mandrake boots to single user mode

ok, so I installed Mandrake 9.0, then tried to install driver for the G4 ti4200, rebooted and it keep going to the login screen, not to the gui but the console login screen. It went through the whole process and get there. SO how do I get back to the gui? By the way, after couldn't get it to boot to gui in my main rig, I gut the hard drive to another barebone, so it's in a completely new machine. SHould I just reload it?

startx

ah thanks for the reply, i guess i'll keep that for future uses, after waiting so long, I went ahead and reload the thing, now I think the mobo is dead. Why? well this mobo had winxp on it before, but after adjusting fsb and multiplier on it, it won't boot into windows, so i took it and slap a duron with this mandrake drive on it, it will boot up fine, starting all kind of stuff but then right before it actually get into the gui, it freeze, the X is there right in the middle of the screen and just stay there. I think it's the mobo, no time to try it now though, i'll give it another shot tomorrow.

It's more like a video card, or X configuration issue than a motherboard problem.

this does not have onboard video, was a g4 ti4200 but i replaced it with a rage 128 one, so you think it could still be it??

Yes. Whenever X has hanged for me, kind of like what you described, it was almost always a configuration issue. I'd recommend checking the X error log, you should be able to find that at /var/log/XFree* (where the * could be anything). If you find that file open it in a text reader and scroll through it and see if there are any errors. Each line will start with something in parentheise (), I think a (EE) means error.

When you installed mandrake, did it find you video card?

And from what I have heard the drivers the come with Xfree86 aren't that great for Rage 128, so you might want to go to these following links and read about X's support for Rage 128. With the stuff that it gives you might have to customize some of your XF86Config file. You can usually find that at /etc/X11/XF86Config.

http://www.xfree86.org/4.2.0/r128.html
http://www.xfree86.org/4.2.0/r128.4.html

so how do I go into the log to check? boot into single user mode? how? and when installing, it did find the video card and stuff, i just accept what it gave me.

Yes. Just turn on you box, and at the login prompt login. Then cd to the directory, look around for the file, su to root, open the file. "cat | more XFree86*" is something that you could use to easily view the file.

I'm not sure about the switching to root user though, for most of the log files you have to be root inorder to view them, but I don't know about the X log.

if i turn it on it would start going to go to the Gui mode, so there's no login prompt....what key combo do i press to get the prompt login.

Sounds like your are in runlevel 5 (GUI mode) so that its automatically loading X Windows on boot. Since you can't get to a promt, you can't change it. So, trying booting off your installation media. Most distros have a repair mode or something of the sort which will allow you to alter the setting.

The file that needs to be changed is /etc/inittab , and you have to change the line that reads:
id:5:initdefault
by replacing the 5 with a 3.

You can use any command line based text editor for this, such as vi or pico.

After changing this, your system should boot to a command line login promt, from which you can start X windows with the 'startx' command.

thanks, i'll try that tonite.