Kubuntu Lucid Lynx Beta2 on Macbook Pro 5,1

[Nikos Alexandris]

The time came for me to make some real changes on my system:
- switch from Gnome to KDE,
- redesign my partition scheme to fit my needs after a long time
- why not try out to install Lucid on the Macbook Pro 5,1

So did I: resized the linux partitions (and kept a 20GB OSX partition as well) and re-installed Kubuntu Karmic.

It was a bad move. Although I could boot the Live 9.10 CD and install it, I 've got trapped facing serious problems with GRUB(2) and couldn't boot into linux at all. rEFIt kept "saying" that partition tables (in GPT and MBR) were synced but GTUB --even after its re-installation(s) in the respective ubuntu root partition-- would not care to launch linux.

Anyhow, I've tried a lot of things the whole day yesterday. It was time to go for a complete re-installation.

1. BACK-UP
(...I guess you do have a BackUp, don't you?)
2. (re-)install OS-X
(...you still have tha install DVD around, don't you? Well, I did not and asked for HeLp!)
3. resize OS-X partition
4. install refit 14.0 0.14
5. boot kubuntu Lucid Lynx Beta2 with "nosplash nouveau.noaccel=1 vga=711"
6. install kubuntu 10.04 Beta2
* in the very last step just before the actual partitioning, under "Advanced", Kubuntu decided _not_ to show in which specific partition it will install GRUB, just sda (no other option). I just accepted it!
* install nvidia binary and other stuff

--%<---
EDIT: "* also, I 've set in "/etc/default/grub": "GRUB_GFXMODE=1440x900": I might have changed that after the first _unsuccessful_ attempt to boot.
--%<---


-- Heart beating (almost) like a hammer... will it boot, or will it not? will it boot or will it... --

7. Using "nosplash vga=711" it boots!

--%<---
EDIT: --> changing the /etc/default/grub (instruction about GFX above), applying changes by executing "sudo grub-mkcfg -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg"
--%<---


8. ...it reaches the shell, not X :-(
9. "startx" launched KDE fine :-)
10. follow the wiki(s) for touchpad, backlight(s), and all the whistles and the bells will work. Some keywords: mactel support (using karmic packages), pommed, pulseaudio, Alex' patch for alsa.

So in the end of the day I experience:
* X does not auto-start (!?)
* lots of random crashes of various apps
* automount does not work (this might be a KDE bug, not sure or a HAL(2010) complex-thing ;-).

Thought this might be of interest. Well, maybe there is also someone that could explain the (missing auto-)mount-issue.

Cheers!

[Guest]

Re: Kubuntu Lucid Lynx Beta2 on Macbook Pro 5,1

Does refit 0.14 support grub2? I installed Lucid alpha a few weeks back and had to manually replace grub2 with grub to make refit behave (and system to boot more or less well).

I wonder why kdm won't start. I've been having this problem with Lucid and nvidia proprietary drivers with gdm, but on my mini kdm starts nicely. Although I may have plymouth uninstalled... There is a lot of problems with that.

What do you mean "automount doesn't work"? Would it by any chance be a firewire drive? If so, it won't work until an issue with hdparm is fixed.

[Nikos Alexandris]

Re: Kubuntu Lucid Lynx Beta2 on Macbook Pro 5,1

(1) It seems so, refit 14.0 0.14 supports grub2 (since I was able to boot Lucid Lynx Beta1 and Beta2 by using the following parameter(s): "nouveau.noaccel=1 nosplash vga=771" ).

(2) I have no idea why kdm wont launch. But there are _many_ problems. I' ve wrote something @launchpad [1].

(3) "automount does not work" for all external usb devices (as well as for firewire(d) devices). There are several thread in the forum (and also in other ubuntu-related forums) about this problem. I managed to follow some instructions and get some devices to work by launching dolphin as superuser. Nevertheless, this is not how it should work.

Of course, this is still Beta2 and we are testing. I submitted 1 or 2 bug reports and not more due to the bug report application not making it till the actual report. Have no more time... ( I reverted back to Karmic and *all* works smooth -- feels though a bit slower than lucid).

Cheers, Nikos

--- edit (forgot the link) ---
[ * ] https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...71/comments/57