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Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2023 5:59 am
by fbagnato
Hello all,
I have an old iMac 5,1 that I just installed MX-Linux as a Dual Boot with Mac OS X 10.11.6.
To install MX-Linux, I had to burn the ISO to a USB Stick (a DVD would not boot) and had to add the "nomodeset" parameter (pressed "e" at the grub splash screen).
Without the nomodeset the screen would go black and the booting process stopped.
On this computer I have rEFInd Boot Manager installed to handle the two OS's.
All went well with the install but now that it is installed when I select to boot MX-Linux from rEFInd the screen becomes scrambled immediately upon booting MX-Linux and stays scrambled (I'm guessing right until and including running XFCE windows manager).
It looks like it is not using the correct driver or is running at an unsupported resolution or bad refresh rate or something like that.
The iMac 5,1 has an ATI Radeon X1600 graphics adapter built into it.
I am not experienced with Linux so I don't know how I can pass parameters from rEFInd. In rEFInd I am able to edit the parameters(?) which at the moment shows "ro root=UUID=1c741628-2440-49bf-b1d6-158855bb8d2f initrd=boot\initrd.img-5.10.0-20-686-pae".
I tried adding nomodeset at the end of this long parameter but it doesn't commence booting at all.
Adding failsafe at the end of this long parameter made no difference (same scrambling).
Any ideas on how I fix this and remember I am inexperienced with Linux.
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2023 6:52 am
by Charlie Brown
Though you already stated it's "ATI Radeon X1600" , you can boot live session (ok, with nomodeset as you have to) then post "Quick System Info" from menu.
The weird thing is that it boots with nomodeset on live session and doesn't when installed.
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2023 7:22 am
by Charlie Brown
... Or if you like only, we can try something radical (force it load Radeon drivers):
Boot with the live usb (no matter with nomodeset etc.. )
"Chroot Rescue Scan" from menu, proceed (it'll find your installed MX) and when you see the prompt
chroot>
issue these:
Code: Select all
make-xorg-conf radeon -o /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-radeon.conf
Code: Select all
echo -e 'radeon\n\nloop' | sudo tee /etc/modules
Code: Select all
echo 'radeon' | sudo tee -a /etc/initramfs-tools/modules
Reboot (with the installed MX)
(As you already know: you can copy-paste-press Enter)
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2023 5:53 pm
by fbagnato
Hello Charlie Brown,
Thank you for replying and trying to help me.
I booted the live system with nomodeset and ran the Quick System Info.
The following is the output:
Code: Select all
System: Kernel: 5.10.0-20-686-pae [5.10.158-2] i686 bits: 32 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.1
parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/antiX/vmlinuz quiet splasht nosplash nomodeset
Desktop: Xfce 4.18.0 tk: Gtk 3.24.24 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm 4.18.0 vt: 7
dm: LightDM 1.26.0 Distro: MX-21.3_386 Wildflower January 15 2023
base: Debian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye)
Machine: Type: Desktop System: Apple product: iMac5,1 v: 1.0 serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 13
v: Mac-F4228EC8 serial: <filter>
Mobo: Apple model: Mac-F4228EC8 v: DVT serial: <filter> UEFI: Apple
v: IM51.88Z.0090.B08.0612151336 date: 12/15/06
CPU: Info: Dual Core model: Intel Core2 T7400 bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Core Merom family: 6
model-id: F (15) stepping: 6 microcode: D1 cache: L2: 4 MiB
flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 8655
Speed: 999 MHz min/max: 1000/2167 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 999 2: 999
Vulnerabilities: Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled
Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: EPT disabled
Type: mds status: Vulnerable: Clear CPU buffers attempted, no microcode; SMT disabled
Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
Type: mmio_stale_data status: Unknown: No mitigations
Type: retbleed status: Not affected
Type: spec_store_bypass status: Vulnerable
Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
Type: spectre_v2
mitigation: Retpolines, STIBP: disabled, RSB filling, PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected
Type: srbds status: Not affected
Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics: Device-1: AMD RV530/M56-P [Mobility Radeon X1600] vendor: Apple MacBook Pro driver: N/A
alternate: radeon bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:71c5 class-ID: 0300
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 compositor: xfwm4 v: 4.18.0 driver: loaded: ati,vesa
unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,radeon display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1
Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1680x1050 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 445x278mm (17.5x10.9")
s-diag: 525mm (20.7")
Monitor-1: default res: 1680x1050 hz: 77
OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe (LLVM 11.0.1 128 bits) v: 4.5 Mesa 20.3.5 compat-v: 3.1
