13.04 stopped working

[oldgeek]

I made a clean install of Kubuntu 13.04 on my Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3s (notebook) without any problems. After working well for a few days, it suddenly stopped loading. Instead, I get a message from BusyBox v1.20.2 (what is that?) with what I perceive to be an error message: inittramfs. I have no idea what to do with this prompt and so am unable to load 13.04 into my computer anymore. What might have happened? Is there anything I can do apart from reinstalling the OS?

[SteveRiley]

Please post a photograph of the screen so we can see any other error messages that might be present. Getting dumped to BusyBox in your initramfs can be the result of a number of different kinds of problems. Fortunately, most of them are recoverable.

[oldgeek]

My camera isn't working, so I'm typing up the screen contents:

BusyBoz v1.20.2 (ubuntu1:1.20.0-8ubuntu1) built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.
(initramfs) _

Is there an error message hidden there somewhere?

[SteveRiley]

Is that all you see? Typically there will be additional lines of text before the "BusyBox" line. It's these that will help diagnose the problem. Or does the screen clear just before BusyBox starts?

[oldgeek]

I think the screen clears, as I do get a Kubuntu logo for a few seconds, but then it switches to what I typed up previous letter. Maybe it would be easier just to re-install 13.04. What do you think?

[SteveRiley]

For now, I'd recommend that, if it's easier. Should the problem recur, do let us know.

[oldgeek]

I've re-installed 13.04 3 times but still can't get a stable install. The first two times it worked fine for one or two days, then went to busybox and wouldn't open. The third time it worked for a day, but after I downloaded the updates, there was a problem with the new Linux images, and I was unable to reload 13.04 after that, but with a different error message. All three times I installed the program using a wireless connection. I am doing yet another install, this time using a wired connection. I'll let you know if this works.

[SteveRiley]

I'd be surprised if the type of network connection makes a difference.

My first suspicion is that something in that IdeaPad just might not be compatible with *buntu-based Linuxes. One potential workaround that I've seen succeed a few times is to install a previous version, then perform a release upgrade. Something to consider. If you decide to try this route:

1. Download the correct Quantal image for your computer's architecture.

2. Install it.

3. After installation, bring it up-to-date:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

4. Reboot

5. Upgrade to the Raring release:

sudo do-release-upgrade

[oldgeek]

I tried what you wrote twice, but without success. Everything seems to go well until after the reboot, when once again I get the BusyBox message. I tried just installing 12.10 and got the same message after downloading the updates and rebooting. It seems that Kubuntu is no longer compatible with my netbook, so I'm now trying to install Ubuntu 13.04 to see if this works. If not, I'll either go back to 12.04 LTS, which mostly worked, or give up and make this a Windows 7 Starter computer only, which would be a bit of a regression. It has been a frustrating experience, but I appreciate all the suggestions you have given me.

[oldgeek]

Installing Ubuntu 13.04 didn't work--again, rebooting the computer gave me an error message. I couldn't install Kubuntu 12.04 either--partition manager problem. Now I can't even load Windows. I give up. Apparently Lenovo S10-3s Ideapads were designed for Windows only. I continue to use Ubuntu 13.04 and Kubuntu 12.04 LTS on my desktop computer, and they haven't given me trouble at all, so I haven't given up on Linux. I suppose compatibility with netbooks is not a priority with software developers, and that makes sense since they don't make netbooks any more. I guess I can chalk this up as a learning experience.

[SteveRiley]

In situations like this, I find that a Gparted Live USB can completely wipe out any partitioning on the drive, effectively allowing you to start with a blank slate upon which you can place a new partition table and create new partitions.

OTOH, that Ideapad simply might not be right for Linux. It is not uncommon for certain firmware parts -- particuarly the DSDT -- to be so buggy and Windows-specific (wait, I'm redundant there, sorry) that the kernel simply can't figure out what to do.

[seascape]

oldgeek, I haven't seen that specific error, but I've run into problems like it.

I have encountered difficulties reinstalling Kubuntu and other GNU/Linux distros on HDDs or SSDs that previously had a system on them. You may want to consider wiping the hard drive and then reinstalling. To wipe the hard drive, run a tool like DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke) from a USB drive or CD that destroys all the data on the drive by overwriting it. Then, attempt to do a fresh install.

