PCLinuxOS Won't Boot

[yancek]

I managed to open and view /menu.lst but couldn't edit it

You need to be logged in as root to access or edit menu.lst.
You can access a terminal in PCLinux if you are in text mode by holding down the Alt+F2 keys and entering konsole in the small box (worked for me on 2010). Then log in as root by typing su -, you will be prompted for root password, enter it. You should then be able to access/edit menu.lst. If you are familiar with text editor vi, just type in the terminal vi /boot/grub/menu.lst, otherwise substitue kwrite for vi.

How do I get to it's GUI?

Have you tried typing startx at the prompt?

[gdawg]

I managed to edit /boot/grub/menu.lst. Still can't get into graphic mode on PCLinux. I tried depressing Alt-F2 while typing "konsole" , hit enter but no luck. I also tried entering "startx" at the prompt and then it called for a password and none of my passwords worked. I also discovered that Pinguy is installed on 2 partitions sda9 & sda11. I can still boot Windows 7 & Ubuntu using Pinguy's boot menu. Don't know where to go from here.

[yancek]

The Alt+F2 thing works to get a terminal from GUI. When it boots (PCLINUX) to text mode, you need to log in with your username, enter your password and then type startx.

It is probably going to be easier to modify the PinGuy Grub since you can boot to it. If you can boot into PinGuy you should be able to update grub from there. Check the tutorial below, Sections 4.C, 4.F

GRUB 2 bootloader - Full tutorial

Just read over your last post again. You could do the same from Ubuntu if you can boot it, depends on which distro Ubuntu/PinGuy you are more likely to keep. You've got Grub installed and you can boot you just need to do the update. Can't give you any more details as I don't use Grub2.

[gdawg]

Voila! I am finally able to boot all OS's. I reinstalled PCLinux into the same partition it was on (never could get it to boot into GUI). Then I edited /boot/grub/menu.lst to add PinguyOS per GRUB 2 tutorial instructions. I still have an extra PinguyOS installed on sda11. Should I open GParted and delete that partition? Thank you very much for sticking it out with me. I really do appreciate all of your help. Hopefully sometime I will learn enough to assist others.

[makbul]

Hi everyone, after a recent install of Pinguy_OS_10.10.1 I have been unable to boot PCLinuxOS. Presently, I have Ubuntu, Pinguy, and Win 7 booted on a Dell Inspiron 530S. Right now Pinguy shows as 1st on the boot menu as an Ubuntu distro. PCLinux shows as a linux distro on the correct partition but when selected, it won"t boot. Any help will be appreciated.

only latest version can replace older version.so
1.u must enter in to latest version.
2.the other partition is temporary mount and open its grub.conf
3.copy its boot configiuration and paste in to latest version in grub.conf file to know
the system there is other OS
4.copy paste is work in same terminal

[gdawg]

Thank you makbul. I finally got things working OK. I'm not sure what I should do about the extra PinguyOS that is on sda11. Any advice will be welcome.

[masinick]

Unless you are bothered by seeing it there, you can just leave it. But if you want to test additional distributions - maybe something like SimplyMEPIS, you can install that in sda11 - or pick another distribution that you are curious about.

Another option, if you don't want to try anything else, is simply to go into that partition and replace it with a data partition; you can even call it /data, /videos, or whatever suits your needs. Then mount that data partition either in the mount table, /etc/fstab, or at least create a directory for it, and mount it as needed. If you go that route, I recommend creating a directory first, then add it to your mount table on whatever system(s) you want to use it on, then it will be there each time you use it.

Keep in mind you can use that extra space for anything you want; there are no hard and fast rules; this is your system. Name it whatever you want and use it however you want - or if you can't be bothered, leave it alone. It won't hurt anything other than make you think about it!

[gdawg]

Thank you for your suggestions. I'm not sure right now which way I'll go. Probably leave it alone for now until I acquire more experience with Linux. I want to thank everyone for your kind help and patience.

Best regards,
Glen