Old laptop slow boot

fred 20 · posted: 2016-09-25 18:55

I have installed AntiX16 on my Acer One notebook and it runs brilliantly, far better than the Mate Xcfe install.

Using Safe Boot i have put AntiX 16 on a very old laptop, it runs fine but the boot up and shut down are very slow. On boot the scrolling text runs and then the black screen appears for well over a minute and then the desktop top. I had a very old version of Ubuntu installed previously and that booted reasonably quickly.

I can't find a name on the laptop but the specs are.,

Processor Via C3 Nehemiah 1200MHz
Ram 465M
Video Via AGP

Is there anything I can do to speedup the boot time?

Many thanks

BitJam · posted: 2016-09-25 19:08

Can you post the output of the command" inxi -F"?

A one minute delay with a blank screen sounds like a udev problem. There is a bug in the cli installer that caused it to fail to carry over your safe video settings to the installed system. You could try adding the"nomodeset" boot parameter to your /boot/grub.cfg (or /etc/default/grub and then update grub) and see if that helps. It may get rid of the blank screen.

fred 20 · posted: 2016-09-25 19:41

BitJam wrote:Can you post the output of the command" inxi -F"?

A one minute delay with a blank screen sounds like a udev problem. There is a bug in the cli installer that caused it to fail to carry over your safe video settings to the installed system. You could try adding the"nomodeset" boot parameter to your /boot/grub.cfg (or /etc/default/grub and then update grub) and see if that helps. It may get rid of the blank screen.

Thanks for the reply I will have a play tomorrow.

Do I add"nomodeset" as a new line?

BitJam · posted: 2016-09-25 21:56

fred 20 wrote:Do I add"nomodeset" as a new line?

In grub.cfg it goes on the end of the line that starts with whitespace and then"linux". In /etc/default/grub it goes inside the parentheses in the line that starts with GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=.

fred 20 · posted: 2016-09-26 16:07

BitJam wrote:
fred 20 wrote:Do I add"nomodeset" as a new line?
In grub.cfg it goes on the end of the line that starts with whitespace and then"linux". In /etc/default/grub it goes inside the parentheses in the line that starts with GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=.

Just checked and Nomodesetis already present. Grub file below.

Also below result of inxi -F

Code: Select all

# If you change this file, run 'update-grub' afterwards to update
# /boot/grub/grub.cfg.
# For full documentation of the options in this file, see:
#   info -f grub -n 'Simple configuration'

GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_TIMEOUT=5
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="vga=788 quiet nomodeset"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

# Uncomment to enable BadRAM filtering, modify to suit your needs
# This works with Linux (no patch required) and with any kernel that obtains
# the memory map information from GRUB (GNU Mach, kernel of FreeBSD ...)
#GRUB_BADRAM="0x01234567,0xfefefefe,0x89abcdef,0xefefefef"

# Uncomment to disable graphical terminal (grub-pc only)
#GRUB_TERMINAL=console

# The resolution used on graphical terminal
# note that you can use only modes which your graphic card supports via VBE
# you can see them in real GRUB with the command `vbeinfo'
#GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480

# Uncomment if you don't want GRUB to pass"root=UUID=xxx" parameter to Linux
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true

# Uncomment to disable generation of recovery mode menu entries
GRUB_DISABLE_RECOVERY="true"

# Uncomment to get a beep at grub start
#GRUB_INIT_TUNE="480 440 1"

GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false
GRUB_BACKGROUND=/usr/share/wallpaper/back.jpg

