MEPIS Community Forum

I want to install M11 on my ASUS Eee PC 1005PEB netbook. I'm using a live DVD for the install. When I try to boot the live DVD all I get is a black screen. I've tried several cheat codes i.e. xdrvr=vesa, video=1024x600... Nothing seems to work. I currently have M8.5 installed on the netbook and it isn't working correctly either. I can't get any updates under 8.5. I used this same DVD to successfully install M11on my tower computer. I usually build and modify my own computers. I've been using Mepis since M6. I'm new to the forum.

sign me frustrated and confused.

P.S. I've verified the DVD in my tower, it boots properly. I've tested my LG multi drive on two other machines. it's working properly. Itried booting an M8.5 disk to my netbook using the LG drive. It booted properly

I've tried numerous cheat codes both singly and in various combinations. i.e. xdrvr=intel confx, xdrvr=vesa confx, rootdelay=10, video=1024x600. I get the impression that the video-1024x600 comes closest to working because the DVD drive keeps seeking longer when I use that code, but I still get a black screen

Still frustrated and confused, but grateful for all of the suggestions

Are you able to try the DVD in another machine to see if it boots?

This is the same DVD that I used to succesfully install M11 on my home brew tower. The tower functions very nicely under M!!

What kind of DVD drive are you using with it? I'm assuming it's USB attached. Does it work on another PC, or with anything else on that PC? Is that the same DVD drive you used with your desktop. Perhaps it can't read the DVDs burned by your Desktop's drive properly for some reason.

You may want to see if this helps. Press Tab at the boot menu and type in this:

rootdelay=10

That may allow more devices time to initialize during the bootup process.

I see where you've already tried some of the other video options. But, have you tried forcing the video driver to Intel yet? That netbook appears to use an integrated Intel 3150 graphics chipset.

This would be the cheat code you'd add to it to force an Intel Driver:

drvr=intel confx

If all else fails, you may want to try burning the .iso file to a USB Flash drive and see if it boots into that way in case it doesn't like something about your DVD drive, or the disk isn't being read correctly from it, even though you used it with a desktop. Unetbootin should be able to do that for you. I'm using one from the Mepis Community Repos versus the one in the Debian repos. So, if the older version doesn't work installing it with Synaptic, try enabling the community repos and using the newer one there. They also have a Windows version of it. Basically, just select Mepis as the distribution and point it to the .iso file you downloaded and select your USB flash drive and it will burn it to it.

You can also use a SDHC card in the card reader if it's like an old Eee PC I have. Just burn Mepis to it using Unetbootin, plug it into your netbook, and press ESC to get boot options when booting and select it the built in reader (or whatever the key for boot options with it is, if they've changed to something other than ESC on newer machines). Or a USB attached card reader should also work if you have one with some flavor of memory card that's been formatted as FAT32.

http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/

P.S.

I think Mepis also has a choice you can use to create a bootable USB Stick if you use the Mepis System Assistant (under Settings) from the machine you have working OK with it.

If you want to force the video driver to something other than the default you need to also use the confx cheatcode, otherwise it won't take effect.

You would use something like:

drvr=intel confx

or
drvr=vesa confx

Thanks. I edited the post.

I just noticed the edit you made to your original post.

If you really used what you posted, "xdrvr = intel", with spaces it won't work. It needs to be all together, xdrvr=intel or drvr=intel, with no spaces in between. Either 'xdrvr' or 'drvr' will work, and don't forget the confx.

Found yet another edit to your original post {please add replies to the thread instead of editting the original post, they are more likely to be noticed}

The cheatcode(s) for setting resolution are res=HxV or xres=HxV. Where H is the horizontal and V vertical. So use something like res=1024x600.

have verified proper operation aof my DVD and my USB connected LG multi-drive. They're both fine.
my netbook runs fine on M8.5
Have tried numerous cheat codes, including making a few mistakes along the way which others have helped me to correct, thank you.
I still can't boot or install MP11 on my ASUS EeeC PC 1005PEB. is this an unsupported machine, some sort of orphan?
My latest attempt was xres=1044x600

growing even more frustrated and confused

I would stick with the 1024x600 resolution.

You might try back arrowing and removing the 'vga=788' (or whatever it is) from the grub line.

I seem to recall that using vga=xxx with the intel driver adversely affects the framebuffer or KMS "kernel mode setting" operation (or something like that).