system has only one processor. It is a Pentium 4
> with 512MB memory.

Your CPU probably implements HT. That counts as a second processor even though
that capability is mostly Intel hype.

#10

IMHO, the cpu crash or whatever interferes with the boot. The Xorg.0.log looks clean no problems, preferred res 1280x whatever right?
Try booting with your installation DVD into Rescue Mode
Then run fsck on all of your partitions.
Reboot check for errors in /var/log/messages, boot.msg, dmesg and Xorg.0.log

man fsck

#11

I am attempting to download an image of the 11.4 installation disk. I have upgraded via zypper from 11.3 and bypassed generating a DVD. In another post, the suggestion of correcting the screen resolution seems to work “xrandr -s 1280x1024+0+0.” However it is not permanent, and attempting to make it default in the Monitor management window of Control Center yielded “Cannot set monitor to default setting.” That is likely due to the fact that as far as the Monitor panel reports, there is no monitor defined. Is there a manual way to define a monitor? Doesn’t the (installed by me) file dhcp.conf do that?
TIA

#12

On 2011-03-20 11:36, hbco2 wrote:

> is no monitor defined. Is there a manual way to define a monitor?
> Doesn’t the (installed by me) file dhcp.conf do that?

No, that file is for automatically getting an IP from the dhcpd server in
your lan.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.2 x86_64 “Emerald” at Telcontar)

#13

On 2011-03-19 05:36, hbco2 wrote:

> (3) Once operating, the system cannot update, either using zypper up or
> the Gnome GUI update manager. Running zypper update from root yields:
> GLib-GIO:ERROR:gdbusconnection.c:2279:initable_init: assertion failed:

I think I saw an update related to that, don’t remember for sure.

However, it is possible to update manually: you have to download the rpms
from the update repo (zypper at least works to the point of giving you the
list, so that’s some thing).

So you manually download the updates with a browser, then install/upgrade
them with command line “rpm”.

The patches come in three versions, if I remember correctly: full, delta,
and… patch? The later needs the original rpm to rebuild locally the rpm,
it is more intricate to install manually.

Then reboot (or verify “zypper ps”). Hopefully zypper will run now.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.2 x86_64 “Emerald” at Telcontar)

#14

Pls read this topic thread about setting the max resolution. It should answer some questions for you before you proceed. After you have read through the threads please provide more information about your video card and monitor.

11.4 max resolution 1024x768 - how can I raise it?

#15

Regarding boot freeze, have the same problem that is described in the message “11.4 Boot Freeze.” I have to restart the system several times to get past the CPU crash. Unfortunately, the resolution of removing redundant Linux versions won’t apply here, as only one version (default) is installed.

hbsv:/home/mcair # cat /boot/grub/menu.lst

Modified by YaST2. Last modification on Mon Mar 21 00:52:06 PDT 2011

THIS FILE WILL BE PARTIALLY OVERWRITTEN by perl-Bootloader

Configure custom boot parameters for updated kernels in /etc/sysconfig/bootloader

default 0
timeout 8
gfxmenu (hd0,2)/boot/message
##YaST - activate

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux###
title openSUSE 11.4 - 2.6.37.1-1.2
root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.37.1-1.2-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6Y080L0_Y2JD6V6E-part3 resume=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6Y080L0_Y2JD6V6E-part5 splash=silent quiet showopts vga=0x303
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.37.1-1.2-default

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: failsafe###
title Failsafe – openSUSE 11.4 - 2.6.37.1-1.2
root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.37.1-1.2-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6Y080L0_Y2JD6V6E-part3 showopts apm=off noresume nosmp maxcpus=0 edd=off powersaved=off nohz=off highres=off processor.max_cstate=1 nomodeset x11failsafe
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.37.1-1.2-default

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: windows###
title Windows
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: floppy###
title Floppy
rootnoverify (fd0)
chainloader +1

Secondly, regarding wrong resolution settings once a Linux OS is booted. I had hoped to redefine the resolution using xrandr -s 2048x1024+0+0, but receive the error “No Display Defined” I tried a variety of options, but xrandr responded with the same message. After repeated reboots, the ‘display’ is found, somehow, and
results in the following:

hbsv:/home/mcair # xrandr -q
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1280 x 1024, maximum 2048 x 2048
VGA1 connected 1280x1024+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 0mm x 0mm
1280x1024 60.0*+
1400x1050 60.0
1280x960 60.0
1024x768 60.0
800x600 60.3 56.2
848x480 60.0
640x480 59.9 59.9

Are there any further insights into why the boot stalls with udev? Is there a way to define a monitor? These seem to be two separate issues.

#16

On 2011-03-21 10:36, hbco2 wrote:
> Are there any further insights into why the boot stalls with udev?

Have you managed to update?

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.2 x86_64 “Emerald” at Telcontar)

#17

No, pondered your suggestion to manually update, and don’t have enough information to establish a procedure. Are you suggesting the use of an ftp file manager to open the update repository and find several files related to timezone, including a patch to the update (?), apply the patch to the update (don’t have any idea how), then manually perform the update. Don’t know how to do that, either. Maybe it is an rpm, that I can install. Frankly, can’t see how the download process is somehow affected by a timezone update.

I spent a good part of the weekend on this project, one effort was attempting to download a 11.4 install image so that I can run fsck as recommended in a previous response. The most successful attempt resulted in “File too large to store” or some similar error. After three attempts, was obligated to stop as have many other demands on time. Perhaps I can use a fsck from a 11.2 install disk.

Perhaps the suggestion of a new install was the wiser, or simply put up with the broken system until more time is available. Thank you for your suggestions!

#18

Regarding dhcp.conf comment, my mistake. The screen parameter file is really /etc/X11/xorg.conf, not dhcp.conf as mistakenly identified. Here is an extract, which provides screen/adapter definition information.

Section “Monitor”
DisplaySize 337 270
HorizSync 29-65
Identifier “VGA1”
ModelName “1280X1024@75HZ”
Option “PreferredMode” “1280x1024”
VendorName “–> VESA”
VertRefresh 50-60
UseModes “Modes[0]”
EndSection

The Display Unit is a Westinghouse LCM-17v2 SL. The computer is a Dell 3000 (Intel P4 processor, 512MB memory). It is operated through a Rose SPM-4UB KVM switch.

#19

Section “Device”
BoardName “845 G”
Driver “intel”
Identifier “Device[0]”
Option “monitor-VGA” “VGA1”
Screen 0
VendorName “Intel”
EndSection

#20

On 2011-03-21 22:06, hbco2 wrote:

> The Display Unit is a Westinghouse LCM-17v2 SL. The computer is a Dell
> 3000 (Intel P4 processor, 512MB memory). It is operated through a Rose
> SPM-4UB KVM switch.

Bypass that switch, maybe it recognizes the monitor that way.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.2 x86_64 “Emerald” at Telcontar)