direct render: Yes
Audio: Device-1: Intel NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio vendor: SigmaTel STAC9221 Codec
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:27d8 class-ID: 0403
Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.10.0-20-686-pae running: yes
Sound Server-2: PulseAudio v: 14.2 running: yes
Network: Device-1: Marvell 88E8053 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet driver: sky2 v: 1.30 port: 1000
bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 11ab:4362 class-ID: 0200
IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Device-2: Broadcom BCM4321 802.11a/b/g/n vendor: Apple AirPort Extreme
driver: b43-pci-bridge v: N/A modules: ssb,wl port: 1000 bus-ID: 03:00.0
chip-ID: 14e4:4328 class-ID: 0280
IF-ID-1: wlan0 state: down mac: <filter>
Bluetooth: Device-1: Apple Bluetooth HCI type: USB driver: btusb v: 0.8 bus-ID: 5-1:4
chip-ID: 05ac:8206 class-ID: fe01
Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 rfk-id: 1 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 1.2 lmp-v: 2.0
sub-v: 7ad hci-v: 2.0 rev: 7ad
Info: acl-mtu: 384:8 sco-mtu: 64:8 link-policy: rswitch hold sniff park
link-mode: slave accept service-classes: rendering, capturing, object transfer, audio
Drives: Local Storage: total: 291.13 GiB used: 1.84 GiB (0.6%)
SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Western Digital model: WD2500JS-40TGB0
size: 232.89 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 1.5 Gb/s type: N/A
serial: <filter> rev: 6C04 scheme: GPT
ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 type: USB vendor: Generic model: STORAGE size: 58.24 GiB
block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: N/A serial: <filter> rev: 1404
scheme: GPT
SMART Message: Unknown USB bridge. Flash drive/Unsupported enclosure?
Swap: Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 2.79 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2
dev: /dev/sda4 maj-min: 8:4
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 17.0 C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 858
Repos: Packages: note: see --pkg apt: 1955 lib: 982 flatpak: 0
No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list
1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye-updates main contrib non-free
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye main contrib non-free
2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bullseye-security main contrib non-free
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list
1: deb http://mxrepo.com/mx/repo/ bullseye main non-free
Info: Processes: 184 Uptime: 3m wakeups: 1 Memory: 2.92 GiB used: 825.9 MiB (27.6%)
Init: SysVinit v: 2.96 runlevel: 5 default: 5 tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: N/A
alt: 10 Client: shell wrapper v: 5.1.4-release inxi: 3.3.06
Boot Mode: UEFI
I will try your second suggestion now.
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2023 6:02 pm
by fbagnato
Hello Charlie Brown
Here is the output from the commands you provided in your second post.
For anyone trying this procedure note that the password for demo is "demo".
I will now reboot in normal mode and try booting MX-Linux.
Fingers crossed!
Code: Select all
===============================================================================
Starting chroot-rescue-scan
===============================================================================
Scanning partitions ...
Scanning directories ...
Only one Linux system was found
Please select a Linux system to visit
Distro Date Dir Device Arch Label
= MX 21.3 Wildflower 2023-07-26 rootMX21 sda5 32-bit rootMX21
> Rescan all partitions for Linux systems
> Quit
Press <Enter> to select the highlighted entry
Use 'r' to redraw, 'q' to quit
Visiting distro MX_21.3_Wildflower_
Directory: /mnt/chroot-rescue-scan/rootMX21 Device: sda5
Use the exit command or <ctrl>-d to return to main menu
===============================================================================
(MX_21.3_Wildflower_) Thu Jul 27 07:55:33 /
chroot> make-xorg-conf radeon -o /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-radeon.conf
(MX_21.3_Wildflower_) Thu Jul 27 07:55:52 /
chroot> echo -e 'radeon\n\nloop' | sudo tee /etc/modules
radeon
loop
(MX_21.3_Wildflower_) Thu Jul 27 07:56:08 /
chroot> echo 'radeon' | sudo tee -a /etc/initramfs-tools/modules
radeon
(MX_21.3_Wildflower_) Thu Jul 27 07:56:30 /
chroot> update-initramfs -uk all
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-5.10.0-20-686-pae
W: mkconf: MD subsystem is not loaded, thus I cannot scan for arrays.
W: mdadm: failed to auto-generate temporary mdadm.conf file.
(MX_21.3_Wildflower_) Thu Jul 27 07:57:43 /
chroot>
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2023 6:15 pm
by fbagnato
Hello Charlie Brown,
Sadly, the same screen scrambling is occurring.
Is it possible that the rEFInd boot manager is causing it?
It would be good if there was another live boot manager I could try without installing it to eliminate rEFInd from the equation.
I did try setting rEFInd to Text Only (textonly setting) and set the Resolution as 1024 x 768 (resolution 1024 768 setting) in the refind.conf file but the same scrambling occurs.
Due to my inexperience with Linux I don't know what else I can try.
