[SOLVED] Cannot replace AntiX with other distro

bodge99 · 07-02-2019, 02:30 PM

Quote:

I cannot run GP from a flashdrive, the computer does not accept it, like it does not accept distros. That is why I want to wipe the eMMC drive with a command. You gave me a command, but you still have not told me how to ebcome root from the flashdrive/live USB.

Err.. yes I have.

When you attach a USB flashdrive or other external storage device, the device, when mounted, becomes part of a single file system. This differs from windows, which uses the concept of drive letters.

In Linux, everything is part of one filesystem. Your OS may helpfully add a newly plugged in USB flashdrive automatically to the filesystem. You are free to override this and manually mount this device to exactly where you choose. It really is totally up to you.

To access this device **at hardware level** normally requires you to have root privileges. This differs from "normal" access, which includes file actions such as editing, copying etc. This leads onto the concept of file and directory ownership rights.

On a multiuser system user Joe may not want user Jane to be able to read or alter his personal files.. The beauty of OS's that are based on (IMHO) sound Unix principles is that the system is built (designed) with security in mind from the outset. This is **A VERY GOOD THING** although you might not think so at 2AM in the morning when trying to solve problems.

The use of root (All hail MING!!.. Errr..sorry, wrong film..) allows you to perform tasks that you as a normal user, would not be able to perform.

Indiscriminate use of root is viewed "as a bad thing" as it can allow you to perform actions that could compromise a working system. That is why you log in as a normal user and that some stuff "appears" locked down. There are reasons why, which may not be immediately apparent to normal users.

You need root privileges when performing most "low level" actions. On your own systems, this is easy to obtain i.e. sudo su changes you from a "normal" user to "the one" with full administrative powers.

To modify your laptop system drive at hardware level you need two things:

Boot from an external source. This ensures that your system drive is not "in use" or "active".
To perform any low level procedure you need to have root privileges. The easiest way on a standard single user system (as this action is not specifically disallowed) is to use sudo su .

Typical "gotchas" from the running system is that partitions may be automounted (added to the filesystem). Here you then need to manually dismount **every** partition on the drive **before** you can proceed.

Existing swap partitions **in use** can be shown from the command line (terminal).

Code:

swapon -s

If the swap is "in use" on your eMMC (when booted from the flashdrive) then use the terminal command:

Code:

swapoff /dev/{path to swap partition}

or use the swapoff option in gparted. Right click on the swap partition and select "swapoff".

Bodge99

linus72 · 07-02-2019, 02:47 PM

If you cannot boot from usb, can you boot a already installed system from hard drive/emmc??
If you can boot from whatever system you have on there you can boot a llot of distros right off your hdd in live
toram mode and they will not be mounted to any drive automatically

fatmac · 07-02-2019, 03:20 PM

[QUOTE=Klaas Vaak;6011179]

Quote:

Insert whichever 'drive' it is mounted as/on,

Code:

df -h

This is the output from that:

Code:

df -h
Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1       953M  953M     0 100% /live/boot-dev
/dev/loop0      932M  932M     0 100% /live/linux
tmpfs           1.5G  1.2M  1.5G   1% /live/aufs-ram
overlay         1.5G  1.2M  1.5G   1% /
tmpfs            10M     0   10M   0% /media
tmpfs           189M  728K  188M   1% /run
tmpfs            10M  5.2M  4.9M  52% /live
devtmpfs        940M  4.0K  940M   1% /dev
tmpfs           5.0M  4.0K  5.0M   1% /run/lock
tmpfs           378M     0  378M   0% /run/shm
/dev/sda2       3.3M  3.3M   10K 100% /media/antiX-uefi

As far as I can tell the eMMC drive (mmcblk0) is not mounted.
Please tell me what to do with this info, or what my next step should be.

OK, that is good, & from another post, I see your disk is
Disk /dev/mmcblk0: 29.1 GiB

So you want to run

Code:

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/mmcblk0

That should blank your eMMC drive

anticapitalista · 07-02-2019, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klaas Vaak

There are no partitions to mount - see my reply to Bodge99 below.

I opened a terminal: when I type sudo it gives me the various switches I can use.
When I type su, it asks for a password, but typing demo returns "Authetication failure".

I asked you to open the root terminal option in the menu, not to open a terminal.

mrmazda · 07-02-2019, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klaas Vaak

My tablet is just a simple computer that's used for internet browsing and emailing. I want a stable, hassle-free distro that does not need to be replaced every 6 or 12 months with an upgrade.

I wasn't suggesting switching distros. I was suggesting a larger troubleshooting net. Different build toolsets and/or library versions might produce a results that suggests hardware rather than software, or vice versa. I'm not in favor of upgrades at 6 month intervals either, therefore I'm using openSUSE Leap (~24 months) on my primary PC.

If Firefox continues the same problem after you have a working installation , maybe gfx.xrender.enabled=true will help.

