query abt ubuntu install...

[Vivek Chaurasiya]

I just happened to have a bad time, when my cd drive is not detecting the ubuntu install CD, and my bios doesnt has the option to boot from USB ....

i already have an installed ubuntu version on my laptop, but it got a bit screwed up when upgrading it ....
problem mentioned here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-meta/+bug/195308

i dont have root access, its not accepting the password, i dont know why ...

Now, neither can i install new ubuntu nor can i update /etc/hosts file ..

any comments / advise ?

--
Best Regards.
Vivek Kumar Chaurasiya
B.Tech.- CSE (2008)
IIT Roorkee
India
Office: 020-66157907
Mob.: 9923701084
Resi: 0532-2541726

[Fozolo]

Not sure what to do about the cd drive, but I have been able to change
my root password on Debian (should work on Ubuntu too) like this

1. Access Grub Bootloader menu
- on grub press esc immediately after bios screen
- on grub 2 (>=1.98) press shift immediately after bios screen (i
think Ubuntu should have grub 2)

2. Modify the kernel entry to allow read/write access in single user
mode
a. use the arrows to select the boot entry you want to modify.
b. press e to edit the entry
c. use the arrows to go to kernel line
d. press e to edit this entry
e. add 'rw single init=/bash/bin' to the end of the line
- rw overides the default ro (read only) setting of the boot
partition
- single sets the boot to single user mode
- init=/bash/bin boots to a bash console so it won't ask you to
log in
f. press return to go back to the menu
g. press b to boot this kernel

3. Type passwd to change the password.

4. Reboot and you should be able to get root access.

Hope this helps
John

On Aug 23, 12:59 pm, Vivek Chaurasiya <vivekchauras...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Fozolo]

Sorry for the double post I just read the "messages from new members
are moderated".

Cheers,

John

On Aug 23, 12:59 pm, Vivek Chaurasiya <vivekchauras...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Fozolo]

I'm not sure about getting around the CD problem but you can change
the root password using the steps below. This has worked for me on
Debian, it should work on Ubuntu too.

1. Access Grub Bootloader menu
- on grub press esc immediately after bios screen
- on grub 2 (>=1.98) press shift immediately after bios screen

(Ubuntu should be grub 2 I think)

2. Modify the kernel entry to allow read/write access in single user
mode
a. use the arrows to select the boot entry you want to modify.
b. press e to edit the entry
c. use the arrows to go to kernel line
d. press e to edit this entry
e. add 'rw single init=/bash/bin' to the end of the line
- rw overides the default ro (read only) setting of the boot
partition
- single sets the boot to single user mode
- init=/bash/bin boots to a bash console so it won't ask you to
log in
f. press return to go back to the menu
g. press b to boot this kernel

3. Type passwd to change the password.

4. Reboot and you should be able to get root access.

Hope that helps,

John

On Aug 23, 12:59 pm, Vivek Chaurasiya <vivekchauras...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Vivek Chaurasiya]

That helped to some extent.

I have changed my root password now. But, i am not able to login to my desktop environment after entering username/password. The desktop panel doesnt comes up. Though I am able to run the terminal, firefox, gedit etc.

If I logout  and then login doing following :
           - click on left down "options"
           - select "genome"
           - after that , entering my same above username/pass , I am able to see desktop + icons + panel

Now , i ma  able to see desktop + icons but a dialog box says "Failed to initialize HAL" .

The whole problem started when i started upgrading ubuntu via internet.

Any way to resolve this. ?

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[Fozolo]

Sorry to hear that. First, let me warn you that I'm not an expert.
Second, if you want to do a fresh install, I have gotten Ubuntu
installed without a CD drive by following the steps here:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/NetbootInstallFromInternet

On a side note HAL is the hardware abstraction layer. I'm not sure
what it does, but that error could be what is preventing your CD drive
from working in the first place. Also, be sure to back everything up
as soon as possible.

Hope that helps,
John

On Aug 26, 9:23 pm, Vivek Chaurasiya <vivekchauras...@gmail.com>
wrote:

> That helped to some extent.
>
> I have changed my root password now. But, i am not able to login to my
> desktop environment after entering username/password. The desktop panel
> doesnt comes up. Though I am able to run the terminal, firefox, gedit etc.
>
> If I logout  and then login doing following :
>            - click on left down "options"
>            - select "genome"
>            - after that , entering my same above username/pass , I am able
> to see desktop + icons + panel
>

> Now , i ma  able to see desktop + icons but a dialog box says "*Failed to
> initialize HAL*" .

> > PurdueLUG+...@googlegroups.com<PurdueLUG%2Bunsu...@googlegroups.com>
> > .

[age...@purdue.edu]

I can help to clarify this just a bit. HAL, the hardware abstraction layer, is
the system that programs can use to talk to hardware devices without knowing
lots about them. It is generally how you are able to eject your CD drives,
mount removable media, etc... from inside programs such as Nautilus. It works
as a helper program between you and the hardware itself (similar to udev if you
are familiar with that system, but is based around userspace applications).

As far as the actual source of the problem, I can't say for certain, but the
error message does indicate that there is a problem starting up HAL (fairly
obviously). My best initial guesses to why this would be is if your updates
didn't complete quite as expected (the wrong version was installed, another
dependent package failed to update, etc...), or there are some weird
discrepancies in your startup scripts. To confirm this you would need to look
at log files and such, of which I am not completely certain of the actual files
currently. A possible fix could be done with: apt-get upgrade
hal-device-manager (from a terminal, I believe, but you may want to look up the
proper syntax as debian-based systems are not my native choice).

If you would like I would be willing to help you solve this problem in person,
should you not want to reinstall your operating system (no guarantees of course,
but the offer is extended :) If that is the case, shoot me a personal eamil.

Best of luck,
Alex Geanes

Quoting Fozolo <foz...@gmail.com>:

> PurdueLUG+...@googlegroups.com.