Is there anything else you or anyone else can suggest?
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2023 7:51 pm
by Charlie Brown
... But .. how did you install Refind (since it never booted the installed MX even with
nomodeset) ?
And, imho, that shouldn't be the reason ... also on live session it's still the same ...
Maybe an older kernel like antiX 4.19 might be better ..
(The commands look successfully executed in the meantime)
In case you'd like to try another kernel: Chroot again, same way.. then issue:
..and install antiX 4.19 from the initial tab with 2 clicks..
Meanwhile, you can also try
on live session instead of
nomodeset to see what happens.
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2023 8:49 pm
by fbagnato
Hello again Charlie Brown,
Thanks again for replying.
... But .. how did you install Refind (since it never booted the installed MX even with nomodeset) ?
I installed rEFInd before I installed MX-Linux with a bootable rEFInd USB Stick.
Meanwhile, you can also try
I did this on the Live USB and the boot process stops at a command prompt that states
Code: Select all
==> Bash shell @ breakpoint [b9] Bash shell right before starting init
Use the exit command or press Ctrl-d to boot
Use poweroff and reboot to poweroff and reboot
root@(none):/#
I will try the older kernel next as you suggested.
Is is worth me trying to install the MX-23_RC3_386.iso from the Testing branch on the Sourceforge site dated 2023-07-23?
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 8:46 am
by fbagnato
Hello Charlie Brown,
In case you'd like to try another kernel: Chroot again, same way.. then issue:
Code: Select all
mx-packageinstaller
..and install antiX 4.19 from the initial tab with 2 clicks..
Before doing this I decided to do a Clonezilla backup so I could try a few things then go back to this checkpoint.
I then installed the older kernel but I didn't see an antix 4.19 kernel but there was an "antix 4.9 32 bit pae" kernel. I assumed the 4.19 was a typo so I went ahead and installed the "antix 4.9 32 bit pae" kernel.
Unfortunately I got the same scrambling screen with this older kernel.
I then tried different versions of rEFInd but had the same scrambling screen.
I then thought I would try installing MX-23_RC3_386.iso from the Testing branch on the Sourceforge site dated 2023-07-23.
I got the same scrambling screen.
I just don't understand why it is working on the live boots (2 different live MX-Linux boots now including the Testing branch) but doesn't work on the normal boots from the hard drives.
Is there a way with "Chroot Rescue Scan" that I can view the existing refresh rate on the hard drive installed system and if necessary modify it?
In Windows the same scrambled screen occurs if you set the refresh rate too high for the monitor.
Another thing.....Is there another Boot Manager that I can try on a Live Bootable Disc to see if the scrambling occurs. I know you are saying that rEFInd can't be the problem but it would be good to try a different solution just to check the same thing is happening. rEFInd is good in the sense that I was able to boot it up from a Bootable USB and it picked up all my bootable OS's so I could test it before installing it.
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 10:03 am
by Charlie Brown
Actually there are both 4.19 and 4.9 here , in fact I was going to suggest 4.9, just didn't for the support ended for 4.9 in general , but you did well trying that.
It may not show the refresh rate of the installed system when chrooted (not sure). However we can see what rate it is on live session and make a script according to that and place it on installed MX's autostart.. Something like:
xrandr --output DP-0 --primary --mode 1920x1080 --rate 75 --pos 0x0 --rotate normal
However it's still weird that you have to use nomodeset even on live session.. Also the xrandr (thus the script) won't work at Grub stage ...
Shortly: You can install ARandR on live session and either "save as" the output to somewhere (when screen is according to your liking) and post here (if no such rate is stated there, we can add it according to your observation, say 60 is good on Windows ... )
Is it the same on all distros? (Have you tried 1-2 others?)
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 10:26 am
by Charlie Brown
Edit: Oh, it's already here on QSI, on live session:
res: 1680x1050 hz:
77
So, still an ARandR output and an
output on live session may be good.
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 11:22 am
by fbagnato
Hello Charlie Brown,
Actually there are both 4.19 and 4.9 here , in fact I was going to suggest 4.9, just didn't for the support ended for 4.9 in general , but you did well trying that.
I only saw 4.9 in my list. I have attached a photo of the screen I got.......
https://i.postimg.cc/hPWtzTbF/Kernels-Screen.jpg
It may not show the refresh rate of the installed system when chrooted (not sure). However we can see what rate it is on live session and make a script according to that and place it on installed MX's autostart.. Something like:
xrandr --output DP-0 --primary --mode 1920x1080 --rate 75 --pos 0x0 --rotate normal
The Quick System Info you got me to attach says the following:
Code: Select all
Monitor-1: default res: 1680x1050 hz: 77
Is this what you are after??
However it's still weird that you have to use nomodeset even on live session..
