Eagle

Those aren't Comanche taillights. Are they '97 XJ taillights grafted in?

10-inch rims are too wide for those tires. The ideal would be 8-inch, but all the factory XJ/MJ rims are 7-inch except for the base model wheels with the rectangular slots -- those are 6-inch, which are too narrow for 31 x 10.50s. The 7-inch Jeep rims work well with 31s if you have any of those.

Easy for you to say. Downloading or copying them to where? Remember, I know NOTHING about Linux. Even the file manager doesn't look like what I' accustomed to from Windows and MS-DOS.

There will be some tinkering. I really don't care for the Xfce desktop, or its wallpaper. I hope I can learn how to install the Lxqt desktop, and I hope that has some better wallpapers. Beyond that, LibreOffice carries with it a metric boatload of useless fonts, all beginning with "Noto ___." Those have to go. And the system doesn't have common fonts like Times New Roman, Arial, and Courier New. There's a pparently a Microsoft Core Fonts package out there that I need to track down and see if I can install. Then I need to install Thunderbird for e-mail. And, of course, I don't know yet if the Ethernet port is live and active. If not, that'll be another big hurdle to overcome.

Gents - Thanks again for saving the Asus laptop from the scrap heap (at least for a little while). There's no way I can explain how elated I was when the thing came to life again. That said, I'm not crazy about the Xfce desktop. I could learn to use it, but my goal here is to adopt this computer out, and to do that I would prefer a desktop that looks a bit more Windows-like. Which is why I was playing with Lxqt. The Lxqt desktop looks a lot more like what I'm accustomed to seeing, and I think it would probably be more comfortable for people to use. It's available as a separate download: https://lxqt-project.org/ How hard is it to install the Lxqt desktop on top of the Debian install that I have running now? Is that something you guys can talk me through without breaking the computer again?

Gentlemen -- The Asus notebook ... it's ALIVE!!! Continually hitting the ESC key while booting to get past the BIOS worked, and I was able to boot from the CD/DVD drive. It turns out my download of Debian Lxqt is totally corrupt. It won't run in live more (from the CD) either. So I tried again, with Debian Xfce, and that worked. It installed, and the computer runs. (Well, "runs" is a bit optimistic. "Crawls" is more like it.) It recognizes the CD/DVD drive and it sees the USB ports. And this distro already includes the LibreOffice suite and Firefox, so it's ready to go. I'm relieved. I really didn't want to leave it knowing that I had broken it irreparably. Thank you guys who came to my rescue. I need to do a bit more to it. Now that I know it runs, I will get some memory modules and bump the RAM to the maximum 2 GB. The machine doesn't have WiFi built in, so I'll try adding a compact USB WiFi dongle. I'll probably need help getting that configured. And I haven't tried connecting the computer to my home network yet, so I may ask for help with that, as well. Now that I know who to call, I use PM for more questions rather than tie up the forum. Thank you again. I appreciate the help and support.

The rock paintings are pretty interesting. It is a shame that people are so disrespectful that they had to erect that massive cage to protect the art, but that's better than seeing "For a good time call Suzy ###-###-####" in the middle of an archeological treasure. Are those painting Anasazi in origin?

It's F2 that gets me into BIOS Setup. I'll give a try with ESC and F8, if neither of those works I'll try every other F# key. If that doesn't work, it's off to the scrap heap. It's not for me. It's just that I'm a cheap S.O.B. and I hate to discard something that someone might be able to use. I have adopted out any number of older computers through the pastor at the church my late wife and I used to attend. It's an inner city church and the good padre knows who a computer. This one hasn't been promised to anyone so it's no great loss if it gets scrapped -- but it hurts my conscience to know that I broke it.

I'm able to interrupt GRUB before it starts, and get to a repair (or recover?) command prompt -- but at that point it only accepts a limited number of commands. And "sudo" isn't one of them, and I can't run Lilo, either. I think the thing is well and truly borked and I should probably admit defeat and take it to the transfer station.

