gOS 3.1 won't install - goes to blackscreen - initramfs
Somewhat new to linux but not computers. Have used Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Suse, and Mint. Downloaded gOS 3.1 and tried to boot the livecd on my Compaq CQ60 laptop.
The cd works on other computers - so let's eliminate a bad iso as the problem before we begin.
When the cd is loaded and a reboot is done, the operating system tries to start. It goes to gOS screen with a status bar and the cd is accessing the disk for about a minute. The cd stops accessing the disk and then the graphical gOS screen goes away and a black screen appears. It says (initramfs) at the prompt and everything stops.
Did some research and found several possible solutions....
1. boot in safe mode - doesn't work!
2. add pci=nomsi to the startup options - doesn't work!
3. add all_generic_ide to startup options - doesn't work!
4. add floppy=off to the startup options - doesn't work!
5. add irqpoll to the startup options - doesn't work!
I found most of my solutions from the ubuntu forums. The gOS help and support forum is USELESS! I posted the issue on their site and received no response - also saw that others were having the same issue - and NO SOLUTIONS were provided. Their support forum really sucks.
I saw several suggestions after google searching the issue, but have yet to find a way to successfully get the livecd to boot. These additional suggestions were as follows:
1. update the bios on my laptop (really?)
2. download the iso from a different website and try burning at slower speeds
3. use different burning software to write the iso
4. scrap gOS - it sucks! (I found this one to be quite amusing!)
So... this is not something that is unique to the gOS distro. The solutions I was finding were coming from ubuntu and other distross. Again, the disk I have is good - in fact, I made 9 different versions of the iso image - using Power ISO, Magic ISO, and Nero at burn speeds of 4X up to 16X just to make sure it wasn't a bad iso image. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I was able to boot the disk on my desktop without any issues. I would very much like to try this distro on my laptop, but I can't get past the (initramfs) screen - even with the additional startup parameters metioned above.
Does anyone have a solution to this problem, or should I take the advice given at the gOS forum (scrap gOS - it sucks!).
My laptop has 2gb memory and is currently a dual boot machine running linux mint kde and vista ultimate (32 bit). Every other distro of linux I have run on this laptop worked fine (except for the atheros wireless issue - but I know how to solve that, so its not an issue for me).
Any suggestion that may actually solve this issue would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Well thought out response
Saikee -
Your response was very well spoken and seemingly well thought out. To be fair to you and to linux, the major distributions, Ubuntu, Fedora, Suse, PCLinuxOS and Mint have all installed on my compaq cq60-211dx laptop without any significant issue aside from the wireless card.
Do I think M$ is the answer? Hell no! If I did, I wouldn't keep looking at different linux distros. When I look at linux, I see a beautiful thing for different reasons than you may however. And my point about it being a 3rd rate operating system is valid in my mind. Who do I blame for this?
Let's start with the people who release the different distros? why don't they test their version of the kernel with more hardware? I also blame developers -not enough of them are supporting linux and writing software applications for linux. A good case in point? How about naming a good accounting software program for linux? Guess what? There isn't one! There is no great plains, mas 90, etc. equivelent for linux. That is just one segment and one type of program.
Yes... there are some really cool programs available for linux - like gimp, for example. But there are way more available for M$ and MAC. I beleive that my opinion is shared by many - and I know for a FACT after reading countless hours of forum bull**** that my frustration is SHARED by many others. Does M$ have frustrated posts filling various forums on the web? Absolutely! Does that mean I should cut linux any slack? NO! Just because one operating system has problems doesn't mean that other operating systems should use that as an excuse for mediocre or crappy performance.
In my opinion, it is harder to find solutions to linux issues than it is for M$ or MAC. Largely this is due to the many variations of the operating system. In a perfect world - linux would just install without all of the hardware b.s. - but we don't live in the perfect world huh?
Well - thanks again for your response - you make some good points. I wouldn't want to debate you on the merits of linux - you would win hands down. I just wish you had a solution to my problem instead of insightful commentary on the merits of linux.