I got this information from a webpage about installing MX-Linux on this model Apple iMac. I tried without nomodeset and the booting processes stops to a black screen before fully booting up. The author of that webpage stated that he was able to install MX-Linux by adding the nomodeset parameter and I experienced the same; without nomodeset = freeze partially into the booting, nomodeset = successful boot into X. A glitch booting up MX-Linux on this model iMac (maybe other Mac models too, don't know).
Also the xrandr (thus the script) won't work at Grub stage ...
Do you mean I can't install the script if it is starting through Grub as the Live DVD does start with Grub or can I install once fully loaded into the X session?
Shortly: You can install ARandR on live session and either "save as" the output to somewhere (when screen is according to your liking) and post here (if no such rate is stated there, we can add it according to your observation, say 60 is good on Windows ... )
As mentioned above I think the information was in the Quick System Info of Monitor-1: default res: 1680x1050 hz: 77
Is it the same on all distros? (Have you tried 1-2 others?)
I can try other Distros. I have backed up the setup just before trying the earlier Kernel so it is no effort to put it back once I try other Distros.
I would guess that an earlier 32-Bit Distro of Ubuntu would be best. What do you think?
I tried running Live CDs of the 3 variants of Plop Boot Manager but had no success.
The results: Plop Boot Manager 5 (plpbt.bin v5.0.15 Live CD) gave a non-response squashed screen. PlopKexec v1.8 wouldn't boot. The CD produced a normal problem with booting non-Mac bootable discs on a Mac where it displays a screen asking whether to load 1) or 2) and the keyboard doesn't work so you can't do anything more. The bootable USB (tried 3 variants of method) wasn't recognised by the Mac. Plop Boot Manager 6 v20221118 (which is in early testing stage) froze detecting hardware (froze on detecting PATA).
Thanks for being so patient with me. I understand this is an annoying problem.
Guess it is because I'm trying to run Linux on a Mac and not an IBM-Compatible.
Regards,
fbagnato
Moderator: image changed to link, please read the forum rules.
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 12:01 pm
by fbagnato
Hi Charlie Brown,
OK, have the info you requested....
The output of xrandr is as follows:
Code: Select all
$ xrandr --verbose
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
Screen 0: minimum 1680 x 1050, current 1680 x 1050, maximum 1680 x 1050
default connected 1680x1050+0+0 (0x522) normal (normal) 0mm x 0mm
Identifier: 0x521
Timestamp: 796604
Subpixel: unknown
Clones:
CRTC: 0
CRTCs: 0
Transform: 1.000000 0.000000 0.000000
0.000000 1.000000 0.000000
0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
filter:
non-desktop: 0
supported: 0, 1
1680x1050 (0x522) 135.828MHz *current
h: width 1680 start 0 end 0 total 1680 skew 0 clock 80.85KHz
v: height 1050 start 0 end 0 total 1050 clock 77.00Hz
The output of ARandR is as follows:
Code: Select all
#!/bin/sh
xrandr --output default --mode 1680x1050 --pos 0x0 --rotate normal
Is the output of ARandR just that or have I done something wrong?
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 12:43 pm
by fbagnato
Hi Charlie Brown,
HOLD THE FORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I downloaded and burnt a CD containing Super Grub2 Disk v2.06s2-beta1 Live CD and guess what?
MX-Linux starts booting ok without the screen scrambling!
I suspect there is an issue with rEFInd.
Super Grub2 Disk v2.06s2-beta1 is a bootable CD containing a Boot Manager that you select to search for bootable partitions once you load it.
Then you can select any of the bootable systems it finds.
It found the Linux system and I selected it and it started booting fine, no scrambling.
Unfortunately it stopped halfway through the boot process.
I then edited the entry by pressing "e", added nomodeset and and waiting for it to fully boot into MX-Linux
What are your thoughts?
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 4:12 pm
by Charlie Brown
fbagnato wrote: Thu Jul 27, 2023 11:22 am... Is this what you are after??
Yep. And it seems you have already just 2 options: either 77 or 80.85
fbagnato wrote: Thu Jul 27, 2023 12:01 pmor have I done something wrong?
That's ok. We could just add --rate 77 to that...
fbagnato wrote: Thu Jul 27, 2023 11:22 amso it is no effort to put it back once I try other Distros...
You can simply try on live session, don't have to install (at least to see whether they boot without nomodeset etc. and whether
shows radeon drivers loaded (
inxi -Fxxxza would be better to compare in case it boots successfully)
Though these are not the same machines exactly, same chips: 1002:
71c5
And it
boots normally here with 1440x900~60Hz
fbagnato wrote: Thu Jul 27, 2023 12:43 pm
I suspect there is an issue with rEFInd.
