Screwed up new MX Linux on a dual boot, now what?

[Goatmilk]

Hi guys, I have no idea if this is the right section, but I'll post anyway.

I've finally got my big old computer back (after almost two months!!) - or rather a 'new' old one in its place. It's an Intel Core i7-860, not much newer than my old i5, I'm afraid, but it does have the 32 gb of RAM that my old one wouldn't tolerate anymore.

Best of all, the repair guy managed to save my old Win7 installation which sits on its 1tb hdd and functions just as well as in the old computer, games and all! Kudos for that!

The 500 gb SSD was supposed to hold my MX Linux 23 KDE. Dual Boot on dual drive, with Linux as main and Win7 for my pleasure games.

Unfortunately, the guy installed MX Linux 25 Infinity, with generic user names (user) and machine name. He did it in a nice way, I must say, the booting screen hops to a choice between MX Linux, 'advanced MX Linux' (you can pick between 6.12.57 and 6.12.48 for what reason ever) and Windows 7.


I thought I might at least try Infinity and maybe even keep it, but picky as I am, I didn't like the user names and went about to change them. New user didn't work, no idea why not, maybe I did something wrong. Still the eternal newbie, after all. Went to some Linux-commands-for-idiots site in the webs and followed instructions to change the user name via console. Didn't work either. Somehow, likely my own fault, the system threw me out and now I can't get in again. It doesn't except any password.

First idea was, "Screw Infinity" and install MX Linux 23 over it. Put the DVD in, but it won't appear - except under Windows 7, which of course is no option as I won't want anything to touch my sacred Win7.

Went to BIOS (which is way older than that of my i5). The 1st Boot Device is CD/DVD, 2nd Boot Device is Sata Kingston (the Linux ssd). Still the DVD won't show up - and I know it to work as it is the same one I used to install Linux on the laptop.

So what can I do? When I start the computer, I can either stop it with F2 and go to Bios, or let it hop to its choice screen. There seems to be no way to get past that damn login which doesn't accept my pw. A shame, actually, because from what I could see, the rest of it seemed quite okay.

No way to get to the DVD except (maybe) via Win7. Which wouldn't be of any use, since Windows can well read its own hdd, but nothing beyond it - so it wouldn't even find the ssd where Linux is supposed to go.

What to do?

 

[tpkusr]

One option can be,

-download "grub2win" and 'mx iso" using mobile,
-send it to windows 7,

• boot mx iso using grub2win
• install mx from live boot

 

[Brickwizard]

If you have the latest Mx ON a DVD, ten its normal install, put disc in drive, switch off, switch on whist jiggling the short boot key [depends on make] allow the live session to start ,if everything works, install, when it asks Where to install make sure you choose the NVME, if it only has MX on it then choose use whole disc if not choose the MX partition and install

 

[Goatmilk]

Found out the DVD boot was disabled in Bios. Enabled it and it ran.

However, the boot process seems to got stuck at the last dot. Lots of red "failed!" notes. Now it sits on a prompt and seems stuck there.

It hangs at udev done.

 

[Goatmilk]

Okay, the set up failed. According to the interwebs, I'd need a "ahs iso" - I haven't got the foggiest what that's supposed to be, but I'll look. The DVD worked perfectly fine on my laptop, but who know what all was/is different between the two machines. There certainly weren't any "failed!" when I installed MX on the laptop. I'm wondering what was wrong.

As a good thing, the computer - after being choked down via power button - started up like nothing happened. Win7 is fine, still no way to get into Linux.

Would grubwin work on Windows7 x86? Turned out what I'd downloaded was x64.

edit: Fixed a typo that turned what I said into its opposite.

 

[Brickwizard]

"ahs iso" - I haven't got the foggiest

Advanced hardware support.... https://sourceforge.net/projects/mx-linux/files/Final/Xfce/MX-25_Xfce_ahs_x64.iso/download

 

[Goatmilk]

I'm downloading the KDE version right now. MX-25 - seems to be ahs, too. Since I'll have to get a new one I might as well try Infinity.

Still reading around to find ways to "break" into the existing version without a log in.

 

[tpkusr]

Would grubwin work on Windows7 x86? Turned out what I'd downloaded was x64.

Yes Grub2win support Windows7 and both 32 and 64 bit

 

[Goatmilk]

Yes Grub2win support Windows7 and both 32 and 64 bit

Good to know, thanks. Right now, the laptop is still busy downloading first Infinity and then a rescue program "Rescatux". Maybe it's something like good old Hiren's Boot CD. According to the webs, it would allow to reset a Linux password.

