[SOLVED] Synaptics - Unable to query device

[Randall]

I just tried to install Mageia 3 on a 2006 HP Pavilion laptop, and it failed, with a message saying "Synaptics - Unable to query device". The laptop responds to my external keyboard and my external monitor. Does anyone know of a workaround?

[doktor5000]

When do you receive that message, and which desktop environment are you using?
Please post the output of the following commands as normal user in a terminal:

Code: Select all

rpm -qa | grep synap
xinput --list
grep -i synap /var/log/Xorg.0.log

[Randall]

I am using the KDE desktop environment. I get the boot screen where I am able to enter the F keys, but after that I get a black screen that says "Synaptics - Unable to query device". Then after approximately 15 minutes I get another black screen that says "Failure" in red letters at the top of the screen. So I do not get far enough to have a terminal to use.

[doktor5000]

Does the failsafe mode work, i.e. do you get a text login? Also, which graphics card do you have?
The synaptics error is probably unrelated to the problem. Re-reading your initial post, where you able to install Mageia 3, or do you get that during the installation?
And please provide the exact model of your HP pavilion.

[Randall]

The laptop is an HP Pavilion dv8000z, and its graphics card is 128 MB ATI RADEON® XPRESS 200M with Hypermemory. Failsafe mode did not work, and I could not enter the installation process. To download it, I went to the "LiveCDs and LiveDVDs" section and selected "LiveDVD KDE" and 32bit. i just went to the download page and downloaded it a second time by going to "Classical Installation Flavours" and selecting "DVD 32bit". I am now able to get into the installation procedure, but it stalls at the following window:

An error occurred:
Error: Unpack ‘failed’ for binutils-2.23.51.0.8-3.mga3.i586:
Error: Unpack ‘failed’ for libreoffice-core-4.0.3.3-2. mga3.i586:
Error: Unpack ‘failed’ for kernel-desktop-3.8.13-1. mga3.i586:
Unable to install package /tmp/image/media/core/libmarblewidget15-4.10.2-1.mga3.i586.rpm

I then click the OK button and get a window showing a list of 101 packages that failed to install. I click the OK button in that window and get a dialog box that says the following:

ERROR
An error occurred
Installation failed.

I previously had no problems installing Mandriva 2007, 2008, and 2009, so I am confused as to why Mageia will not install.

[doktor5000]

An error occurred:
Error: Unpack ‘failed’ for binutils-2.23.51.0.8-3.mga3.i586:
Error: Unpack ‘failed’ for libreoffice-core-4.0.3.3-2. mga3.i586:
Error: Unpack ‘failed’ for kernel-desktop-3.8.13-1. mga3.i586:
Unable to install package /tmp/image/media/core/libmarblewidget15-4.10.2-1.mga3.i586.rpm

I then click the OK button and get a window showing a list of 101 packages that failed to install. I click the OK button in that window and get a dialog box that says the following:

ERROR
An error occurred
Installation failed.

Sounds like a bad download or bad burn. Did you check the md5sum after you downloaded the image, as the download page recommends?

[Randall]

The Mageia 32bit KDE L download passed both the MD5sum and the sha1sum. I just bought some new DVDs and burned the download to a new DVD, but when I insert the DVD at the laptop's start-up, the laptop just boots into Windows XP. The boot menu is correct in the BIOS.

[doktor5000]

Well, that's a totally different problem to the one with which you started the thread, could also be your drive failing.
You could try to dump it to a flash drive, to avoid wasting more DVDs in the progress of testing:
https://wiki.mageia.org/en/Installation ... h_stick.3F

[Randall]

I succeeded by downloading and using "Free ISO Burner" to burn a DVD+RW disc. I had been failing because I had been using Roxio's Creator Classic burning software the wrong way. I later tried Roxio again after learning how to use Roxio to burn an ISO file, and Roxio also burned a DVD+RW disc that worked.