Debian Linux Server not Starting

Question

My computer is running Debian Linux and is having a problem starting up. After I select the OS from the GRUB bootloader, I see messages for the drivers being loaded then I get a completely pixelated screen and getting stuck there. I have not installed any new hardware. What could be causing this?

EDITED: Here is a video of the boot process: http://youtu.be/NutfywloGO0

EDITED: Here is a screenshot of the pixelated screen. Could it be that the resolution is out of limits? How could I edit that if that is the case.

Screenshot

Have you tried selecting the rescue option off the boot menu? — Zoredache, May 02 '12 at 20:06
@Zoredache Yes, it is also ending up in a pixelated screen. In fact I was not able to get the server to restart when selecting recovery mode. — Omtara, May 02 '12 at 20:18
Note: The server is within a hosting company's environment and I am using a KVM client to connect to it remotely. — Omtara, May 02 '12 at 20:19
this is a headless server yes, x is not installed correct? it's fubar. get the hardrive(s) put into another machine. — foocorpluser, May 02 '12 at 21:08
Are you sure you haven't accidentically install X or something? maybe it got pulled in as a dependency from a package you previously added? — hookenz, May 02 '12 at 23:47
@Matt I have added a screenshot and a video to the original post. — Omtara, May 03 '12 at 11:28
@MirceaVutcovici I have added a screenshot and a video to the original post. — Omtara, May 03 '12 at 11:28

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered May 02 '12 at 21:47

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Can the server boot in single user mode? If yes, the problem is in a daemon contained in /etc/rc2.d/. If no, the problem is before in boot process.

answered May 02 '12 at 21:47

NoNoNo

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score 0 · Answer 2 · answered May 02 '12 at 20:24

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Use "Ctrl+Alt+F2 or F3" , you should see the text console of the boot process. The last started process or status should lead you to the correct solution.

answered May 02 '12 at 20:24

Chakri

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I am seeing the text console of the boot process without pressing any key. But when the boot process is over, I am getting the pixelated screen. – Omtara May 02 '12 at 20:27
What is the last process its completed ? – Chakri May 02 '12 at 21:09

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered May 02 '12 at 21:44

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If it's a graphic card problem, you may activate serial console and access to your server from your pc using a serial cable.

answered May 02 '12 at 21:44

zfou

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Mircea Vutcovici · Answer 4 · 2012-05-03T17:46:32.913

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This is a hardware or driver problem.

If you expect to be a driver problem, try to boot with a LiveCD. If it is working try to configure the Debian kernel to use VGA or try noapic, acpi=off etc. Try to boot with a different kernel.

If you expect to be a hardware problem, then check the following components in this order:

VGA card - by replacing it with a good one
memory - run a memory test from the BIOS of the server, run a memory test suite like memtest86+
power supply - replace with a good one
motherboard - replace with a good one
CPU - run a CPU test from a LiveCD

Switching cards around could fix the problem if you have a IRQ sharing an a broken driver.

EDIT:

From the video I can see that you are starting X. You do not need this on a server. Try to disable it. Change in the /etc/inittab the initdefault line from 5 to 2:

id:2:initdefault

edited May 03 '12 at 17:46

answered May 02 '12 at 22:06

Mircea Vutcovici

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Did you see the video I posted? – Omtara May 03 '12 at 14:28
Can you add `vga=ask` as a boot parameter? This will ask for videomode. Try each one and see which is workin and then replace `vga=ask` with `vga=###` where ### is the mode that works. – Mircea Vutcovici May 03 '12 at 15:33
Also remove any splash option in grub – Mircea Vutcovici May 03 '12 at 15:35
vga=ask is not working. I am getting a message saying that the legacy 'ask' parameter is no longer supported. For disabling X, is there any text editor in GRUB? The shell provided by GRUB is very limited. – Omtara May 05 '12 at 13:01
You have to boot in single user mode to be able to edit `/etc/inittab`, or to boot from a CD – Mircea Vutcovici May 05 '12 at 13:57

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered May 03 '12 at 00:17

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I had the same problem once, when the grub splash file was corrupted or not available. Could you check that? Please also post you full grub config and partition layout.

answered May 03 '12 at 00:17

Craig

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Debian Linux Server not Starting

5 Answers5