MX Linux Forum

Thanks FullScale4Me , I'm prepared to try almost any uncomplicated experiment to get this old computer functioning normally. I try to understand what I'm doing, but a lot of this is the proverbial steep learning curve. However your suggestions on managing flags in GParted look pretty straightforward ...

Thanks FullScale4Me for your ramblings... Just a quick response on the thoughts you offer. The subject of boot flags, LBA etc is way above my pay grade. I had a look at the Wikipedia explanation of LBA. It might as well have been written in Chinese or Greek. I couldn't begin to understand it. It ...

Your QSI says you have a 64-bit processor. Can you install the 64-bit version of MX Linux or does it have to be 32-bit for some other reason? Well, trawglodyte , I'm not sure how this suggestion relates to the problem of not being able to boot at all. But - for the record - I have in the past ...

Not really a progress report - but an update, and an apology. I opened up the computer casing again, to access the hard drive. And I successfully moved the jumper from pins 1 and 2 (the default Cable-Select setting), to pins 5 and 6. Connected it all up again, and powered on to boot up. Sadly ...

**Try setting the HDD as Master: jumper pins 5 and 6** ata1: SRST failed (errno=-16) Older PATA drives, if not configured correctly for master/slave (master, slave, single, cable-selected), can cause serious problems. I can see how to do this, Gabriel_M , and I'm willing to try it. But what is the ...

When you replaced the HDD did you also replace the ribbon cable as I suggested? Nope.... didn't have (and couldn't find locally) another ribbon cable. So all I did was wiggle the connections, unplug, try to get rid of any dust and dirt etc, and reconnect. Thinking more generally about the problem(s ...

sudo nano /etc/default/grub This would open grub with administrative powers in the nano text editor. Is that what you were trying to do? The truthful answer, j2mcgreg , is that I really don't know! I was simply following the suggestion put forward by Gabriel_M , in the hope that this was designed ...

A quick follow up. Without messing with the jumpers, I booted into a Live session, went looking for the file /etc/default/grub, found it, and - I think - successfully added the two new code-entries "sudo nano /etc/default/grub" and "insmod = ide generic". Saved and exited. Then in the terminal ...

Thanks again Gabriel_M ... but unfortunately I don't think I have moved anything forward. The jumper is on CS (cable select), which is shown as the default setting. That is to say, it links pins 1 and 2, according to the diagrams I have found. As I understand it - and as shown in the initial screen ...

It seems that the BIOS is having trouble finding your hard drive. Try changing the dip switches (according to what you see on the internet you have them) as Master and as CS cable select. You can also try adding to the boot line: insmod = ide-generic Thanks Gabriel_M ... You may be right that the ...