Klaas Vaak · 07-02-2019, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colorpurple21859

what is output of lsblk

Code:

$ lsblk
NAME         MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
loop0          7:0    0  931M  1 loop /live/linux
sda            8:0    1  7.2G  0 disk 
├─sda1         8:1    1  953M  0 part /live/boot-dev
└─sda2         8:2    1  3.3M  0 part /media/antiX-uefi
mmcblk0      179:0    0 29.1G  0 disk 
mmcblk0boot0 179:8    0    4M  1 disk 
mmcblk0boot1 179:16   0    4M  1 disk 
mmcblk0rpmb  179:24   0    4M  0 disk

Klaas Vaak · 07-02-2019, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anticapitalista

I asked you to open the root terminal option in the menu, not to open a terminal.

Indeed you did, but
1. you did not explain why I should do so, or maybe I did not get it, and
2. I don't know which menu you are referring to.

I apologise for my ignorance.

Klaas Vaak · 07-02-2019, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrmazda

I wasn't suggesting switching distros. I was suggesting a larger troubleshooting net. Different build toolsets and/or library versions might produce a results that suggests hardware rather than software, or vice versa. I'm not in favor of upgrades at 6 month intervals either, therefore I'm using openSUSE Leap (~24 months) on my primary PC.

If Firefox continues the same problem after you have a working installation , maybe gfx.xrender.enabled=true will help.

I am not against switching distro, it just depends which one. If I manage to wipe the eMMC properly I might well switch.
However, if have to stay with antiX I will certainly try your Firefox suggestion. Thanks for mentioning it.

Klaas Vaak · 07-03-2019, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by linus72

If you cannot boot from usb, can you boot a already installed system from hard drive/emmc??

When I said " I did creat a multiboot USB with an app called MultiBootUSB - I added 6 distros to it. But I was disappointed by the quality of the resulting USB: booting was slow, other distros, such as Fedora and MX, did not boot at all."
I should have specified that I tried that USB stick on my other laptop that runs well, so I did not bother to try it on the tablet.

On the tablet I can boot from the live antiX USB only.

Quote:

If you can boot from whatever system you have on there you can boot a llot of distros right off your hdd in live
toram mode and they will not be mounted to any drive automatically

What is "live toram mode"?

Klaas Vaak · 07-03-2019, 02:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatmac

So you want to run

Code:

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/mmcblk0

That should blank your eMMC drive

I did that but when I tried to boot from a live USB stick with Mint on, it does not boot - I get a black flashing screen, some text and the LM logo. If I use compatibility mode, it boots fine, but when I then try to install the installer crashes somewhere along the line. This is the exact same behaviour I have been having since I tried to install another OS. The eMMC seems to something installed on it that cannot be removed and blocks installation of another OS.

Klaas Vaak · 07-03-2019, 02:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bodge99

Err.. yes I have.

Err... no, you have not.
In comment #74 you said:

Quote:

Run a command as root : sudo {command}

To which I replied in comment #75:

Quote:

I tried sudo, and sudo su, both give the same result: Permission denied.
So how do I get those rights? Catch 22?

To which I did not receive an answer, unless I missed it. Anyway, let's move on.

Quote:

Existing swap partitions **in use** can be shown from the command line (terminal).

Code:

swapon -s

Like I said before, I deleted the partitions. But, just to make absolutely sure, I checked with the swapon command, and that did not return anything, so no swap partition was in use.

Anyway, I tried the thorough wipe as per fatmac's instruction, but that did not do the trick either - see my comment #100.

bodge99 · 07-03-2019, 03:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bodge99 View Post
Err.. yes I have.
Err... no, you have not.

Sorry, but I have described how to obtain root privileges

Quote:

Run a command as root : sudo {command}

Become root, if logged in as a normal user: sudo su (or su - , if your /etc/sudoers file is not set up).

Again, from a terminal

Code:

sudo su

You can see your new status by entering this

Code:

whoami

This will return

Code:

root

To clarify, your new root status only applies to actions taken within this terminal. Other terminals and gui tools that are started from the menu will still have your normal user privileges. e.g. They are being run as user bodge99 etc.

It's important to understand the difference.

Bodge99

Klaas Vaak · 07-03-2019, 04:07 AM

@bodge99: yes, I acknowledged you gave the su {command} and sudo su instructions, but then I got stuck on "Permission denied".

colorpurple21859 · 07-03-2019, 05:06 AM

b

Quote:

ut then I got stuck on "Permission denied".

did you get this when you ran sudo su or someother command and if so what command?

Klaas Vaak · 07-03-2019, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colorpurple21859

bdid you get this when you ran sudo su or some other command and if so what command?

I got it when I ran

Code:

sudo cat /dev/zero > /dev/mmcblk0

I also got it when I ran that same command with sudo su.

But today, when I ran fatmac's

Code:

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/mmcblk0

I did not get it.
What happened with fatmac's command is that after the command the cursor in the terminal jumped to the next line as a white block, and stayed that way. I thought it was working on the wipe, but it stayed that way for a long time - 1 hour+.

Eventually I closed the terminal, but when I tried to install Mint it failed - see my comment #100.