If that would work and I'd get a foot in the door, I'll go from there.

 

[Goatmilk]

So, at long last, I've managed to crack my new MX 25 Infinity and got in. The hero in this case was this guy here on Youtube:

I also followed some instructions on how to get a new username, created a new one, deleted the old one, all nice and easy. Or maybe not.

Because, upon closer inspection, I do have my username and my old pw back, but the name of the home directory is still /home/user

owl@mx:~
$ pwd
/home/user
owl@mx:~
$ ls /home
user

It should be /home/owl, just as it is on the mx23 laptop, right?

Asking it to list the users... oh dear...

owl@mx:~
$ cat /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
www-data:x:33:33:www-data:/var/www:/usr/sbin/nologin
backup:x:34:34:backup:/var/backups:/usr/sbin/nologin
list:x:38:38:Mailing List Manager:/var/list:/usr/sbin/nologin
irc:x:39:39:ircd:/run/ircd:/usr/sbin/nologin
_apt:x:42:65534::/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
nobody:x:65534:65534:nobody:/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
systemd-network:x:998:998:systemd Network Management:/:/usr/sbin/nologin
dhcpcd:x:100:65534:DHCP Client Daemon:/usr/lib/dhcpcd:/bin/false
messagebus:x:991:991:System Message Bus:/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
sddm:x:101:104:Simple Desktop Display Manager:/var/lib/sddm:/bin/false
tss:x:102:106:TPM software stack:/var/lib/tpm:/bin/false
_chrony:x:103:107:Chrony daemon:/var/lib/chrony:/usr/sbin/nologin
usbmux:x:104:46:usbmux daemon:/var/lib/usbmux:/usr/sbin/nologin
uuidd:x:105:109::/run/uuidd:/usr/sbin/nologin
_rpc:x:106:65534::/run/rpcbind:/usr/sbin/nologin
speech-dispatcher:x:107:29:Speech Dispatcher:/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/false
statd:x:108:65534::/var/lib/nfs:/usr/sbin/nologin
_flatpak:x:109:112:Flatpak system-wide installation helper:/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
avahi:x:110:113:Avahi mDNS daemon:/run/avahi-daemon:/usr/sbin/nologin
dnsmasq:x:999:65534:dnsmasq:/var/lib/misc:/usr/sbin/nologin
nm-openvpn:x:111:114:NetworkManager OpenVPN:/var/lib/openvpn/chroot:/usr/sbin/nologin
nm-openconnect:x:112:115:NetworkManager OpenConnect plugin:/var/lib/NetworkManager:/usr/sbin/nologin
saned:x:113:117::/var/lib/saned:/usr/sbin/nologin
hplip:x:114:7:HPLIP system user:/run/hplip:/bin/false
polkitd:x:989:989:User for polkitd:/:/usr/sbin/nologin
colord:x:115:118:colord colour management daemon:/var/lib/colord:/usr/sbin/nologin
owl:x:1000:1000:owl:/home/user:/bin/bash

A simple 'owl' would have sufficed... especially since I have no idea what this thing is babbling about.

Anyway, in the media directory, were MX usually lists removable stuff, there are two subdirectories: owl and user. Even though 'user' doesn't exist anymore, owl is the only user... (yes, I know how weird that sounds...). On the laptop, the media directory only lists owl.

So somehow, it's not all as clean and tidy as it should be, or what would you think? Easily fixable tidbits or a botched system that can only get worse?

Oh, and quite frankly, I don't like it that the computer is called 'mx' - 'max' is the little one, the laptop. My desktop computers have always been sam, from the first DX2-66 to this one here. It's probably Sam the 11th or 12th, I've lost count.

 

[Brickwizard]

from terminal
hostnamectl set-hostname sam and enter

to check it has been changed

from terminal hostname

 

[Goatmilk]

My hero!

 

[Brickwizard]

My computers have a theme to them, the main laptop is Deep-Thought, the desktop is Vogon-Constructor and the spare is Magrathea

 

[Goatmilk]

Tried again to change the name of the homedirectory and follwed this site: https://linuxvox.com/blog/rename-account-linux/

Went well so far until

sudo mv /home/old_username /home/new_username

and then it went downhill, it couldn't find its own stuff anymore.

Went back and started anew and think all is fine with step 1.

Step 2 is about changing group names, and here I saw this (at the very end, I just put all the other stuff in there two because it might be important. Needless to say it doesn't say much to me...)

