perfSONAR User Q&A and Other Discussion

[Joni Julian <>]

While this solution may not apply, it reminds me of a problem I've seen 
before (computer won't boot headless). The solution was to put some 
resistors across the correct pins of a video connector to make the 
computer think that a monitor was connected.

http://soerennielsen.dk/mod/VGAdummy/index_en.php#1x_en

https://macminicolo.net/blog/files/build-a-dummy-dongle-for-a-headless-mac-mini.html

https://macminicolo.net/blog/files/an-hdmi-adapter-for-a-headless-mac-mini.html

No guarantees, but if you have some cables or adapters and resistors 
handy, this could be easy to test.

HTH!
- Joni

On 01/07/2016 03:23 PM, Hyojoon Kim wrote:
> Michael,
>
> Yes, it seems to be a bit of a mystery. Thanks for the update! I will try a 
> bit more and let the list know if I come up with something.
>
> Thanks,
> Joon
>
> > On Jan 7, 2016, at 2:36 PM, Michael Johnson 
> > <>
> >  wrote:
> >
> > Joon,
> >
> > I just checked with the person who set up that Liva (and several others) and 
> > he said he didn't have to do anything in particular as far as booting goes. 
> > But, he has had mixed experiences where some will boot headlessly, while 
> > others won't. Seems a bit mysterious.
> > He did say that sometimes hooking a keyboard/monitor up, then booting, and 
> > then trying again, it may start working. So, you could try a few more times 
> > and see that gets you anywhere. We're definitely seeing mixed results on this 
> > issue.
> >
> > - Michael
> >
> > On Thu, Jan 07, 2016 at 07:17:33PM +0000, Hyojoon Kim wrote:
> > > Hello Michael,
> > >
> > > That would be awesome. Thanks!
> > >
> > > Just FYI, playing with the grub file did not work for me 
> > > (http://superuser.com/questions/746803/how-to-turn-a-desktop-linux-box-headless).
> > >  Maybe there are other tricks that I don’t know.
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > > Joon
> > >
> > >
> > > > On Jan 7, 2016, at 2:08 PM, Michael Johnson 
> > > > <>
> > > >  wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Hello Joon,
> > > >
> > > > For what it's worth, I know people are booting these headless. There's one in 
> > > > my office that will boot without a monitor, but I didn't set it up, so I am 
> > > > not sure if any special steps were taken to make it boot that way. I'll see 
> > > > if I can find anything out.
> > > >
> > > > - Michael
> > > >
> > > > On Thu, Jan 07, 2016 at 07:02:44PM +0000, Hyojoon Kim wrote:
> > > > > Hello Michael,
> > > > >
> > > > > Ah, I see. Thanks for the heads up! You just saved my time attempting this.
> > > > >
> > > > > I was even thinking of trying CentOS, but I just found this review post about 
> > > > > the product on Amazon, which points out the eMMC storage detection issue with 
> > > > > CentOS and Debian (plus about the booting problem without a monitor)
> > > > > http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R2VPK26HWQCYAA/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00KX93WQW#R2VPK26HWQCYAA
> > > > >
> > > > > We were thinking about deploying these LIVA X boxes around campus BDFs. 
> > > > > However, I think we will have to reconsider this because it seems that we 
> > > > > cannot even reboot the box remotely without a monitor plugged in all the time.
> > > > >
> > > > > Thanks,
> > > > > Joon
> > > > >
> > > > > > On Jan 7, 2016, at 1:48 PM, Michael Johnson 
> > > > > > <>
> > > > > >  wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Hi Joon,
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I don't know about the Ubuntu issue in particular, but in my experience, 
> > > > > > Debian 7 didn't recognize the eMMC. You might have a different experience, 
> > > > > > but I wouldn't expect that to work. Hope this helps.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Thanks,
> > > > > > Michael
> > > > > >
> > > > > > On Thu, Jan 07, 2016 at 06:43:22PM +0000, Hyojoon Kim wrote:
> > > > > > > Hi all,
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > It turns out that latest Ubuntu desktop OSes cannot boot without a monitor 
> > > > > > > plugged in to the machine, so this happens with the LIVA X box as well. Did 
> > > > > > > anyone find a working solution for this? I might just move on to using Debian 
> > > > > > > 7 Wheezy, which I assume will not have this problem, but I just wanted to 
> > > > > > > check if anyone was successful with this matter with Ubuntu before I try 
> > > > > > > Debian 7.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > FYI,
> > > > > > > This seems to be a known problem:
> > > > > > > "Q: Ubuntu can’t boot up without monitor plugged to LIVA MINI PC”
> > > > > > > http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Product/Product_LIVA_FAQ.aspx?DetailID=1593&LanID=0
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > I tried to solve this problem by following links and using all suggestions I 
> > > > > > > can find on the web, including (but not limited to):
> > > > > > > http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1223504
> > > > > > > http://askubuntu.com/questions/166009/use-ubuntu-graphical-desktop-without-monitor-at-boot
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > However, all methods did not work for me..
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Using Ubuntu *Server* OS would be one solution, but I had installation 
> > > > > > > problems with that, which I did post about it on this mailing list before. 
> > > > > > > (problem: installation process fails to recognize the eMMC storage space)
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Thanks,
> > > > > > > Joon