Arch Linux

_cronos2

Member

Registered: 2015-07-11

Posts: 6

[SOLVED] After installation and reboot cursor just keeps blinking

Hi everyone!

I'm still not sure if this should go here or in "Newbie Corner" since this is my very first time with Arch, but I think this is more installation-related. I followed the wiki's Beginner's guide to install the Arch iso, and I'd say I did everything correctly, but it might not be the case if it just doesn't work.

The problem is after I rebooted the screen kept black with the typical white cursor blinking and I wasn't able to type. This is, of course, reproducible each time I boot. I tried to fix the installation through the LiveUSB I used by repeating the steps I thought I could have messed, but it didn't work.

I know this story tells you very little about the actual problem, but I just don't know what information could be relevant and useful for troubleshooting the installation process, so feel free to ask for it and I'll try to provide it.

Thanks in advance for your attention and patience with the newcomers!

Last edited by _cronos2 (2015-07-14 19:57:20)

ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 20,623

Re: [SOLVED] After installation and reboot cursor just keeps blinking

Do you get to the boot loader?  Which boot loader did you choose?  Is this a BIOS or UEFI system?

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Head_on_a_Stick

Member

From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 9,003

Website

Re: [SOLVED] After installation and reboot cursor just keeps blinking

Does the system boot to the console if you use this kernel parameter:

nomodeset

What is your graphics hardware?

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_cronos2

Member

Registered: 2015-07-11

Posts: 6

Re: [SOLVED] After installation and reboot cursor just keeps blinking

Do you get to the boot loader?  Which boot loader did you choose?  Is this a BIOS or UEFI system?

I think the problem might be here. There was an error I didn't notice while installing GRUB. The disk in which I'm installing the OS has GPT, so the guide says I should have a dedicated partition for the boot. I created the partition and grub-install doesn't complain anymore, but now the problem is with grub-mkconfig. I think the main error is

squashfs: SQUASHFS error: Can't find a SQUASHFS superblock on sda4

sda4 is the partition I created for GRUB.

Does the system boot to the console if you use this kernel parameter:

nomodeset

What is your graphics hardware?

How do I set that parameter on boot?
The graphics controller is integrated into the Intel processor:

Display controller: Intel Corporation Atom Processor D4xx/D5xx/N4xx/N5xx Integrated Graphics Controller

Thanks for your help!

Head_on_a_Stick

Member

From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 9,003

Website

Re: [SOLVED] After installation and reboot cursor just keeps blinking

The "nomodeset" trick doesn't apply to Intel cards so forget about that.

Do you see the GRUB menu at all?

The disk in which I'm installing the OS has GPT, so the guide says I should have a dedicated partition for the boot. I created the partition and grub-install doesn't complain anymore, but now the problem is with grub-mkconfig. I think the main error is

squashfs: SQUASHFS error: Can't find a SQUASHFS superblock on sda4

sda4 is the partition I created for GRUB.

The guide is referring to BIOS boot partitions in non-EFI systems on GPT disks -- it should be noted that this is firmware-dependent and may not work at all.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GU … OS_systems

I assume you are attempting to install in non-EFI mode?

If so, then you should probably use a traditional "MBR" partition table rather than a GUID type.

Load the Arch live ISO, mount all your partitions, use `arch-chroot` and post the output of:

# parted -l
lsblk

You can use a pastebin client to generate a link to a pastebin from the live environment which you can post here.

<command> | curl -F 'sprunge=<-' http://sprunge.us

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Li … in_clients

Please also post the exact commands you have used to install & configure GRUB.

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Jin, Jîyan, Azadî

_cronos2

Member

Registered: 2015-07-11

Posts: 6

Re: [SOLVED] After installation and reboot cursor just keeps blinking

This is the output of the commands.

Head_on_a_Stick

Member

From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 9,003

Website

Re: [SOLVED] After installation and reboot cursor just keeps blinking

Please answer my questions and post the commands you used.

I recommend trying again with an MBR disk layout unless you want to try EFI-mode booting.

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Jin, Jîyan, Azadî

_cronos2

Member

Registered: 2015-07-11

Posts: 6

Re: [SOLVED] After installation and reboot cursor just keeps blinking

Oops, sorry, I missed that line. I can give you the output of history under the chroot since it saves it in the disk, but the history file outside chroot gets removed with each reboot since it's a live USB, so it might not give you all the information you want.

Head_on_a_Stick

Member

From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 9,003

Website

Re: [SOLVED] After installation and reboot cursor just keeps blinking

Yeah those commands look fine.

As your system isn't getting to the GRUB menu I think that your system just cannot boot a non-EFI system from a GPT disk (as per the first ArchWiki page I linked in post #5).

The other alternative is that you haven't enabled "CSM" or "Legacy" mode in your firmware (BIOS) -- do you have any such options?

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Jin, Jîyan, Azadî

_cronos2

Member

Registered: 2015-07-11

Posts: 6

Re: [SOLVED] After installation and reboot cursor just keeps blinking

I did what you recommended -- change GPT to MBR -- and then everything worked.
Thanks a lot for your help!

Head_on_a_Stick

Member

From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 9,003

Website

Re: [SOLVED] After installation and reboot cursor just keeps blinking

You're welcome

Please add "[SOLVED]" to the thread title for the benefit of others.

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Jin, Jîyan, Azadî