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Re: [perfsonar-user] LIVA X boot without monitor with Ubuntu Desktop OS installed


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  • From: Joni Julian <>
  • To: <>
  • Subject: Re: [perfsonar-user] LIVA X boot without monitor with Ubuntu Desktop OS installed
  • Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2016 15:44:08 -0500

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



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