$ sudo nano /etc/group
root:x:0:
daemon:x:1:
bin:x:2:
sys:x:3:
adm:x:4:
tty:x:5:
disk:x:6:
lp:x:7:owl
mail:x:8:
news:x:9:
uucp:x:10:
man:x:12:
proxy:x:13:
kmem:x:15:
dialout:x:20:owl
fax:x:21:
voice:x:22:
cdrom:x:24:owl
floppy:x:25:owl
tape:x:26:
sudo:x:27:owl
audio:x:29:owl
dip:x:30:owl
www-data:x:33:
backup:x:34:
operator:x:37:
list:x:38:
irc:x:39:
src:x:40:
shadow:x:42:
utmp:x:43:
video:x:44:owl
sasl:x:45:
plugdev:x:46:owl
staff:x:50:
games:x:60:
users:x:100:owl
nogroup:x:65534:
systemd-journal:x:999:
systemd-network:x:998:
crontab:x:997:
input:x:996:
sgx:x:995:
clock:x:994:
kvm:x:993:
render:x:992:
netdev:x:101:owl
ssl-cert:x:102:
lpadmin:x:103:owl
messagebus:x:991:
sddm:x:104:
scanner:x:105:saned,owl
tss:x:106:
_chrony:x:107:
bluetooth:x:108:
uuidd:x:109:
_ssh:x:110:
plocate:x:111:
_flatpak:x:112:
avahi:x:113:
sambashare:x:990:owl
nm-openvpn:x:114:
nm-openconnect:x:115:
pipewire:x:116:
saned:x:117:
polkitd:x:989:
colord:x:118:
user:x:1000:
vboxsf:x:988:owl
owl:x:1001:

Can it be that the the "user:x:1000: in the third line before last is the culprit? Maybe it shouldn't be there?
Should owl:x:1001: be alone, as the only user? Or should it be 1000?

 

[Goatmilk]

Just looked in the laptop, doing the sudo nano /etc/group.

The last three lines are

owl:x:1000:
cloudflare-ddns:x:995:
vboxusers:x:125:owl

Maybe I'm right, and the error lies with the "user:x:1000:" in the big computer.

 

[Trml]

The first user added to a system usually gets ID 1000, the second 1001, etc. Each user gets its own group, and that starts with ID1000 as well. If you renamed a user name (only) manually, the ID 1000 stays but has to be the same for all the files you needed to edit. That's usually given, but if you add a user line somewhere you create a mismatch.
Hence, it appears

owl:x:1000:

is correct, simply edit the user:x:1000: to owl and delete the last owl line. It is correct because the user's group ID should align with the user ID - if you added/have owl:x:1000:1000:owl:/home/user:/bin/bash as output in post #10 (assuming the output is from the same machine). Double-check the user ID and group ID is 1000 in the files you edited, otherwise said user will have an issue to log in.

Your trouble may come from the guide, doing a sudo mv home directory for the logged in user is asking for trouble. It can be done, but not safely logged in via a graphical desktop (it's like pulling a carpet you stand on in this case).

 

[APTI]

Hi guys, I have no idea if this is the right section, but I'll post anyway.

I've finally got my big old computer back (after almost two months!!) - or rather a 'new' old one in its place. It's an Intel Core i7-860, not much newer than my old i5, I'm afraid, but it does have the 32 gb of RAM that my old one wouldn't tolerate anymore.

Best of all, the repair guy managed to save my old Win7 installation which sits on its 1tb hdd and functions just as well as in the old computer, games and all! Kudos for that!

The 500 gb SSD was supposed to hold my MX Linux 23 KDE. Dual Boot on dual drive, with Linux as main and Win7 for my pleasure games.

Unfortunately, the guy installed MX Linux 25 Infinity, with generic user names (user) and machine name. He did it in a nice way, I must say, the booting screen hops to a choice between MX Linux, 'advanced MX Linux' (you can pick between 6.12.57 and 6.12.48 for what reason ever) and Windows 7.


I thought I might at least try Infinity and maybe even keep it, but picky as I am, I didn't like the user names and went about to change them. New user didn't work, no idea why not, maybe I did something wrong. Still the eternal newbie, after all. Went to some Linux-commands-for-idiots site in the webs and followed instructions to change the user name via console. Didn't work either. Somehow, likely my own fault, the system threw me out and now I can't get in again. It doesn't except any password.

First idea was, "Screw Infinity" and install MX Linux 23 over it. Put the DVD in, but it won't appear - except under Windows 7, which of course is no option as I won't want anything to touch my sacred Win7.

