. Alan, below are my notes, per your request. I'm sending this to you via the PLUG list as some others may be interested. Now that I've got it all working, I can say that PCLinuxOS is well worth the effort to get it installed. As I've said before on this list, pclos is by *FAR* the nicest Linux distro I've ever seen. I am simply blown away by how fantastic it is in *every* respect. Far more "gorgeous" *and* more functional (for me) than *ubuntu or any other I've tried. Once I got past Dell's (and M$'s) apparent attempts to keep us from doing what we want to do with our computers, the installation went swimmingly and fast. I installed PCLinuxOS "junion" which seems to work better than their "big daddy." Everything including wireless work for me with "junior" both on the live CD and with HD install; but I was not able to get wireless to work with "big daddy. Never could figure out why. Complete installation of "junior' took only 10 minutes and with Synaptic, I added Firefox, Thunderbird, and lots more in another 10 minutes. The only thing I have yet to solve is my wife's printer (HP pcs 1210xi all-in-one) for which I have not yet been able to find drivers, apparently because of the scanner. ------------------- On Mon, 07 May 2007 10:50, Alan Dayley wrote > Josef Lowder wrote: > > After much searching on the Internet, I learned that this is > > a known problem with this Dell computer and the solution is to > > unplug the computer (and if that doesn't work, to also remove > > and reinstall the battery and/or the memory chips), then the Dell > > will see the bios again. This may need to be done more than once. > > After several attempts, that finally worked. > ----------------- Alan Daley wrote: > I have been following this thread with some interest since I have a > desktop computer with similar symptoms. This computer had some other > behaviors that point me away from a perfect match, including the fact > that it is not a Dell. However, I'd be interested in the references > that you found. If you have the links handy, could you provide them > here or off list? --------------------------------------- Joe replied: Here are my rather sketchy, distilled, and incomplete notes: dell.gx260 -- 0705-07 -- google: GX260 dual boot == 0301-07 Knoppix, Optiplex - No Boot After load - Knoppix.net We've got some new Dell Optiplex GX260. After loading Knoppix (which seems to work ... I then warm-boot (ctrl-alt-del) and finally get the dual boot screen www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=314 == 0505-26 sir_saucealot I've installed varying versions of debian on a wide range of Dell machines (GX110, GX240, GX260, GX270, PRECISION 340, PRECISION 520, PowerEdge servers, etc) but not any of the SX series. I beleive the hardware is very similar, and most things work out of the box with a standard install of debian sarge. Building a customised kernel is recommended for best performance (and to get the sound working - that's the only thing that doesn't work on the GX280 out-of-the-box). == http://www.people.vcu.edu/~rbreams/linuxinstall my Dell (Optiplex GX260, Pentium 4, 512MB of RAM, 2.4GHz) computer dual booted with Windows XP and Suse Linux 9.1 ... with Linux (and nothing else) on a Western Digital 80GB USB drive (WDC-WD800BB-00DKA0 external hard drive), and the Windows XP unchanged on the internal hard drive. The most time-consuming part, after installation from the CD's, was figuring out how to get the BIOS to boot to linux (on the external hard drive) from the boot sector of the internal hard drive (instead of from the installation CD's). I kept getting a kernel panic. (Actually, I was getting "Waiting for device /dev/sda2 to appear: ... not found --device nodes: console, etc, etc, VFS: Cannot open root device sda2 or unknown block (0,0) Please append a correct "root=" boot option Kernel panic: VFS Unable to mount root fs on an unknown block(0,0)", which was where the booting stopped). I fixed it by recompiling the kernel. 2. When installing: Install grub, but DO NOT INSTALL GRUB ON THE MBR! Install swap at /dev/sda1 Install root at /dev/sda2 Install the grub boot loader at /dev/sda2 Set mount point of /dev/hda1 to /windows/C Delete windows completely on /dev/sda Use reiserfs Hopefully, you can now boot into linux from the CD. Next, edit menu.lst. 3. Insert the panic=10 option in the file /boot/grub/menu.lst at the appropriate place below as follows: ###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux### title Linux kernel (hd1,1)/boot/vmlinuz panic=10 root=/dev/sda2 splash=silent desktop resume=/dev/sda1 showopts initrd (hd1,1)/boot/initrd Using the panic=10 option means that if you get a kernel panic the machine will reboot after 10 seconds (much better than you switching off and on!). 4. In your home directory (in linux) do dd if=/boot/grub/stage1 of=bootsect.lnx bs=512 count=1 Insert a blank floppy and do mcopy bootsect.lnx a: Next, boot into Windows XP. 5. Copy bootsect.lnx from the floppy to the C: drive. Look for the file called boot.ini in the C: drive (the highest level directory in C:). It may be a hidden file until you make it visible, but it's there alright. Then remove the read-only check mark. In the C: drive in Windows XP use notepad to append the following extra line within the boot.ini file C:\bootsect.lnx="Suse Linux 9.1". Now reboot, and you should see two options. Check that booting to Windows XP is ok by selecting Windows. Reboot, and then select Suse Linux 9.1. == http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=314&highlight=gx260 I've confirmed this myself on GX260's. Boot from a Knoppix Linux cd, and then shut down. Then power back on, the dell will not boot up again. It will power the drives and the fan, but the display will remain black. The status lights on the back will display "Memory Failure". You then have to remove AC and remove the CMOS battery, then hit the power button a few times to discharge and then it will come back on. I spent an hour on hold yesterday with Dell-Canada support and they decided to replace the motherboard, it wasn't until I pulled the CMOS battery and did the above did I get it working again. This problem does not exhibit itself on the GX240, GX150, GX100, D4500, D8200, I4100, C610, Precision 340. (Systems I had available to test) == http://pclinuxoshwdb.com/hwdb/?View=entry&EntryID=236 Works: Dell Optiplex GX260 5/5 - tested it with PCLinuxOS 2007 xOS .93a JMiahMan - Rating Scale 1. Does not work at all 2. May work but is not effective, fast enough, etc.. to be acceptable. 3. Works but is maybe slower than usual, or has small to minor discrepancies. 4. Works well but not "out of box" may take some major steps to get working 5. Works either "out of box" or near enough (maybe, simply copying a firmware file) == http://www.pclinuxoshwdb.com/index.php?option=com_jreviews&Itemid=49 == 0704-25 tomgheath@ http://talkback.zdnet.com/5208-12554-0.html?forumID=1&threadID=32878&messageID=608049&start=-9637 Ubuntu upgrades and installation are easy. I tried Ubuntu several years ago but the install did not go well. A month ago installed Feisty Fawn on a Dell GX150 Optiplex via cable Internet and the installation went perfectly. Ubuntu connected itself to the Internet and installed drivers for every device that was in the Dell. Thurday, I downloaded the 7.04 ISO on our Dell GX260 (WinXP). Went to bed and when I got up in the morning the upgrade was complete and working great. == http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=20914 more interesting info. --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change you mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss