A relative had a Dell Vostro laptop with a quadcore processor that she had thrown away as it was always failing to boot while emitting a series of beeps. She was persuaded it was broken beyond repair. After several attempts to find the cause, I realised it was the keyboard that was the culprit. I removed it and connected a USB keyboard and the laptop booted Windows 7 after a long time staying on a shelve waiting to be discarded.
I am thinking about installing Debian or Devuan on it. The DVD drive has problems and will be removed. So, I have to use a USB or find a workaround to put GNU/Linux on it.
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Keyboard causing laptop to fail booting.
Keyboard causing laptop to fail booting.
Debian == { > 30, 000 packages }; Debian != systemd
The worst infection of all, is a false sense of security!
It is hard to get away from CLI tools.
The worst infection of all, is a false sense of security!
It is hard to get away from CLI tools.
Re: Keyboard causing laptop to fail booting.
Looks like a good project. Is there a chance that the DVD drive is just dirty?
I'd open up the laptop and check that plugs, jacks and memory are connected properly and that it is reasonably dust free.
I'd open up the laptop and check that plugs, jacks and memory are connected properly and that it is reasonably dust free.
Re: Keyboard causing laptop to fail booting.
Were you able to diagnose the keyboard problem? Could be just a bad connection or a sticky key. In the old BIOS days you could set it to ignore keyboard errors at boot - not sure if your laptop has the option. A thorough keyboard dismantle/clean may be all that's needed. My wife's favourite keyboard is >15 years old. The factory lubricant recently dried up causing the space bar mechanism to stick. A screwdriver, vacuum cleaner, clean damp rag, alcohol and a few cotton swabs and it's good as new.
All the best with your upcoming surgery. The laptop project may provide a much needed distraction.
All the best with your upcoming surgery. The laptop project may provide a much needed distraction.
800mhz, 512mb ram, dCore-jessie (Tiny Core with Debian Jessie packages) with BusyBox and Fluxbox.
Most don't have computer access, reuse or pay forward an old computer.
Most don't have computer access, reuse or pay forward an old computer.