Went to BIOS (which is way older than that of my i5). The 1st Boot Device is CD/DVD, 2nd Boot Device is Sata Kingston (the Linux ssd). Still the DVD won't show up - and I know it to work as it is the same one I used to install Linux on the laptop.

So what can I do? When I start the computer, I can either stop it with F2 and go to Bios, or let it hop to its choice screen. There seems to be no way to get past that damn login which doesn't accept my pw. A shame, actually, because from what I could see, the rest of it seemed quite okay.

No way to get to the DVD except (maybe) via Win7. Which wouldn't be of any use, since Windows can well read its own hdd, but nothing beyond it - so it wouldn't even find the ssd where Linux is supposed to go.

What to do?

read this post and it should help you. Reinstall things to the way you like them.

Thread 'Dual and Multi boot systems'

Oct 30, 2023

One thing many people do is make systems that will boot more than one choice of operating systems. This little article is a new and better way to do this. Often we have to fix the multi boot systems because an update changed something and damaged our grub configuration. Windows is especially good at doing this. So here is the best way to do this that allows you do make a multiboot system without having to do anything to grub or play with configurations.

This can only be done in a system that can accept more than one drive and an expansion card.

What you will need.

1.. One hard...

• APTI
• Replies: 8
• Forum: General Linux Topics

• 

 

[Goatmilk]

simply edit the user:x:1000: to owl and delete the last owl line. It is correct because the user's group ID should align with the user ID - if you added/have owl:x:1000:1000:owl:/home/user:/bin/bash as output in post #10 (assuming the output is from the same machine). Double-check the user ID and group ID is 1000 in the files you edited, otherwise said user will have an issue to log in.

Your trouble may come from the guide, doing a sudo mv home directory for the logged in user is asking for trouble. It can be done, but not safely logged in via a graphical desktop (it's like pulling a carpet you stand on in this case).

Thank you, I understand it so far as that I'm trying to change a surrounding while I'm in it.

So I'm clear to change what the guide calls step 2, that is make the changes to /etc/group.

But where would I do the

sudo mv home directory

? The moment I log in the system I'm in it?

Is there some kind of DOS in Linux? I mean, a command prompt somewhere before it even starts?

I've been to something similar when I changed the password to get in, via the "advanced MX Linux" - I guess it's the GRUB thing that does that. It was basically some sort of console. Would that be the "DOS"?


@APTI - The minute it involves a screwdriver, I'm out...

But the big computer does have two hard drives - the old hdd with Windows 7 on it, and a ssd with MX Linux 25 KDE.

I've attempted to install my old MX Linux 23 KDE DVD over it, but it failed. No idea why, it worked just fine on the laptop before it. I've now downloaded a new MX Linux 25 KDE and put it on a DVD, but haven't tried to reinstall yet. Still trying to fix it.

I mean, I like the option with the GRUB menu to choose between Linux and Win7, and I like that apparently, I can access the Win7 directories from Linux. And since Win7 is a closed system that will never see an update and will never even go online, it can't wreck much, can it?

 

[Trml]

? The moment I log in the system I'm in it?
Is there some kind of DOS in Linux? I mean, a command prompt somewhere before it even starts?

Yes, the text consoles/terminals. If you log out of the graphical desktop and press a key combo of CONTROL ALT 4 (or another number 1-6), you should reach the respective terminal.

You can do so while logged in in a graphical desktop as well (regular Linux is always multi-user capable), but that does not achieve the same effect. I mentioned it is because the guide you followed does not refer to any precautions at all. Imagine you have a number of files open to work on, the graphical desktop creates temporary files for these, and suddenly you move the home directory. It leads to chaos in the file system, because any open files cannot be moved. Hence, some may remain under the old structure (incomplete move), most under the new. Then, you log out and in again - the desktop may not find everything or worse.
While this risk may be limited by closing all open activities on a graphcial desktop, doing the move via a text console eliminates it, because you will not have multiple files open and all configuration needed is loaded into RAM at text login.

 

[Goatmilk]

Found it! On my laptop, it's ctrl alt f4. Could log in, was told that I have no mail, and then had to choke down poor Max because I didn't know how to get out of it and back to the normal log in screen. Esc and ctrl x didn't work.
Guess I'll look for a collection of most useful commands for that sort of terminal and have another go at it on the big computer.

So I guess I can do the group thing on this terminal and then change the home directory? The list from that guide I followed is fine as long as I do it outside of the graphical desktop?