Wiping the drive will make any filesystems and partitions on the drive go away in addition to any data that's there. I usually do three passes for good measure.

I recommend being plugged in and having the computer connected to Ethernet (if possible) during the install.

Wiping the drive first has helped me successfully install Kubuntu on *many* occasions. Most recently this weekend. I have Kubuntu running on a couple laptops and desktops, all made by different manufacturers, with different mobos, processors, graphics cards, etc. Kubuntu is pretty verstaile and will run on most hardware. I bet you can get it to run on your netbook. Maybe there is a hardware incompatability, but it sounds like it worked once and could again. Try wiping your drive.

[StarGazer83]

I did a clean install of Kubuntu 13.04, instead of upgrading from Kubuntu 12.10 - on my Lenovo Thinkpad. The screen was just a multi-colored rainfall, so I tried to find a driver for the Radeon gpu. Found it but could not install - well my talents in this respect are limited. I did as instructed by the manufacturer. Finally gave up, did a clean install of Kubuntu 12.04.2 - this time there was a picture on the screen, but it was distorted - wrong proportions - and it did not respond to mouseclicks or Alt + F2 or anything else. Installed ubuntu-desktop from recovery-mode in boot-up, and now it worked. But the Kde and the Gnome applications were fighting over who should control the mobile internet. And probably the rest of it all, if I had bothered to go on. Third clean install, this time Ubuntu purely. Works. Which is not as good as I hoped, for I love the KDE look and feel, and it gives better productivity the way I work. Still, I prefer to have a working Ubuntu computer for a "working" Windows-machine. I am not sure whether this is only a gpu-driver problem, there was so much not working.

[SteveRiley]

I have encountered difficulties reinstalling Kubuntu and other GNU/Linux distros on HDDs or SSDs that previously had a system on them. You may want to consider wiping the hard drive and then reinstalling. To wipe the hard drive, run a tool like DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke) from a USB drive or CD that destroys all the data on the drive by overwriting it. Then, attempt to do a fresh install.

Wiping the drive will make any filesystems and partitions on the drive go away in addition to any data that's there. I usually do three passes for good measure.

This really shouldn't be necessary. Removing the partition table is enough to make the drive appear blank, as the partition table contains the starting and ending locations for each partition. Without these references, a partitioner will view the disk as blank.

That said, if you want to wipe a drive, the easiest way to do it is to mount it in an external USB or eSATA enclosure and the run the following:

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sd[i]X[/i] bs=16M

where X represents the external drive.

Oh, and one pass is sufficient to overwrite whatever was previously stored. The need for multiple passes is long-standing myth, promulgated mostly by vendors of software who want to sell disk wiping programs.

[SteveRiley]

did a clean install of Kubuntu 12.04.2 - this time there was a picture on the screen, but it was distorted - wrong proportions - and it did not respond to mouseclicks or Alt + F2 or anything else.

This is so weird.

If you're feeling adventurous, try an alternate approach.

1. Install the Ubuntu Server ISO for Precise. Do not use 12.04.2; instead, use the original 12.04. The result will be a command-line install, with no graphical desktop.

2. Bring it up-to-date:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

3. Reboot.

4. Download the 3.6 kernel (don't worry that it says "quantal"). Each command is a single line, but they probably will wrap on the forum:

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.6-quantal/linux-image-3.6.0-030600-generic_3.6.0-030600.201209302035_$(dpkg --print-architecture).deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.6-quantal/linux-image-extra-3.6.0-030600-generic_3.6.0-030600.201209302035_$(dpkg --print-architecture).deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.6-quantal/linux-headers-3.6.0-030600-generic_3.6.0-030600.201209302035_$(dpkg --print-architecture).deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.6-quantal/linux-headers-3.6.0-030600_3.6.0-030600.201209302035_all.deb

5. Install these downloaded files:

sudo apt-get install linux*deb

6. Reboot.

7. Add the Xorg-Edgers PPA to your package sources. (Yes, HalationEffect descirbed how he has stoped using it. My experience has been that it solves a number of thorny graphics problems.)

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xorg-edgers/ppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

8. Reboot.

9. Install Kubuntu:

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop

Let us know if this works for you.