Click to See Complete Forum and Search --> : Need Help on Reinstall of SuSE 8.1 Personal


rochelle
07-10-2003, 04:55 PM
Hi all. I did several searches, but couldn't find anything pertaining to my situation. Please help me :)

When I first installed SuSE 8.1 Personal on my computer, as a dual boot w/ Win 98SE, everything went perfectly. I had no problems (that I can remember, so it must have gone smoothly, lol). But, I had to uninstall it b/c I didn't have enough time to learn it. I promised myself that when I had more time I'd reinstall it and get going.

Well, that time has come. But, when I tried to reinstall SuSE 8.1 on the SAME computer this time, it won't work. :(

I get the installation screen. I get the "loading kernel" loading graphic. That went okay. Then the screen goes black and my CAPS LOCK and SCROLL LOCK (or NUM LOCK) lights on my keyboard start flashing.

When this happens, I hear the CD spinning in the CD-ROM, but no sounds from the hard drive or anything. The light on my pc that lets me know that the computer is doing something--by flashing fast--doesn't even come on.

I don't get any error messages or anything. Just a black screen and flashing keyboard lights. Yes, I have the correct boot order set in my BIOS.

I'm wondering:

1. Could it just be taking longer to install this time because I have a LOT more stuff on my hard drive than I had when I first tried to install it...and I just need to be more patient (I've waited up to about 10 minutes and nothing's happened)?

2. Could there be something "left over" from the previous SuSE install/uninstall that is getting in the way now? If so, what could it be, and what can I do?

Thanks for all replies. BTW, I don't have a burner or a high-speed internet connection, so downloading and burning new ISOs isn't happening.

Also, general question...I know that installation by FTP can be done. FTP doesn't have anything to do with internet connection speed, does it? I've only FTPd stuff to my website, never whole programs...and they didn't take that long, so I don't really know.

Thanks for all the responses!

mdwatts
07-10-2003, 05:14 PM
Anything on SuSE's site on this problem?

Try using the 'safe setting' install option as you will probably need acpi=off and disableapic as the boot/install options.

The same happens when installing UnitedLinux (based on SuSE) on my hardware of which I select 'safe settings'.

You can also try disabling power management in the bios.

rochelle
07-10-2003, 05:25 PM
mdwatts,

Thanks for replying. I'm going to do what you suggested. I'll report back as soon as I can.

rochelle
07-10-2003, 07:25 PM
mdwatts,

I tried the reinstall in safe mode. It worked! Thanks a million.

I am curious if you know why it wouldn't work in regular mode when I tried it. Also, being that it was installed in safe mode, will that result in any limitation to what I can or can't do?

None of my components are compatible with Linux, so I won't be fully utilizing Linux. But, I just want to start learning, so it's not that big a deal. Anyway, in a few weeks I'll be getting a laptop for grad school, and I plan to convert my P3 desktop 100% to Linux. So, I'll be replacing parts, etc..to get the total Linux experience.

I'm so excited! :p

mdwatts
07-11-2003, 08:26 AM
Glad to see you got it working. Well done.

The safe mode installation will use those options I posted and also include them in your bootloader config for subsequent booting.

They shouldn't affect your system unless you need acpi and apic.