Problem at startup

English Install/Boot/Login
1

Hello,
I’m new with linux. I installed an OpenSuse 11.1 on an Acer Extensa E420, but I had some problems:

1st
Sometimes the system starts with the terminal screen (black) instead of the green OpenSuse login window.
If I choose the “safe mode” in the first menu it starts always normally and KDE starts too.

2nd
I’m not sure if it has a relationship with the first one, but, at starting KDE the monitor is set very large, to set the normal condition I must access to “Desktop configuration” and then “Display” and just “Apply” without any change.

Could anyone help me?

2

Sometimes problems are very hard to diagnose.

IMHO they are caused for the most part in some weak hardware either memory or hard drive.

  1. run the memory check on the install disk over night to check memory

  2. Get a low level scan program form your disk manufacturer and check the drive(s)

  3. try to determine how the machine was shut down prior to the problem start. ie did you just cut power?

3

I’ll agree this is a little strange. Let me get this right:

Your machine sometimes boots without the normal splash screen, and your video configuration isn’t there after you’ve booted? And, to top it off, this isn’t every time, it is only some of the time. Right?

This is strange, because it sounds like your computer is missing some files at bootup, or can’t find them. If all the boot files were gone, you wouldn’t be able to boot, but you’re just missing the splash screen, and that only sometimes. Ditto the video configuration file.

Since this is only happening SOME of the time, hardware errors definitely enter the picture. I haven’t gotten around to learning how to check a hard drive for errors in Linux, but I think that fsck checks the file system for errors (which could be the issue). And, as previously alluded to, if you were shutting down the machine using the power switch, and not allowing Linux to shut itself down, you could have errors.

4

Thank for your replies, I’m new on Linux systems.
Just to explain better…
My PC (sometimes) starts in a wrong way: at power on, after the initial windows that allows to choose startup option (this comes regular always), don’t diplays the openSuse login windows, but, instead of it, it displays the linux login prompt. I’m new so I haven’t discovered if there is a way to launch the KDE from the prompt (it accept my user name and password from the prompt command line) …startx? may be.
Sometimes starts with the openSuse login window still large (out of the screen) and I must reach the usr and pww field moving the mouse… when it starts in this way, also the KDE screen appears very large, and I must go in the display setting and just press the “apply” button to resize at normal dimensions (1280*1024px).
At this point everythig runs well without any further problems…
Thanks a lot!

5

Let me add that I see more or less the same problem as RAFTALOR. The boot goes correctly up until you log onto the desktop as a user, and then I always get a 1024 x 768 desktop resolution. I have tried a number of fixes (most of my posts here have been about that problem) and any configuration change (in my case to a 1920 x 1200 resolution) does not remain past a boot or reboot.

With regard to hardware, I do not believe that is an issue. I have never had this happen with Fedora or Windows running on this same computer and using the same video card and monitor. There is some issue with the openSUSE configuration files, the way they implement X.org, or something else that causes this. Based on what I have read here, the problem is not universal to all openSUSE users, but it does afflict some subset of users on a regular basis. My two cents. :slight_smile:

6

Ok what video card do you guys have. There are many reported problems with ATI.

Pure speculation.->Also could be that the new xorg auto detect may sometimes fail on some machines. Maybe making a /etc/X11/xorg.conf file may help.

You should be able to start X with startx command.

Note it might be better to log on as root at the CL and type

init 3
to be sure you are totally in terminal mode. Then
init 5
to go to GUI

At lest you will see any error messages bring generated.

If you use the init method be sure to press ctrl-alt-F1 to return to the terminal and log out as root. Otherwise you leave a terminal running with root access

7

I recommend you down load and install or upgrade to openSuse 11.2. It has the latest drivers and kernel

1st
Sometimes the system starts with the terminal screen (black) instead of the green OpenSuse login window.
If I choose the “safe mode” in the first menu it starts always normally and KDE starts too.

2nd
I’m not sure if it has a relationship with the first one, but, at starting KDE the monitor is set very large, to set the normal condition I must access to “Desktop configuration” and then “Display” and just “Apply” without any change.

Could anyone help me?
from a terminal (alt+ctrl f1-f6) log in as root
enter the command init 3
enter the command sax2
adjust your resolutions etc when finished
command init 5 go back to the terminal then ctrl+d

8

The video card is an ATI RADEON HD3200. The resolution problem with OpenSuse has been reported also by my friend that uses it in a VMWare player under a windows system… It seems to be the same!

9

h

check out Hardware - Installing ATI Drivers - openSUSE Forums

but I still strongly recommend upgrading to openSuse 11.3
where the native radeon and radeonhd drivers are much improved

10

Under opensuse 11.2, I haven’t had the problem at start up, but I sometimes have tried to shutdown from a menu choice under KDE, but instead of shutting down fully, the system only dropped back to a text login prompt. For me, from that odd condition, even though telinit is just a link to init, a run level arg to init just seemed to be ignored. Yet, when I used telinit it worked.