How to see terminal screen msgs

[beny]

but if you start the system at init3 way and not 4,that mean in text mode, with ctrl+alt+backspace you can relog in and change your desktop environment without reboot the computer.see the porteus.config into the boot directory.

[phhpro]

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[beny]

well ed_P can read the log located into the /var/log directory,for searching the issue,but if he change some line into the porteus.config can start the system with the text mode,init3 and if something goes wrong he can read why.

[phhpro]

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[Ed_P]

Pressing CTLT-ALT-F2 while already running a full desktop env simply tells the system to open a new instance. You are NOT exiting, but switching. In simple words: you are effectively running two more or less independent sessions. There's literally no limit to the number of sessions one can start, other then RAM of course.

Wow!! How does one know how many sessions are open and under what user ids?

What exactly is the problem?

When shutting down/rebooting I see MANY msgs on the terminal screen. Some are error msgs. Many are msgs related/connected to things that I have seen/done on the desktop GUI. I personally don't think these latter msgs should be written to the terminal log at all. But in both cases to have the msgs reviewed by people who understand Linux I need a way to view and capture them. Using a camera works but not well.

well ed_P can read the log located into the /var/log directory,for searching the issue,but if he change some line into the porteus.config can start the system with the text mode,init3 and if something goes wrong he can read why.

The /var/log directory only shows the booting msgs last I looked. So you are saying if I can change the porteus.config file that log will show error msgs also? Can that change/option be made via a cheatcode?

[beny]

if you use extlinux bootloader there is a text mode boot,that start in init3 you have to log in with root and toor and startx,shure that problems is porteus core and not a software that you have installed? in txt mode do not save changes, you have to adds the directory like the others option.

[phhpro]

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[Ed_P]

if you use extlinux bootloader

I usually boot Porteus using Grub4DOS.

Code: Select all

title Porteus 2.1  changes=      \n 193MB\n Porteus-RazorQT-v2.1-x86_64.iso 
find --set-root                       /ISOs/Porteus-RazorQT-v2.1-x86_64.iso
map --heads=0 --sectors-per-track=0   /ISOs/Porteus-RazorQT-v2.1-x86_64.iso (0xff) 
map --hook
root (0xff)
#kernel /boot/syslinux/vmlinuz    from=/ISOs/Porteus-RazorQT-v2.1-x86_64.iso vga=791 autoexec=startx  changes=EXIT:/porteussave.dat    
kernel /boot/syslinux/vmlinuz    from=/ISOs/Porteus-RazorQT-v2.1-x86_64.iso changes=EXIT:/porteussave.dat    
initrd /boot/syslinux/initrd.xz

title Porteus 2.1  extramod=     \n 193MB\n Porteus-RazorQT-v2.1-x86_64.iso 
find --set-root                       /ISOs/Porteus-RazorQT-v2.1-x86_64.iso
map --heads=0 --sectors-per-track=0   /ISOs/Porteus-RazorQT-v2.1-x86_64.iso (0xff) 
map --hook
root (0xff)
kernel /boot/syslinux/vmlinuz    from=/ISOs/Porteus-RazorQT-v2.1-x86_64.iso extramod=/mnt/sda6/porteusmodules
initrd /boot/syslinux/initrd.xz

title Porteus 2.1  Fresh mode    \n 193MB\n Porteus-RazorQT-v2.1-x86_64.iso \n Use to check space usage of porteus.dat file.
find --set-root                       /ISOs/Porteus-RazorQT-v2.1-x86_64.iso
map --heads=0 --sectors-per-track=0   /ISOs/Porteus-RazorQT-v2.1-x86_64.iso (0xff) 
map --hook
root (0xff)
kernel /boot/syslinux/vmlinuz    from=/ISOs/Porteus-RazorQT-v2.1-x86_64.iso   
initrd /boot/syslinux/initrd.xz

I've also used QEMU via StartLinux to boot it but it is horrendously slow that way.

When shutting down/rebooting I see MANY msgs on the terminal screen. Some are error msgs. Many are msgs related/connected to things that I have seen/done on the desktop GUI. I personally don't think these latter msgs should be written to the terminal log at all. But in both cases to have the msgs reviewed by people who understand Linux I need a way to view and capture them. Using a camera works but not well.