It seems to be so... But.. had you tried it straightforward without/before installing rEFInd ? Just an installation .. In the meantime, there is also a similar option on MX live (welcome) screen : "Boot Rescue Menus"
fbagnato wrote: Thu Jul 27, 2023 12:43 pmWhat are your thoughts?
(Loudly thinking)
I would say "maybe OpenGL or Mesa versions ... but this time we come back to the same point: It boots with the same OpenGL when live ...
..Or.. maybe firmware needed: But they're all installed ootb: amd , linux-free / linux-nonfree etc ...
And I don't think the xrandr script will work: Either for it takes effect a bit late, and as you see: It booted (though with nomodeset) without playing with refresh rate etc ...
The only question: Even though you managed to boot indirectly , this or that way, you still have to use nomodeset and (cause) it doesn't load Radeon drivers.. There's something preventing that ...
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2023 4:16 am
by fbagnato
Hello Charlie Brown,
You can simply try on live session, don't have to install (at least to see whether they boot without nomodeset etc. and whether
Sorry but I don't understand. What would you like me to try?
I did this on the live system, I don't know if that is what you meant. The output is as follows:
Code: Select all
$ inxi -Gaz
Graphics: Device-1: AMD RV530/M56-P [Mobility Radeon X1600] vendor: Apple MacBook Pro
driver: N/A alternate: radeon bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:71c5 class-ID: 0300
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 compositor: xfwm4 v: 4.18.0 driver:
loaded: ati,vesa unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,radeon display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1
Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1680x1050 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 445x278mm (17.5x10.9")
s-diag: 525mm (20.7")
Monitor-1: default res: 1680x1050 hz: 77
OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe (LLVM 11.0.1 128 bits) v: 4.5 Mesa 20.3.5 compat-v: 3.1
direct render: Yes
shows radeon drivers loaded ( inxi -Fxxxza would be better to compare in case it boots successfully)
I did this on the live system, I don't know if that is what you meant. The output is as follows:
Code: Select all
demo@mx1:~
$ inxi -Fxxxza
System: Kernel: 5.10.0-20-686-pae i686 bits: 32 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.1
parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/antiX/vmlinuz quiet splasht nosplash nomodeset
Desktop: Xfce 4.18.0 tk: Gtk 3.24.24 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm 4.18.0 vt: 7
dm: LightDM 1.26.0 Distro: MX-21.3_386 Wildflower January 15 2023
base: Debian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye)
Machine: Type: Desktop System: Apple product: iMac5,1 v: 1.0 serial: <filter> Chassis:
type: 13 v: Mac-F4228EC8 serial: <filter>
Mobo: Apple model: Mac-F4228EC8 v: DVT serial: <filter> UEFI: Apple
v: IM51.88Z.0090.B08.0612151336 date: 12/15/06
CPU: Info: Dual Core model: Intel Core2 T7400 bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Core Merom
family: 6 model-id: F (15) stepping: 6 microcode: D1 cache: L2: 4 MiB
flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 8655
Speed: 999 MHz min/max: 1000/2167 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 999 2: 999
Vulnerabilities: Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled
Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: EPT disabled
Type: mds status: Vulnerable: Clear CPU buffers attempted, no microcode; SMT disabled
Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
Type: mmio_stale_data status: Unknown: No mitigations
Type: retbleed status: Not affected
Type: spec_store_bypass status: Vulnerable
Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
Type: spectre_v2
mitigation: Retpolines, STIBP: disabled, RSB filling, PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected
Type: srbds status: Not affected
Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics: Device-1: AMD RV530/M56-P [Mobility Radeon X1600] vendor: Apple MacBook Pro
driver: N/A alternate: radeon bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:71c5 class-ID: 0300
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 compositor: xfwm4 v: 4.18.0 driver:
loaded: ati,vesa unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,radeon display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1
Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1680x1050 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 445x278mm (17.5x10.9")
s-diag: 525mm (20.7")
Monitor-1: default res: 1680x1050 hz: 77
OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe (LLVM 11.0.1 128 bits) v: 4.5 Mesa 20.3.5 compat-v: 3.1
direct render: Yes
Audio: Device-1: Intel NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio
vendor: SigmaTel STAC9221 Codec driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0
chip-ID: 8086:27d8 class-ID: 0403
Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.10.0-20-686-pae running: yes
Sound Server-2: PulseAudio v: 14.2 running: yes
Network: Device-1: Marvell 88E8053 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet driver: sky2 v: 1.30 port: 1000
bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 11ab:4362 class-ID: 0200
IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Device-2: Broadcom BCM4321 802.11a/b/g/n vendor: Apple AirPort Extreme
driver: b43-pci-bridge v: N/A modules: ssb,wl port: 1000 bus-ID: 03:00.0
chip-ID: 14e4:4328 class-ID: 0280
IF-ID-1: wlan0 state: down mac: <filter>
Bluetooth: Device-1: Apple Bluetooth HCI type: USB driver: btusb v: 0.8 bus-ID: 5-1:4
chip-ID: 05ac:8206 class-ID: fe01
Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 rfk-id: 1 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 1.2 lmp-v: 2.0
sub-v: 7ad hci-v: 2.0 rev: 7ad
Info: acl-mtu: 384:8 sco-mtu: 64:8 link-policy: rswitch hold sniff park
link-mode: slave accept service-classes: rendering, capturing, object transfer, audio
Drives: Local Storage: total: 291.13 GiB used: 1.84 GiB (0.6%)
SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Western Digital model: WD2500JS-40TGB0
size: 232.89 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 1.5 Gb/s type: N/A
serial: <filter> rev: 6C04 scheme: GPT
ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 type: USB vendor: Generic model: STORAGE size: 58.24 GiB
block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: N/A serial: <filter> rev: 1404
scheme: GPT
SMART Message: Unknown USB bridge. Flash drive/Unsupported enclosure?
