Help me build my server with a laptop that has a broken screen

[geekynerd]

i have a sony vaio laptop which has a broken screen in which i can barely see. My dream is to build my own server and host my websites without paying to no one. so i thoight of converting this old laptop into server. so i took a ssd flashed debian linux onto it and put that into my laptop later realised my laptop supports only legacy bios. But the laptop i used to flash was a alienware aurora 16 which only supports uefi firmware so the debian installed in the ssd has a uefi grub menu. In the broken screen of my old laptop i see something like "grub rescue>" like in that screen i can see only one like and that line is grub rescue. i tried to connect the external monitor but no output. i am working on this for months but still cant find a solution. this is extremely frustating. so can anyone solve this.

FYI: the sony vaio laptop specs are
intel i3 2nd gen
10 GB ddr4 ram
256 gb micron ssd (6GB/s)
and some integrated radeon graphics
why i am mentioning this is can it be used as server? coz if it cannot be used as server i will not waste my time on this system. so please share your opinion about this topic too

 

[jedishrfu]

Why not get a Raspberry Pi to host your website?

Its cheaper, simpler and probably of comparable performance.

 

[jedishrfu]

You may have compounded your problem with the ssd flash. Perhaps you could remove the ssd and plug a usb stick with linux on it.

If it boots then maybe an external monitor would work.

The only other idea is to install a linux with telnet configured si that even if the screen is shot you can log in remotely to then het your external monitor working. Keep the ssd uninstalled to cause a boot by usb stick.

 

[geekynerd]

Why not get a Raspberry Pi to host your website?

Its cheaper, simpler and probably of comparable performance.

i already have this laptop if i can convert this into server then money saved.
and the area i live in the raspberry pie is costly and i feel like it is not worth the money and its cheaper to buy a laptop screen than to buy a resberry pi. [btw i dont have the money to buy either the screen or the raspberry pi]

 

[geekynerd]

You may have compounded your problem with the ssd flash. Perhaps you could remove the ssd and plug a usb stick with linux on it.

If it boots then maybe an external monitor would work.

The only other idea is to install a linux with telnet configured si that even if the screen is shot you can log in remotely to then het your external monitor working. Keep the ssd uninstalled to cause a boot by usb stick.

yeah i will try this method and report

 

[geekynerd]

You may have compounded your problem with the ssd flash. Perhaps you could remove the ssd and plug a usb stick with linux on it.

If it boots then maybe an external monitor would work.

The only other idea is to install a linux with telnet configured si that even if the screen is shot you can log in remotely to then het your external monitor working. Keep the ssd uninstalled to cause a boot by usb stick.

i have a doubt. do you mean i can download any linux distro installation iso on my pendrive and put it in the laptop or like the tail os which run entirely on the pendive ??

 

[jedishrfu]

What ive read is that modern distros will have external monitor enabled by default. Plug it in and away you go.

Years ago when faced with broken windows system, Ive used Knoppix to recover files and config info.

Now ive learned that professionals tend to use SystemRescue so perhaps that will help you get back online.

Of course, you could try ubuntu or fedora or even alpine linux. Bit i don’t know if they will work.

 

[geekynerd]

You may have compounded your problem with the ssd flash. Perhaps you could remove the ssd and plug a usb stick with linux on it.

If it boots then maybe an external monitor would work.

The only other idea is to install a linux with telnet configured si that even if the screen is shot you can log in remotely to then het your external monitor working. Keep the ssd uninstalled to cause a boot by usb stick.

it works thank you very much. i cant express how happy i feel rn after a long struggle finally. thank you so much

 

[sysprog1]

i have a sony vaio laptop which has a broken screen in which i can barely see. My dream is to build my own server and host my websites without paying to no one. so i thoight of converting this old laptop into server. so i took a ssd flashed debian linux onto it and put that into my laptop later realised my laptop supports only legacy bios. But the laptop i used to flash was a alienware aurora 16 which only supports uefi firmware so the debian installed in the ssd has a uefi grub menu. In the broken screen of my old laptop i see something like "grub rescue>" like in that screen i can see only one like and that line is grub rescue. i tried to connect the external monitor but no output. i am working on this for months but still cant find a solution. this is extremely frustating. so can anyone solve this.

FYI: the sony vaio laptop specs are
intel i3 2nd gen
10 GB ddr4 ram
256 gb micron ssd (6GB/s)
and some integrated radeon graphics
why i am mentioning this is can it be used as server? coz if it cannot be used as server i will not waste my time on this system. so please share your opinion about this topic too

That machine has VGA and HDMI ports, whereby to connect to an external monitor $-$ if the port isn't damaged, it should become active during the boot sequence; if not automatically on, fn F7 should toggle it on.

You could try booting from the DVD player using a linux .iso live DVD, and from there, install on the SSD.

The specs you listed are sufficient to meet apache minimum system requirements; however, to use it non-locally, e.g. on the internet, you will need a static ip address, and typically the isp has a charge for them, maybe lower than that of a paid hosting service (ymmv).

Regarding your damaged machine, you can get one like it on ebay for $24.95 with low RAM and no SSD, which is maybe an ok price for a screen replacement $-$ I think the replacement machine is better, because then you need only move the SSD and RAM, and not the screen.

 

[geekynerd]

That machine has VGA and HDMI ports, whereby to connect to an external monitor $-$ if the port isn't damaged, it should become active during the boot sequence; if not automatically on, fn F7 should toggle it on.

You could try booting from the DVD player using a linux .iso live DVD, and from there, install on the SSD.

The specs you listed are sufficient to meet apache minimum system requirements; however, to use it non-locally, e.g. on the internet, you will need a static ip address, and typically the isp has a charge for them, maybe lower than that of a paid hosting service (ymmv).

Regarding your damaged machine, you can get one like it on ebay for $24.95 with low RAM and no SSD, which is maybe an ok price for a screen replacement $-$ I think the replacement machine is better, because then you need only move the SSD and RAM, and not the screen.

yea i got the system working and installed mint on it. odd choice for a server but i had its iso copy ready on my pendrive so used it. And for accessing it on other network i used tailscale coz its free and my isp dosent provide me public ip. but can you help me suggesting platforms in which i can connect my github repo and it automatically launches backend (like how the renderer platform works). if you know please dont hesitate to reccomend it