Can't install

[arist]

I had Kubuntu 13.04 installed on my netbook, an HP Mini. I upgraded it using do-release-upgrade, to 13.10. The upgrade failed: it had the wrong resolution for the netbook, and it was impossible to use. There seemed to be no solution of available online, so I tried installing Ubuntu Server 13.10, planning to install kubuntu-desktop on top. That also failed. The error message I got was "Failed to install busybox-initramfs". The same exact thing happened with Ubuntu Server 13.04 and Ubuntu Server 12.04. The only solution to this problem I found online was to disconnect the hard drive. Since this is a netbook, that option is not available to me. I also tried installing Kubuntu 13.04 again, but the installer crashed at the end, trying to install previously installed applications. Desperate, I installed Kubuntu 14.04, but same exact thing happened, the installer crashed at the end. When I shut down and then booted again, and at first it seemed to work. But problems cropped up, typical of an incomplete install: the touchpad stopped working, no networking, etc.

I would like to get the netbook to work. My only operating system for the past 8 years has been Kubuntu, and I really don't want to change. But if I can't install Kubuntu, I'll just have to try another distro. Any advice?

[arist]

I have an HP Mini with working Kubuntu 13.10.

I assume you install from a USB stick?

Yes.

How is the HDD partitioned, is there enough space on the / ? (root)
Eventually you'll need some 7-8GB.

There are four partitions: one for Windows XP, 12GB; one for /, 12GB; swap; and one for /home, 32GB.

You write 'trying to install previously installed applications', did this happen automagically or did you prompt it?

As I recall, the error message referred to "Restoring previously installed applications." I didn't prompt it; since this has happened with every Ubiquity install, I wish there were a way to avoid it.

Did you format the / and /home or just the / and left old configs on /home?

Sometimes I formatted /, sometimes not, but I have never formatted /home.

Did you install with network enabled and possibly included the option to do upgrades during the install?

On some installs I checked the upgrade option, on some I didn't. I always install with a wired network connection.

[vinnywright]

Yes.


There are four partitions: one for Windows XP, 12GB; one for /, 12GB; swap; and one for /home, 32GB.


.

12GB for XP - 12GB for /root - swap? any hear - 32GB for /home ,,,,,,,,,is their a swap partition ?

if you boot the the USB stick you are installing from will it boot to a live session ?

if so use a diferent usb stick and move any data you need to keep , then use the KDE partition manager to add/fix the swap space (swap sould at least = RAM if you want to ever suspend to RAM) then format both / & /home and try again without using the "do upgrades wile installing" option .

VINNY

[arist]

The swap partition has 1gb. I'll try another USB stick, with no upgrades. But I don't want to format the /home partition, because there's data there. Only as a last resort.

[arist]

Well, I followed Vinny's advice and used a different USB stick and didn't choose upgrades during the installation (installing Kubuntu 13.10 with the standard Ubiquity installer). For the first time the installer didn't crash. Everything seemed to work. The touchpad worked normally, resolution was normal, my virtual desktops were in order, and I was happy that I didn't have to choose another distro. Then I updated and upgraded, and rebooted. Chose Kubuntu from the Grub menu, and...black screen. I've come to the conclusion an upgrade removed the video driver that this computer needs (it's about 8 years old). The driver is some version of i915.

I managed to get it working by booting into rescue mode, and selecting Resume. But now an old problem crops up: the resolution is all wrong, 800x600 instead of 1024x576. Putting i915.modeset=0 in the Grub menu allows me to boot into Kubuntu, but at the wrong resolution. So I would like some instruction how to install an obsolete video driver. Does anyone have any experience with something like this?

[arist]

I did a new install of 13.10, and everything is working, other than the fact I can't put the netbook to sleep; it wakes up to a black screen, and whatever I try has no effect. I won't do any updates until I've figured out how to exclude the video driver from any upgrades.