Swap: Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 2.79 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2
dev: /dev/sda4 maj-min: 8:4
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 38.0 C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 874
Info: Processes: 183 Uptime: 4m wakeups: 1 Memory: 2.92 GiB used: 811.8 MiB (27.2%)
Init: SysVinit v: 2.96 runlevel: 5 default: 5 tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: N/A
alt: 10 Packages: note: see --pkg apt: 1955 lib: 982 flatpak: 0 Shell: Bash v: 5.1.4
running-in: xfce4-terminal inxi: 3.3.06
Though these are not the same machines exactly, same chips: 1002:71c5
And it boots normally here with 1440x900~60Hz
Yes the same video adapter. But that was Linux Mint, I don't know if that was a dual-boot with a Mac OS, had or didn't have rEFInd and it is a different computer.
fbagnato wrote: ↑Thu Jul 27, 2023 12:43 pm
I suspect there is an issue with rEFInd.
It seems to be so... But.. had you tried it straightforward without/before installing rEFInd ? Just an installation ..
I will try that in about 5 hours when I am back home.
In the meantime, there is also a similar option on MX live (welcome) screen : "Boot Rescue Menus"
Tried this and it didn't find the Linux installation.
The only question: Even though you managed to boot indirectly , this or that way, you still have to use nomodeset and (cause) it doesn't load Radeon drivers.. There's something preventing that ...
Don't know....as I said the webpage I found where a user installed MX-Linux on an iMac 5,1 had to use nomodeset for it to boot and I experienced the same thing.
As I mentioned earlier I will try installing without rEFInd installed and see what happens.
If I have time today I may also try some other Distros just to see what happens.
PS. In the meantime I have sent an email to the author of rEFInd to see if he has any ideas as to why I am getting the screen scrambling with rEFInd/Mac OS/MX-Linux.
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2023 5:28 am
by Charlie Brown
fbagnato wrote: Fri Jul 28, 2023 4:16 am... Sorry but I don't understand...
:) I mean when trying "other" distros.. you don't have to install them one by one.. just live session is enough to try them (try whether it boots directly (without having to use any parameters like nomodeset) etc.. )
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded [Solved]
Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2023 12:58 pm
by fbagnato
Hello Charlie Brown,
Well.......I have some good news.
I restored a Clonezilla backup at the checkpoint of Mac OS X being fully installed and rEFInd or Linux not installed yet.
I partitioned the drive in prep for the MX-Linux install then installed MX-Linux (nomodeset on) with Grub selected.
I tried leaving it with no nomodeset but it hangs during the booting process.
The good news is that the installed MX-Linux boots perfectly and even better no modeset parameter is required on the installed MX-Linux.
It boots fine without it.
I am convinced there is an issue with the combination of rEFInd and MX-Linux on this iMac 5,1.
It might be as specific as that combination or more broader, I don't know.
I think I am going to have to settle for grub instead of rEFInd as the Boot Loader/Manager.
Now I need to do some research on how to configure grub for my Mac OS X partition.
I think that we have kicked its butt now. Thanks to you of course.
I will do some reading up on grub and post my results here.
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2023 3:03 pm
by Charlie Brown
So glad to hear that. Thank you, too for the feedback :)
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2023 2:07 am
by fbagnato
Hi Charlie Brown,
Well it isn't 100%.
Its booting up the Mac OS but it either crashed during the boot process and would reboot (reboot loop) or it crashed and rebooted shortly after logging in the Mac OS.
There was no stability whatsoever in the Mac OS setup.
If I booted up pressing the "Option" key to select the Mac OS instead of using grub to boot up the Mac OS, Mac OS worked fine.