Windows 10 32-bit will run on 2 GB of RAM. I had a Windows tablet with that setup that ran very well for the limited use I had for a tablet. That said, the point of trying to put Windows on it now is just to try to regain control of the bootloader. If I can get the machine functioning again, then I can test out other Linux distros running from live USB sticks, rather than installing Linux blind (which was my mistake). The media I'm using are bootable -- they work on other computers. The problam here is that this Linux has hijacked the boot sequence. I know you don't believe me, but that's what happened and I have confirmed that it's a known possibility. I just don't know how to fix it.

No diskette drive

Read post #4 "Before you even ask -- yes, I have checked the BIOS boot sequence, and it is set properly. "

No. You can see the GRUB bootloader going through all the steps of booting up. EVERY SINGLE PROCESS returns an error message. At the end of the boot-up process, all that's on the screen is a small, horizontal line (the cursor) in the upper left corner. It doesn't respond to keyboard input. So I can't access the shell. I have a 2.5" IDE to USB connector on order. Tried that. GRUB still runs, even when there's no hard drive. I also tried resetting the BIOS to the defaults. No joy. I fear this thing is well and truly Borked.

There is no command line, that's the problem. If I interrupt the boot right at the beginning and go into the GRUB recover mode, I get a command line but it only accept certain commands. For example, I tried a sudo string, and it returned "Command sudo not recognized." If I allow the boot to run to completion, I end up with a black screen with a small, horizontal line (cursor) in the upper left corner, and it won't accept any input from the keyboard.

Since it won't see either the DVD or the USB even with the hard drive is disabled in BIOS, obviously the problem is not something stored on the hard drive. Unfortunately, it's an older machine -- an Asus A3000-A3A. 1995. The hard drive is a 2-1/2 inch IDE drive, and I don't have anything else of that type, nor do I have a way of connecting to it as an external drive if I remove it.

Yes, I am trying to get the system functional again, so I can install either a functioning Linux distro, or Windows 10. I wish I could just wipe and reload. As I stated in the opening post, Linux has hijacked the bootloader, so the machine now will not boot from the DVD drive or from a bootable USB stick. Before you even ask -- yes, I have checked the BIOS boot sequence, and it is set properly. In fact, I even tried a boot-up with the hard disk disabled entirely, and it still went directly the the GRUB boot sequence. Thanks to this screwed up Linux, GRUB ignores the BIOS setting and insists on booting directly into Linux -- which doesn't work.

And I mean REALLY know Linux. I have a major-league problem, created by Linux, and I don't have any idea how to fix it. Or even if it can be fixed. It involves an old Asus laptop computer and a failed installation of Debian Mint. Linux has hijacked the bootloader so now the computer ignores the DVD drive and the USB ports when booting -- except that the Linux is corrupted, so it won't boot up. I need to get back to a state where I can access the DVD or USB for booting, so I can put a working operating system on it. HELP!

Did you change the speedometer gear when you switched to larger tires? If not, the odometer is off and you have driven significantly father than what the dial shows. Which means your fuel mileage isn't as bad as you think.

Gabriel, KYB, Bilstein Keep in mind that you don't need a lot of gas pressure. The shocks aren't supposed to carry any weight. You may have rejected perfectly good shocks. The gas is in there under low pressure only to help prevent the hydraulic fluid in the shock from foaming under harsh driving conditions.

How high do they read, and how do you know they read high? Does the oil pressure change when the engine RPMs change?

You are seeing air foam IN the master cylinder, or at the caliper? Actually, I'm not sure it matters. Obviously, a hydraulic brake system is supposed to be a closed system, except when you open the master cylinder to add fluid. If you're getting air into master while bleeding, that suggests to me that the master is defective. How are you bleeding? I have seen a lot of inexperienced (and some experienced) do-it-yourselfers who pump the peddle rapidly and vigorously between bleeds to refill the line after each bleed cycle. That's wrong. Rapid pumping creates air bubbles (foam). When bleeding, peddle movements should be slow, and after each bleed cycle it only needs one or two peddle cycles to replace what was pushed out of the line. Pumping the peddle rapidly a dozen time doesn't help, and can cause issues.

Fuel has nothing to do with whether or not en engine will turn over. "Turn over" means when you engage the starter, the engine rotates. It doesn't mean it starts.

The O2 sensor tells the injectors how much fuel to inject. Don't unplug it.

I sold my '88 4-banger, and I regret having done so every single time I walk out of the house and look at where it was parked.

Me too.