HELP! I sort of messed up...

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GusCE6

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This will teach me...maybe.

After having successfully installing Bionic Beaver on the new hard drive on my ASUS laptop/notebook, I tried to see if it could still boot Puppy Linux 6.3.0 Slacko via USB. It couldn't, so I tinkered around a bit with the BIOS.

I did something, something about "optimal" or "best" setting, and now the thing only has a black screen- it will not light up at all. Pressing F2 or any other F# key does nothing. There is the "click" so the ASUS is trying to do something, putting the DVD-R in the drive causes it to spin, USB sticks do light up, but there is that black screen.

As the hard drive has Bionic Beaver on it now, it seemed logical to ask here since what I find on the Internet usually deals with Windows.

I still have the original broken hard drive that never booted up. I can do nothing with it, same results, and this includes not using any hard drive.

It is a 2012 ASUS laptop, 8GB, new hard drive with Bionic Beaver, XX5A (tiny-tiny letters).

How do I undo this mess?
 


@MikeWalsh
hi M8.. any ideas on this one?

Brian
 
GusCE6 said:
After having successfully installing Bionic Beaver on the new hard drive on my ASUS laptop/notebook
Click to expand...

Did you, by any chance, set up Timeshift snapshots after installing ?
 
I think- memory isn't so good these days- on the EXIT screen I chose LOAD OPTIMAL DEFAULTS.
 
Condobloke said:
Did you, by any chance, set up Timeshift snapshots after installing ?
Click to expand...
I do not know what that is, so I don't think so.

I'm pretty sure the problem is with BIOS, because the other hard drive- or none at all- still has the black screen.
 
GusCE6 said:
How do I undo this mess?
Click to expand...
Hi Gus, I have called on Mikewalsh he is our resident kennel club member[Puppy expert] , as he is in the UK [same as me] he may not reply till our morrow
 
Timeshift stores system files which are what you altered. More about that later.

Have you rebooted a few times?.....I know that is a long shot, but sometimes you can get lucky....

Retry to enter setup/bios as the pc is booting ?... hit the del (delete) key usually when you see the asus logo.....if you do not see it, continually tap the del key from the moment you hit the start button. Again, this is a long shot, but worth a try

You may or may not see the pic below on startup...
1706126321872.png


And last but not least......do you still have the usb stick you installed Bionic Beaver with ?.......just so that you know, bionic beaver,.... Ubuntu 18.04 hits end-of-life on May 31, 2023,
This means no more security updates or bugfixes after that date.

I can only recommend that you choose an up to date Linux distro.

A good choice would be Linux Mint 21.3....here

If you have access to another pc, maybe use balena etcher to attach an up to date distro to the usb stick and try again
 
The screen is simply black. Not even a pixel.

I used a DVD to install Bionic Beaver. The DVD-R recommended here. Putting it in makes it whirl upon startup, but still black screen. I cannot believe the hardware broke down at that exact time.

If all else fails, what the heck, I'll try the "remove the button battery and drain ALL power" trick.
 
GusCE6 said:
If all else fails, what the heck, I'll try the "remove the button battery and drain ALL power" trick.
Click to expand...
If its a laptop, just disconnect the external power supply and any usb ot Ethernet cables power up the machine [give it a couple of minutes] then press and hold the power button down for 60 seconds re connect everything and switch on
 
If you can access the button battery, do that.

Leave it out for a few minutes, and then be sure to replace it in exactly the same manner as it was when you took it out.

That will return the bios to default settings.

Take note of my post re bionic beaver being past end of life, and receiving no security or fixes for faulty apps
 
Well, any computer is vulnerable, it seems. I'll trust Bionic Beaver over the latest Windows, Google I won't even look at or consider, and I'm not fond of Android. I also limit my browsing to certain specific sites.

But please keep up the suggestions. I'll keep trying here- oh, and is there an offline VLC install package, like Puppy Linux 6.3.0 has?
 
GusCE6 said:
I'll trust Bionic Beaver over the latest Windows,
Click to expand...
At least windows receives security updates, and fixes whatever apps have problems. Given the huge amount they have to contend with, I guess they do a reasonable job.

Absolutely your call.

I hesitate to make suggestions where the recipient is deliberately putting his system etc at risk
 
GusCE6 said:
This will teach me...maybe.

After having successfully installing Bionic Beaver on the new hard drive on my ASUS laptop/notebook, I tried to see if it could still boot Puppy Linux 6.3.0 Slacko via USB. It couldn't, so I tinkered around a bit with the BIOS.

I did something, something about "optimal" or "best" setting, and now the thing only has a black screen- it will not light up at all. Pressing F2 or any other F# key does nothing. There is the "click" so the ASUS is trying to do something, putting the DVD-R in the drive causes it to spin, USB sticks do light up, but there is that black screen.

As the hard drive has Bionic Beaver on it now, it seemed logical to ask here since what I find on the Internet usually deals with Windows.

I still have the original broken hard drive that never booted up. I can do nothing with it, same results, and this includes not using any hard drive.

It is a 2012 ASUS laptop, 8GB, new hard drive with Bionic Beaver, XX5A (tiny-tiny letters).

How do I undo this mess?
Click to expand...
Hold down F12 upon startup.
 
Can you connect it to a monitor and see what happens?
 
It would be a really eerie coincidence if the monitor screen is the problem.

So far nothing has helped. I haven't removed the CMOS battery yet, as I have just downloaded the directions- this is going to be tricky. How is it possible that choosing the wrong thing in BIOS can cause this problem?
 
Condobloke said:
At least windows receives security updates, and fixes whatever apps have problems. Given the huge amount they have to contend with, I guess they do a reasonable job.

Absolutely your call.

I hesitate to make suggestions where the recipient is deliberately putting his system etc at risk
Click to expand...

Windows "security" is like their "tech help:" a bad joke.
 
GusCE6 said:
...a bad joke.
Click to expand...

The same might be said of running a Linux distro that has been dead in the water for 9 months.

You might be best served by resetting your BIOS to Default Settings or Factory Settings, clear what's on the computer off, and start fresh, with a supported Linux.

Cheers

Wizard
 
I'd sooner trust Puppy Linux 6 than Windows. The fact I refuse to go on Facebook or do any finances online also vastly improves my online security. When buying a Steam game I use gift cards. There's also nothing on my computer I'm worried about.

I tried hooking up the HDMI cable to a flatscreen, nothing. The television said "no signal."

I'm leery of trying to remove the button battery. You have to do quite a bit to reach it, and my luck so far has not been good with it. So far nothing else has gotten more than a black screen, and I mean nothing. It seems as though the computer is trying to do something, but it cannot get anywhere.
 
GusCE6 said:
I'm leery of trying to remove the button battery. You have to do quite a bit to reach it,
Click to expand...
On modern laptop [under 10 years] you do not need to remove the button battery, just follow post #10
 
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