I checked there were no updates to the grub program in the MX Package Installer.
I added the Mac OS to grub doing the following:
1) Added the following codes to /etc/grub.d/40_custom
Code: Select all
menuentry "OS X" {
insmod hfsplus
insmod hfspluscomp
insmod part_apple
insmod chain
search --set=root --file /System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi
chainloader /System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi
}
and then ran
Code: Select all
sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
I am wondering whether to locate the official grub site and reporting a bug.
I'm not sure whether this problem is to do with the custom setup I have of a higher Mac OS X than is officially supported on this model iMac as it is patched to allow a newer version of the Mac OS X to be installed or if it is a bug with grub. There is little information on the internet about a Dual-Boot Mac OS X and Linux.
I may have to leave it as is and have it so I have to press and hold the option key when turning it on to boot into Mac OS X and boot up normally and select MX-Linux off the grub menu to boot into Linux.
What are your thoughts?
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2023 9:59 am
by Charlie Brown
Maybe the menuentry needs 1-2 changes (where did you get it from? Or.. was it proven to work?)
In the meantime this is enough : Put that entry in /boot/grub/custom.cfg
save, that's all (even no need to sudo update-grub after that..
(though that 40_custom is correct, too, you just need to update grub after that)
I remember such machines had problems with Uefi and rEFInd was the solution (to boot Mac OS) (also in this forum), in fact that's why I didn't ask at first why you were using rEFInd (for I thought you already tried Grub and then found that as the solution)
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2023 12:43 pm
by fbagnato
Hell Charlie Brown,
Maybe the menuentry needs 1-2 changes (where did you get it from? Or.. was it proven to work?)
It was a combination of entries that I found from searching the internet on how to add Mac OS to grub.
These were users posting their grub entries so I read the grub manual and combined the entries from 2 that were working for others and added a line from reading the manual.
Sure, it boots up the Mac OS but constantly crashes and reboots.
I just don't know if it is my patched OS X that is the reason for the reboots when booting Mac OS through grub.
In the meantime this is enough : Put that entry in /boot/grub/custom.cfg
save, that's all (even no need to sudo update-grub after that..
Thanks, that's handy to know for the future.
I remember such machines had problems with Uefi and rEFInd was the solution (to boot Mac OS) (also in this forum), in fact that's why I didn't ask at first why you were using rEFInd (for I thought you already tried Grub and then found that as the solution)
What I have had to do is kept Grub installed to avoid the screen scrambling booting MX-Linux through rEFInd and then I installed rEFInd again, but this time from MX-Linux.
It's not the optimal solution because when I start up the Mac the Mac brings up the rEFInd menu and for Mac I select the Mac entry and if I select the MX-Linux entry it then displays the grub menu where I can boot MX-Linux. It's an extra keystroke and I would have rather had one boot manager not too but as I said to make it all work I had to do this.
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2023 1:47 pm
by Charlie Brown
Sometimes hardcoding the root partition is better:
Code: Select all
menuentry "OS X" {
insmod part_gpt
insmod hfsplus
set root=(hd0,gpt3)
chainloader (hd0,gpt3)/System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi
boot
}
or
Code: Select all
menuentry "OS X" {
insmod part_gpt
insmod hfsplus
set root=(hd0,gpt3)
chainloader (hd0,gpt3)/System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi
}
or
Code: Select all
menuentry "OS X" {
insmod part_gpt
insmod hfsplus
set root=(hd0,gpt3)
chainloader /System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi
}
As you might already know: hd0: Disk 1 .. if that's ok, just change the gpt
3s to whatever it is (partition number), gpt2 etc...
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2023 3:44 pm
by fbagnato
Hello Charlie Brown,
Thanks for that. I will try it.
How do I find out what the hd?,gpt? is?
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2023 5:44 pm
by Charlie Brown
It's probably hd0 (I wrote that "just in case"), this one is your disk1 (hd0) :
/dev/sda ... vendor: Western Digital model: WD2500JS-40TGB0 size: 232.89 GiB
Partitions' numbering begins from 1 (unlike disk drives, they begin from zero and that's the mostly confused part in general)
Shortly, you can open GParted and count partitions from left to right, 1, 2, ...
(Though this may not always be true: say you made changes (moved/deleted/created partitions) and the 2nd partition from left says: sda5 (like mine) ... then it's not gpt2 of course, but gpt5 ... consequently, "disk1, partition5" => hd0,gpt5 )
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 3:08 am
by fbagnato
Hello Charlie Brown,
All 3 of your grub entries work and the Mac OS is not crashing.
Awesome stuff.
I'm very happy with the setup.
MX-Linux runs very quick on this old horse and Mac OS X 10.11.6 runs well too.
