missing operating system

English Install/Boot/Login
1

Newbie here, and I did a search using the title and nothing was found.

I installed 11.3 on an old pentium 4, 384mb RAM, 40g HD using DVD (iso image) twice. Formatted HD (deleted Windows ME). Each time when I tried to reboot I got as far as the BIOS and “missing operating system.” What’s the problem? Thanks.

2

When you install, I suggest when you get here:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10573557/11.3%20Install/9.jpg
Choose ‘Other’ and select LXDE.

Have a go again. Look at this first:
Picasa Web Albums - carl fletcher - 11.3 Slideshow

BTW 384MB RAM is kind of low
Hardware requirements - openSUSE

3

Tried again choosing LXDE. Got same thing. I may have a bad mobo. Thanks for the quick reply!

4

Have you tried a Live CD?
Something small like Parted Magic
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10573557/pmagic-4.5.iso

Burn that to a cd and try booting it. How does it run?
If your Mobo is ‘Jeffed’ it’s unlikely you can run that or indeed even complete the SUSE install.

5

Each time when I tried to reboot I got as far as the BIOS and “missing operating system.” What’s the problem? Thanks.

You may also have chosen an incorrect option for boot loader install during your openSUSE install, as done here openSUSE 11.3 64-bit
You could try Re-Install Grub Quickly with Parted Magic you can also use the same commands when booted to the repair option on the 11.3 DVD.

6

On Thu November 25 2010 12:36 am, shegeek72 wrote:

>
> Tried again choosing LXDE. Got same thing. I may have a bad mobo.
> Thanks for the quick reply!
>
>
shegeek72;

Before you replace the mother board, try a different HD cable. These can fail
in such a way to give the type of error you reported. Much cheaper and
easier to replace than a mother board.

P. V.
“We’re all in this together, I’m pulling for you.” Red Green

7

@shegeek72 I think you must have chosen the wrong options during the installation or the installation didn’t complete. Do you have a liveCD to boot, and verify OpenSuse 11.3 runs on your hardware? Did you media check your installation DVD/CD? You should also memtest your system memory.
Before the install I assume everything worked with the Windows ME.

Please try to follow the instructions from the links provided by Caf4926 andr Dvhenry.

8

On 2010-11-25 05:36, shegeek72 wrote:
>
> Newbie here, and I did a search using the title and nothing was found.
>
> I installed 11.3 on an old pentium 4, 384mb RAM, 40g HD using DVD (iso
> image) twice. Formatted HD (deleted Windows ME). Each time when I tried
> to reboot I got as far as the BIOS and “missing operating system.”
> What’s the problem? Thanks.

My guess is that the wrong partition is selected “boot”. Open a
partitioner, and make sure the correct partition is marked for booting. And
only one. This can be done with fdisk from a live linux cd.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

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

9

After several tests, I’ve determined the mobo is flaky. Picking up another one soon at freegeek. Thanks for the help! :slight_smile: