SUSE Boot Login Error

[totallyorganic]

Hi! I received an HP mini notebook as a gift and the operating system is SUSE Linux 10 SP1.

It worked great for a while, but now whenever I turn it on the black boot screen comes up and a get this message:

Welcome to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 SP1 (i586) - Kernel 2.6.16.54-0.2.5-default (ttyl).

and then I am given this prompt:

linux-fra1 login:
password:

I've tried every possible combination of logins and passwords, but nothing has worked. Is there a way to recover/reset this password from the boot screen? Or a way to circumnavigate it?

Thanks for your help!

[daark.child]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

How did you login to the system when it was working fine? You need to use the same username and password in the terminal. If you manage to login to the terminal, enter "startx" and see if the GUI session starts.

[totallyorganic]

Ok, I did manage to log into the terminal using "root" as my login and my usual password.

I did enter "startx" and I got this message:

error while loading shared libraries: libXau.so.6: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory.

Then I get this prompt:

linux-fra1:~#

What should I try next?

[D-cat]

well, doing startx as root is highly discouraged, too much can go wrong.

Do you have the install DVD (or key, or whatever they used)? You might need it, unless the person who installed it set up an install directory on the hard drive (or on online repo and you have net access on it).

As root, type yast, go to Software -> Software Management. Text mode will feel a little clunky to get around, Tab will change fields and "^" means [Ctrl +]. Highlighted letters are usually [Alt +]. Some functions in Yast are also controlled with Fn keys (those will have a menu at the bottom).

Anyway, you need to find and select to "upgrade" (which should reinstall) the package xorg-x11-libXau. You may find yourself needing to reinstall other packages as well... it depends on what lead to this file being removed.
---
While you're at it, you can also go to Users and Groups -> User Management, find your default user, and change the password to something you'll remember.

[totallyorganic]

Actually, my laptop is a mini - so there is no DVD/CD drive at all. So I won't be able to use any kind of restore or installation disc.

When I enter "yast" as root, I get the following message:

warning: the qt frontend is installed but does not work
warning: the ncurses frontend is installed but does not work
You need to install yast2-ncurses to use the YaST2 text mode interface

[D-cat]

Your install has been damaged. If you typically run the gui as root, you may have accidentally moved or deleted important system files or directories. You will need to reinstall.

I think you can still find the regular SuSE10 DVD iso out there, but you may find it time to upgrade to OpenSuSE 11.1 anyway, or try another distro (what are the specs on this machine (especially the RAM))?

You'll also need a USB key that can hold all the files (4GB for 10, 8GB for 11) on an install DVD and make bootable from another machine. If you can't get one that large but are able to make a wired network connection, you can use a smaller key that boots the network install disc image, while having a server set up on another machine to supply the files (it sounds more difficult than it is).

Also, what OS is the machine you'll be making the key from? The programs differ between OSes.

[gogalthorp]

The problem is that the machine is a Netbook with no CD/DVD drive The only way to install is via a USB pen/hard drive. Though I guess you could use a USB based CD drive if one was available. Maybe if he could get networking going he could install via Internet.

[D-cat]

Yeah, I was referring to USB key as a pen drive or usb card reader or something along those lines. I'm sorry that wasn't clearer. I get the netbook issue, but when setting up a pendrive to boot, you still start with an install disc iso image. You typically have to copy the contents of the image to the drive, rename the isolinux directory to syslinux, and install syslinux to the boot sector. That last one is where there's a difference between OS's; as in Linux vs. Windows.

[totallyorganic]

I may be able to get my hands on a USB-based CD drive.
If so, I'm going to try upgrading.

Thanks for your help, everyone. You may be hearing from me again if this doesn't pan out...haha.

[D-cat]

Just be prepared, more BIOS do not support booting from a USB optical drive than do (you might get lucky, but consider this fair warning). That's why we suggest the pen drive... the BIOS sees it as an external hard drive instead of a CDROM, most will boot from those.

Good luck. We'll be here.