inxi -F

Code: Select all

user@antix1:~
$ inxi -F
System:    Host: antix1 Kernel: 4.4.10-antix.1-486-smp i686 (32 bit)
           Desktop: IceWM 1.3.8
           Distro: antiX-16_386-full Berta Cáceres 26 June 2016
Machine:   System: Elite (portable) product: ECS G320 v: 1.0
           Mobo: Elite model: ref.NO:G320-yymmdd-OT-01-00-FF-FF$ v: 1.0
           Bios: American Megatrends v: Version 07.00T date: 04/02/01
CPU:       Single core VIA Nehemiah (-UP-) cache: 64 KB speed: 1200 MHz (max)
Graphics:  Card: VIA VT8623 [Apollo CLE266] integrated CastleRock graphics
           Display Server: X.Org 1.16.4 driver: vesa
           Resolution: 1024x768@61.00hz
           GLX Renderer: Gallium 0.4 on llvmpipe (LLVM 3.5, 128 bits)
           GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 10.3.2
Audio:     Card VIA VT8233/A/8235/8237 AC97 Audio Controller
           driver: snd_via82xx
           Sound: ALSA v: k4.4.10-antix.1-486-smp
Network:   Card-1: VIA VT6102 [Rhine-II] driver: via-rhine
           IF: eth0 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full
           mac: 00:14:2a:bc:e1:83
           Card-2: Realtek RTL8188CUS 802.11n WLAN Adapter
           IF: N/A state: N/A mac: N/A
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 40.0GB (11.8% used)
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: HTS541040G9AT00 size: 40.0GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 35G used: 2.5G (8%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1
           ID-2: swap-1 size: 2.18GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda2
Sensors:   None detected - is lm-sensors installed and configured?
Info:      Processes: 131 Uptime: 5:44 Memory: 271.4/464.9MB
           Client: Shell (bash) inxi: 2.3.0 
user@antix1:~

rokytnji · posted: 2016-09-26 20:17

Just for info. Be glad this distro even boots up on a via cpu, via graphics chip, via eth0 chip.
Giving you a screen even. Via a 2001 box.

Because lots of distros, plus kernel regression, won't even help out on a Via or Sis or Savage machine much anymore.
I'm just saying
========= SCRAPER REMOVED AN EMBEDDED LINK HERE ===========
url was:"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3HQMbQAWRc"
linktext was:""Be Happy""
====================================

I'll back out now and leave you to better hands than mine. I was just here to clean up your post by inserting code tags. Bye.

Edit: after looking around the net from linuxquestios to debian forums. Which debian forums is not much help anymore running systemd. Which controls boot.

Just wondering if in this case installing a older kernel via smxi may be the way to go here?

boombaby · posted: 2016-09-27 13:32

Hello, fred20...

Your setup has the same kind of"physicality" as mine.

Mine is also a single-core setup, but with 760MB RAM.

I use Antix-16, but Grub 0.97 (so my grub setup looks a little different but functions similarly)

1.
Since I use a single core CPU but with an xxx.smp kernel (like yours) I manage that by adding nosmp at the end of the kernel arg line (in Grub 0.97). You might try that on yours - but where you add that exactly in Grub2.0 I don't rightly know.

2.
Additionally, I have read elsewhere of someone having a slow start which turned out to be their setup going hunting for a local network connection thingy. So you need to check that isn't happening on yours.

3.
I believe having an"NTP on" configuration means the system goes hunting for Time servers at boot (I think). Check that out.

4.
If you have a multiboot setup of some kind then sometimes checking across partitions takes time. I think wrong labelling might do that.

5.
You have a large SWAP partition for your memory size. That's a comment.
I am unsure if system setting it up at boot creates any delay. (I believe it would.).

6.
If you have"resume" to the swap partition set up badly then that might mean delay. [Bad experience of mine own making.] Check if you have"resume" functioning at all. (Try without.)

Might be specific"clarity" on these from other Members.

Regards,

fred 20 · posted: 2016-09-30 18:47

Thanks everybody. I was so impressed by Antix on the AcerOne I thought it was worth a try. It is an old laptop i use in the garage for looking up Howto on repairs so its not worth spending a lot of time over. I have gone back to Ubuntu 10.08 which boots reasonably quickly.

Thanks again for your help.