I fail to recognise any such on my own box. Is your CD stock,

Very stock. And the fact that you don't see msgs like those posted here: http://forum.porteus.org/viewtopic.php? ... 982#p20805 reinforces my question, WHY are they appearing on my system?

Did you check your X logs?

Refresh my memory, X logs??

Or better still, eye whatever log you can find. It's got to be in there somewhere.

Is there a global search function that I can use to find logs?

Um, what you consider non-relevant for the terminal log is one thing. Usually the system has a different opinion; and usually is right about it.

You see anything relevant in the log entries posted here: http://forum.porteus.org/viewtopic.php? ... 982#p20805

Grab a minimal ISO, burn a fresh CD, and boot off that one.

CD!! Who uses CDs?? They have gone the way of the floppy.

[phhpro]

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[Ed_P]

X - Have a look at http://www.x.org/archive/X11R6.8.0/doc/Xorg.1.html to refresh your mem

?? I looked and it sounds like a Linux server system. How does it relate to Porteus??

Logs: most standards compliant systems would put them under /var/log

Ok. Thank you.

CDs: what's wrong with them? Believe it or not, I'm having Porteus happily running off a RW - but of course I'm rather old-fashioned

Many, most, new systems don't have CD drives. And while I have a USB CD drive I rarely use it.

Grub4DOS: Now who's the anachronism? DOS???

Don't let part of the name mislead you. The 1st 4 letters are more important. Google it, you will be impressed with it's capabilities.

Say, what exactly are your system specifics?

Numerous bootable USB sticks and a Acer netbook with 2GB of RAM, a hdd divided into 3 partitions, all NTFS, with Windows 7 on the primary, data files on the 2ndary and backups and ISOs on the 3rd.

Posts: Frankly, I'm not interested in tracing other people's posts, except when I'm searching for something in particular. Such is not the case.

No need to trace posts but reading links to info pertinent to the discussion would be wise to do.

Could it be, you are lacking some nix essentials?

No could be about it. In the past my experience was limited to a few Live CDs, this is the 1st Linux system that I have tried for any length of time, primarily because it recognizes all my hardware including WiFi NIC.

Before dumping advices given, at the very least try them to minimise the legion of possibilities causing the headache.

I rarely dump advice, unfortunately my inexperience puts a lot of it over my head and capabilities. Booting from ISOs rather than installs adds complexities also.

[phhpro]

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[Ed_P]

My test box is a semi-historic Dell Latitude D 620,

I am familiar with it. My daughter has one and I use to have a D 4xx something.

I won't argue about GRUB, simply because it's a rather religious topic. If you are happy using it, fine. Just make sure to know how it works; and the pitfalls it provides.

I don't know about GRUB, I've never experienced it, but Grub4DOS is actively being maintained and updated.

Moreover, beginning with Vista, they have changed the internal structure. The actual boot loader is now placed in a hidden partition of its own, at the very beginning of the disk.

I think it depends on who does the installation. That's true on my netbook but not true on the desktop that I installed Win 7 on.

IIt's not helping GRUB, and some other tools even find it impossible to work around.

Grub4DOS can find anything on any partition. The exception being the new Windows 8 UEFI systems, they need the BIOS config changed before Grub4DOS can work.

But well, you said, you were running Porteus off a USB? Hm, then why would you need GRUB; or any other boot manager; in the first place?

Because all my USB drives and harddrives are configured to be multi-bootable. BartPE, PartedMagic, Windows Recovery, hdd Windows XP, hdd Windows 7, Porteus 1.2, 2.1, 3.0.

Booting off external media is completly independent of what may live on either internal, or externl storage devices, like a typical hard disk.

Not in my experience. Booting a USB system that doesn't support SATA drives, like BartPE, can hang the boot process before getting to the desktop.

BTW I think fanthom's proposed "debug" change for Porteus 3.0 rc2 is what is needed. I implemented something similar that he proposed for me for 2.1 but wasn't sure how to use the sh option to capture what I was seeing.

BTW2 Happy New Year.

[phhpro]

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