screen goes blank during install

[sam32]

i only found out about ReactOS recently and it looks so good i wanted to give it a try. i downloaded the standard install iso 0.39-rel and tried installing it. the CD boots and loads files but when it gets to ext2 the screen goes black and then after a few seconds the CD activity stops. i've tried this on lots of different PC's and it stops at the same point. is this a known problem or should i try a different build.

i downloaded the live CD and it works fine on every PC i tested it on. this was a trunk build tho so maybe i should try a trunk build of the installer. i'm running low on CDR's atm and i can't download large files very often so i'm hoping some kind person can tell me which build is most likely to work.

also what is the difference between the debug and release versions, i have a rough idea what they mean but which are the best or most likely to work? thanks in advance for any help or advice.

if i can't get it to work then i don't mind waiting till ReactOS is more reliable. i thik you are all doing a great job anyway.

[vicmarcal]

Uhmm..
1) We recommend you to wait the 0.3.10 release, if you cross the fingers it will be out before the Sunday.
2) 0.3.9 is really old. 0.3.10 is much much much much more compatible with hardware.
3)Use CD-RW when trying ReactOS, your pocket is going to thank you

[sam32]

thanks vicmarcal
i'm crossing my fingers now, i look forward to trying the 0.3.10 release.
that's a good idea about using CD-RW's too, i'll have to get some.
thanks for the advice.

[Haos]

Any details on hardware used?

[ngzros]

just try it first on virtual machines.

[hto]

Then which VM? If something does not work, a debug log can be useful. To produce the log, you should use the debug version. Here is a wiki page about how to do it.

[sam32]

>Any details on hardware used?

hi Haos,

i tried it on many computers;
toshiba equium ea60-155 laptop with 768 MB ram
2 different VIA KT133 mainboards with 1.0 GHz AMD athlon CPU, 768MB ram and standard pata drives.
and an intel MU440ex mainboard with a 333MHz intel celeron CPU, 128mb ram and standard pata drives.

it always crashed at exactly the same point on all the computers i tried it on.

[sam32]

i tried it on Qemu and it works great, i'd like to download virtual box sometime but it's a big download (i have capped bandwidth).

i don't think i can get a debug message for you tho, i don't have a null modem cable.

if i download the debug installer will the freeldr.ini be set to send debug messages to screen? if not i would have to edit the iso. i think magic ISO can do that but i would have to buy it, unless there are any freeware iso editors?

[vicmarcal]

sam32
We have some HOWTOs in our Wiki about obtaining Debuglogs, in a virtual machine you dont need to have a Null modem serial cable to obtain them.An yes, you need DEBUG ISOS an start ReactOS in DEBUG MODE.




Go now to the Wiki and navigate..you will find a lot of answers