Re: [tlug] BIOS / Video Problems

[Curt Sampson <cjs@example.com>]

CL, so sorry to hear about your fire.

On 2018-02-27 14:51 +0100 (Tue), Kalin KOZHUHAROV wrote:

> USB keyboard may not work in BIOS, esp. if connected via extra
> hardware (hub, controller), or sometimes even directly with certain
> USB settings inside BIOS (chicken/egg problem).

Right. It's also worth trying _with_ a USB hub between the keyboard
and host if it doesn't work when directly connected; even some modern
machines (such as one of my Raspberry PIs) have problems with some
keyboards that a hub will happily handle.

Further, if you're using a keyboard that has any extra input devices
on it (such as a built-in trackpad), try another keyboard that's just
a keyboard, with no other devices. Some BIOSes don't like multi-device
keyboards.

> Only after you have confirmed access to the hardware, use SysrescueCD,
> do a memtest, boot defaults, check that it works.

Yes, memtest is a great friend in situations like this since it's
simpler to boot than an OS and will run a system at full bore which
can help reveal stress- and heat-related problems if you let it go for
a few hours.

> Then put back all the hardware you disconnected in step 1 and try to
> boot again till X. If all works, you know it is _only_ a software
> problem :-D

For a long time my disaster recovery strategy has been not to try to
restore a system from backups but simply to install a new fresh OS and
then bring back my preferences and the like using a system designed to
do this easily. (In my case, dot-home[1].) Data files get backed up in
Dropbox but the "restore" is simply to install Dropbox on the new
system.

[1]: https://github.com/dot-home

cjs
-- 
Curt J. Sampson      <cjs@example.com>      +81 90 7737 2974

To iterate is human, to recurse divine.
    - L Peter Deutsch