# Help booting backtrack 5 in safe mode



## CheeseZhenshi (Jun 20, 2012)

I'm using a Sony Vaio and I want to play around with Backtrack 5. I already have it running on a USB, but startx will only start if I'm using Gnome, basic (not R1 or R2), and in safe/debug mode. I installed the full version onto my laptop, but whenever I attempt to startx the screen goes blank and the num lock and scroll lock lights flash (What it does whenever I attempt to start x outside of safe/debug mode.)
I'm booting the portable version with Yumi, so I can easily choose to boot the portable version in safe/debug mode, but I can't seem to find any way to boot the full version in safe/debug mode from within Grub. Is there a way to do this?
Outside of that, while I was browsing through an article on making a persistent usb I read about syslinux.cfg and how that was what told Backtrack what methods of booting there are (Like safe/debug, text, etc.). I couldn't find the file to attempt making a persistent usb, but in the process of googling where to find the file I found a wiki about the way it is configured, and I know that one of the options that you can set from within it is the default boot. So I figured that if I could find that I could change the default boot on the laptop version to safe/debug mode so that I wouldn't need a method of booting differently within Grub, it would do it anyway. So my questions are:
1. Is this even a possibility?
2.If it is, where is syslinux.cfg located? I've gotten the vibe a few times that it may have to be created?
3. Would it be as simple as just changing a "default" tag of sorts from one to the other?


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## saikee (Jun 11, 2004)

The problem if I interpret yours correctly is that you can run startx from a live CD version. However if you install Backtrack the startx doesn't work. You currently believe it is something in the booting process with which you can manipulate. Although you have Grub as the boot loader there is information suggesting you carry out the amendment in syslinux.cfg which is the boot loader possibly supplied by Backtrack for booting off a Fat partition (USB device).

It seems more to do with the installed version got the wrong video driver whereas the one used by the Live CD version is OK. Thus it is more to do with configuration of your X window. In safe mode a Linux would use the standard VGA driver whereas in an installed version the optimised video driver would be selected.

In addition to changing the setting in X window I think you can specifiy the safe video mode both in Grub and possible syslinux (which I seldom use so can't be sure). I am at an overseas assignment and couldn't offer specific advice on the appropriate command but either /boot/grub/menu.lst of Grub1 or /boot/grub/grub.cfg of Grub2 can be amended as this is a parameter you can imposed when booting up the kernel. I can confirm both approaches, amending x window configuration file or adding a video display parameter in boot up command of the kernel, work.

You should be able to get the answers yourself if you search "configuring video driver in x window" and "specifying safe video mode in Grub".


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## CheeseZhenshi (Jun 20, 2012)

Thanks a ton, you post got me searching with the right keywords!  I've been trying to solve this for months and nearly gave up, but I found a solution here: http://www.backtrack-linux.org/forums/showthread.php?t=45067 "do these steps in your terminal but this gksudo gedit /etc/default/grub Find this line in that file GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="text splash nomodeset=1 vga=791" change that line to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash i915.modeset=1 vga=791" Save and close this file. Regenerate your grub.cfg for the changes to take effect by but this code in terminal sudo update-grub test it with reboot" I had to use nano instead of gksudo edit, so my code started like this: nano /etc/default/grub Then followed the rest of the instructions, as gksudo didn't want to work.


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## CheeseZhenshi (Jun 20, 2012)

CheeseZhenshi said:


> Thanks a ton, you post got me searching with the right keywords!  I've been trying to solve this for months and nearly gave up, but I found a solution here: http://www.backtrack-linux.org/forums/showthread.php?t=45067 "do these steps in your terminal but this gksudo gedit /etc/default/grub Find this line in that file GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="text splash nomodeset=1 vga=791" change that line to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash i915.modeset=1 vga=791" Save and close this file. Regenerate your grub.cfg for the changes to take effect by but this code in terminal sudo update-grub test it with reboot" I had to use nano instead of gksudo edit, so my code started like this: nano /etc/default/grub Then followed the rest of the instructions, as gksudo didn't want to work.


Sorry, I don't know why my formatting seemed to mess up.


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## saikee (Jun 11, 2004)

You can use any of the text editors in Linux terminal. nano is OK but you can also use gedit too if the distro provides it.

Prefixing every command with "sudo" is only needed if you can't boot up as a root user like Ubuntu. Backtrack is based on Slax which is one of the Slackware family that allows its users as root in a terminal or desktop.


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