Shame about the lack of Video Adapter Hardware Acceleration but there are no 10.11.6 drivers for the Radeon X1600 so that is the sacrifice for running 10.11.6 on the iMac 5,1.
In the end had to install 2 apps as alternatives to the Mac DVD Player and the Maps apps as they require Video Adapter Hardware Acceleration to work.
From testing lots of Media Player apps I found MPlayer OSX Extended - Revision 16 managed to play DVD Videos the best under the circumstances (ie. No Hardware Acceleration).
It can't play DVD Videos full screen as it is slow and unwatchable, but is acceptable playing in a window.
I will be using MX-Linux as the main system so the few shortcomings of the patched Mac OS X that is installed is not even an issue.
I want to thank you again for your help.
Your knowledge is impressive.
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 5:11 am
by Charlie Brown
fbagnato wrote: Sun Jul 30, 2023 3:08 am... All 3 of your grub entries work and the Mac OS is not crashing.... very happy with the setup...
Thank you, too for the feedback. Those who search for the same thing in the future will find this and have some hope, thanks to you :)
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 5:18 am
by Charlie Brown
In the meantime, though this is not a Mac , this laptop (of mine) is even "antiquated" , single core 32 bit with 2048 ram (at max.) (was originally 512 MB only..) .. from the end of 2005 .. It's flying no matter what version MX , even with latest kernels ... Shortly, you can make it even lighter disabling the unnecessary programs from startup (those that you don't need everyday ...)
"Session and Startup" from menu , "App. Autostart" tab .. also in a terminal (for more/advanced)
As the browser, Slimjet is really lighter (just closed source as a con) (especially the 32 bit version, but sadly they stopped the 32bit version at 30.0.5.0 )
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 7:38 am
by Herve33
Thanks
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 11:16 am
by CharlesV
@fbagnato Glad to hear it is fixed. Please mark the topic as solved, using the check mark on the top right of the post that was the resolution.
Thank you
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 1:45 pm
by fbagnato
Hello Herve33,
@Herve33 Did you have a problem that was solved through this thread?
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 1:54 pm
by fbagnato
Hello Charlie Brown,
In the meantime, though this is not a Mac , this laptop (of mine) is even "antiquated" , single core 32 bit with 2048 ram (at max.) (was originally 512 MB only..) .. from the end of 2005 .. It's flying no matter what version MX , even with latest kernels ... Shortly, you can make it even lighter disabling the unnecessary programs from startup (those that you don't need everyday ...)
aye caramba! So you have some old hardware too.
I must say from my initial exposure to MX-Linux I am very impressed with the performance.
It's a shame to put these old computers to landfill, MX-Linux is keeping it green and saving old computers like this iMac.
"Session and Startup" from menu , "App. Autostart" tab .. also in a terminal (for more/advanced)
sudo sysv-rc-conf
I duly note this and will consider it if my setup slows down.
As the browser, Slimjet is really lighter (just closed source as a con) (especially the 32 bit version, but sadly they stopped the 32bit version at 30.0.5.0 )
Never heard of Slimjet and will have a peek at it but I found it hard to install a current browser on the Mac OS X 10.11 and in the end went for an older version of Firefox.
It runs really well but it is not current.
Hope you had a good weekend.
I'm a happy chappy, my (Australian Rules Football) team which was 8th in the ladder beat the top team on the ladder.
So, double win this weekend, I finished the iMac and my team kicked butt and may be in the finals in another month!
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 1:55 pm
by fbagnato
Hello CharlesV,
@CharlesV
Have marked the appropiate post as Solved
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 2:03 pm
by Charlie Brown
Btw. when mentioning (or to mention) just begin typing with @ but then select the name from the little list that appears (otherwise, when manually typed, that user won't be notified :) )
Like this: @fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 2:04 pm
by Charlie Brown
fbagnato wrote: Sun Jul 30, 2023 1:54 pm... I'm a happy chappy, my (Australian Rules Football) team which was 8th in the ladder beat the top team on the ladder.
So, double win this weekend, ...
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 2:06 pm
by fbagnato
Hi Charlie Brown,
I commence typing @ but I don't get a list.
Confused.
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 2:08 pm
by Charlie Brown
Oh, that's weird, then.. maybe something with the browser (something turned off maybe and preventing that)...
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 2:09 pm
by fbagnato
Hmm...don't know.
But I definitely don't get a list.
Regards,
fbagnato
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 2:12 pm
by Charlie Brown
Some extensions prevent that (java etc..) i.e. FF addon script blocker
Normally it looks like this (and takes red colour by itself)
Re: Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 2:16 pm
by fbagnato
Hello Charlie Brown,
It's ok, my bad.
I thought that by keying in @ then a list would come up, but I had to start typing the name.
All good now.
Regards,
fbagnato
