[Nottingham] Odd Mandrake problems

[Martin]

Michael Erskine wrote:
> On Wednesday 07 February 2007 13:53, Martin wrote:
>>> kill X with CTRL-ALT-BACKSPACE -- the display manager may automatically
>>> restart X and it might even come up OK!
>>>
>>> Login to a virtual terminal -- switch with CTRL-ALT-F1 for vt1,
>>> CTRL-ALT-F2 for vt2, etc.
[---]
>> I'd suggest the LiveCD approach to at least retrieve the data.
> 
> Me too but you still have to instruct the user on the fault-finding steps and 
> it is clear that the main problem here is communication and hardly anything 
> to do with a technical Linux problem.
[---]


Given the vague comments so far, a suspicious guess is that the HDD has
been corrupted or that there is some hardware fault. It's probably all
choked solid with dust and cat/dog hairs!

The lack of communication is the crucial aspect...

Hence try a LiveCD + preset scripts... Before the existing system is
further damaged by random guesses tinkering with likely an already
corrupted disk.

It might be something as simple as restarting X. However, why would it
have failed in the first place? It might even be as trivial as just the
HDD being full.


My view would be to get the data off with minimal invasiveness and only
then try tinkering. Afterwards, hitting the Ubuntu install icon may well
be the least fraught and least expensive for phone calls!

The real question is for the actual level of expertise and diligence on
the part of the user that can be relied upon...


Richard, whichever way, let us know how you get on and which strategy
you're trying!

Cheers,
Martin

-- 
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Martin Lomas
martin at ml1.co.uk
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