Help! Can't run anything...

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AndyGarton
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Help! Can't run anything...

Post by AndyGarton »

Hi all, earlier today I reset my X1000 (running 4.1FEU2) using Ctrl-Amiga-Amiga, and when it came back up, my docks were missing, and all I could do in Workbench was open windows. Any app I attempted to run anything did nothing (although I think the apps were starting, because if I tried to quit WB via the menu, it would say I couldn't because "X apps are still running", when X would increase with every app I attempted to start. I tried loads of things to fix the problem, but in the end decided to give up and bite the bullet of a completely clean OS install (something I'd been thinking of doing anyway to be fair).

So I then spent several hours installing the OS and all updates/drivers/apps from scratch, to the point where I pretty much was back where I started. You can see where this is going - I had one of these "Intuition can't reset..." errors, so I hit Ctrl-A-A again, and it's come back up in exactly the same broken state as earlier today. I'm a bit distraught after all the effort, and at the moment can't face doing it all again. There must be a fix, surely? Help!
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nbache
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Re: Help! Can't run anything...

Post by nbache »

Don't bother with the Quit menu item in Workbench at all, it is not necessary to use it (you're not running Windows ;-)), and even if you try, you will always only get the error message. It is a leftover from ancient times ....

If you want to reset or shut down your machine, you can just wait a few seconds after your last action and then do it. In the newest release, you can also use the menu item "Shut down..." in the Workbench menu, it gives you a small window with options to make a warm or cold reboot or shut off. But as I wrote above, it's not necessary, it's just a "nice" way of doing the same.

But that is not your main problem.

It sounds to me like you may have a hardware problem, hopefully only of the fixable type, for instance maybe your SATA connectors are not completely inserted into your HD or the motherboard, or maybe a RAM card or other card is not seated correctly.

Of course turn off the power completely before attempting to reseat cards and cables inside the machine.

Is your machine a second hand one, or has it been in storage for some time or something? In any case, you should probably also check/replace your CR2032 coin cell battery. It is known to cause all sorts of strange issues if it's not up to full voltage.

Best regards,

Niels
AndyGarton
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Re: Help! Can't run anything...

Post by AndyGarton »

Thanks for the advice. I never use WB quit normally, just thought I'd try it in this scenario, and it at least confirmed processes are starting. The machine has been mine since new, but I haven't used it for a couple of years. I did already replace the BIOS battery though (the clock wasn't being saved). I will try SATA etc, but I don't hold out much hope, I think I probably just killed it by being unlucky with my Ctrl-A-A timing, twice in one day :-(
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nbache
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Re: Help! Can't run anything...

Post by nbache »

Which filesystem are you using?

Best regards,

Niels
AndyGarton
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Re: Help! Can't run anything...

Post by AndyGarton »

SFS.
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nbache
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Re: Help! Can't run anything...

Post by nbache »

Okay, so it's not the known problem with FFS where booting from a validating partition tries to write to it and crashes the filesystem.

I just thought of another possibility. Is it possible that you have a program listed in your WBStartup which has the "Wait until finished" checkbox set?

You could try skipping the WBStartup list altogether by holding down either of the Alt or Shift keys during startup, until WB has loaded. If that seems to work - in that you can actually use Workbench, open drawers and start programs etc. - then go into your WBStartup prefs and disable (clear the checkboxes for) all your programs except one, then reboot. If it still works, enable one more program in WBStartup, reboot, etc. etc. Once you see problems, examine that program's icon information and clear the Wait checkmark if it is set.

Best regards,

Niels
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Raziel
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Re: Help! Can't run anything...

Post by Raziel »

@AndyGarton

Do not fear.
If you were able to do a complete fresh OS reinstall, your hardware is fine.

The hardware doesn't stop working just because you hit a certain point in installing apps or updates or similar.
As @nbache said, this isn't Windows :-D

What I could advise is, that you boot your install cd, go directly to workbench, open up notepad and inspect your user-startup and startup-sequence on the hdd, maybe there something went wrong.

Your scenario is too well known here.
I had this a couple of times when an app (or in my case scripts) would hang during boot.

So, your best bet for now is @nbache's advice to check wbstartup...could very well be just a misbehaving program.

Good luck and dont give up just yet
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nbache
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Re: Help! Can't run anything...

Post by nbache »

+1.

And BTW, even the act of booting from the CD (if successful, of course) will also show that the hardware is working fine, so the problem must lie in software and/or settings.

Best regards,

Niels
AndyGarton
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Re: Help! Can't run anything...

Post by AndyGarton »

Thanks guys, I've made progress, although I'm not sure how or why! I tried skipping the WBStartup items, and that did start up ok, and I could run apps as normal. I then went through the startup list checking for any with the "wait until finished" option ticked, but none did. I then rebooted again as normal, and it started up fine?!? I've since checked my startup scripts and there is nothing unusual in there (I still have pretty much a clean install, the two FE updates, plus A-EON downloads like Enhancer Pack V2 and GFX drivers). Since then it has worked correctly 95% of the time, although I have had a couple of reboots that got stuck in the same way again. I have checked all cables and cards are seated ok too.
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Re: Help! Can't run anything...

Post by nbache »

I hope you're not running the Candi stuff? The only thing that is good for (IMO) is hogging your CPU and GPU and stealing your attention.

Yeah, my opinion. But at least try without it.

Likewise, there may be other parts of the Enhancer pack and/or other third party software which play a role in your problem. So you should try eliminating some of them from the equation as well.

Best regards,

Niels
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