perfSONAR User Q&A and Other Discussion

[Antoine Delvaux <>]

Hi Joon,

Did you tried this X11/grub config trick:

http://www.ghacks.net/2010/11/28/configure-linux-to-boot-without-a-monitor/
or
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1223504

Cheers,

Antoine.

> Le 7 janv. 2016 à 21:57, Hyojoon Kim 
> <>
>  a écrit :
> 
> Thanks for the pointers! Yes, I think this is the easiest and cheapest way 
> out of this problem if we are going to use the LIVA box. Even Debian 8 
> without a desktop environment installed did not boot without a monitor. 
> 
> Thank you all!
> 
> -Joon
> 
>> On Jan 7, 2016, at 4:34 PM, Larry Blunk 
>> <>
>>  wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> Yep, this looks like it should work --
>> 
>> http://acquisitionsyndrome.com/2014/07/headless-ecs-liva/
>> 
>> Google "VGA Dummy Plug".  Looks like they can be purchased
>> for about $10.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On 01/07/2016 03:44 PM, Joni Julian wrote:
>>> 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
>> 
>