Installation Problem | Kubuntu HH installer doesn`t recognizes partitions

[Qqmike]

Re: Installation Problem | Kubuntu HH installer doesn`t recognizes partitions

Interesting.
Would have been interesting to see what came through with dibl's
sudo fdisk -lu
command at Konsole.
Not the ultimate source, BUT it does OFTEN reveal issues with the "channel" thing or issues with hidden partitions, partitions not marked as boot, LVM, violated Extended's, etc.

[educarvalho]

Re: Installation Problem | Kubuntu HH installer doesn`t recognizes partitions

Qqmike,

yes, I almost forgot. I`ve tried the # lspci code in the console, and I`ve got this result:

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] 671MX
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] SiS AGP Port (virtual PCI-to-PCI bridge)
00:02.0 ISA bridge: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] SiS968 [MuTIOL Media IO] (rev 01)
00:02.5 IDE interface: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] 5513 [IDE] (rev 01)
00:03.0 USB Controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] USB 1.1 Controller (rev 0f)
00:03.1 USB Controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] USB 1.1 Controller (rev 0f)
00:03.3 USB Controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] USB 2.0 Controller
00:04.0 Ethernet controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] 191 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter (rev 02)
00:05.0 SATA controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] AHCI IDE Controller (0106) (rev 03)
00:0f.0 Audio device: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] Azalia Audio Controller
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] 771/671 PCIE VGA Display Adapter (rev 10)

and I also tried the fdisk command, but it returned nothing.

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -lu
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$

I really don`t want to give up you know? But I`ve lot of work to do, and my brother needs to use this computer. It`s to much pressure!! I`m downloading Fedora Core 9 to try it later. I hope that works, if the Kubuntu doesn`t.

[Qqmike]

Re: Installation Problem | Kubuntu HH installer doesn`t recognizes partitions

Just real quick, (I might need to think about this),
I've never seen sudo fdisk -lu come back empty.
If you have a properly connected and BIOS-recognized HDD, it should show up somewhere.
Hmm ... dibl's point about the channels may be at issue here.

You know, your HDD isn't showing up here!
I'd be curious to see if you CAN get some other distro loaded, just as an experiment.

Sorry, I'm being distracted at the moment, but your fdisk output certainly caught my eye ...
maybe others may be able to see something in the pci output.

[Qqmike]

Re: Installation Problem | Kubuntu HH installer doesn`t recognizes partitions

By the way, when I suggested to run GParted Live CD to do the partitioning before running the installer, I meant

run GParted Live CD;
it will see your HDD;
and while in this GParted Live session, partition and format your hard drive where you want to put Kubuntu.

But ...
From
sudo fdisk -lu
it doesn't appear that your hard drive is partitioned or formatted.

[educarvalho]

Re: Installation Problem | Kubuntu HH installer doesn`t recognizes partitions

Qqmike,

I tried the fdisk before in other machine, and it always returned something. But I`m not an expert at linux, not even at info stuff, so I don`t even noticed that this result is weird. And it makes sense, cause the IDE Channel, just like idbl said, seems to be strange too. But like I`ve told you before, if the only way to fix that is opening the notebook, I`m in trouble.
I`m downloading the Fedora, to try the installation. If I get something different, I`ll post it here... But, sincerely, I doubt it will work...

About the GParted, I`ve done the exactly thing that you described here. But the Kubuntu install couldn`t find any partitions.

Anyway, thanks again.
I`m tired to try, but not tired to thank. ha!

[Qqmike]

Re: Installation Problem | Kubuntu HH installer doesn`t recognizes partitions

educarvalho, yes, I see.
You have certainly worked hard here!
(I remember doing this and more in XP; many long stories, but one involved UPH ... those who know, know!).
Bueno. No hay problema, mi amigo; yo entiendo bien.
But we would be interested in your experience with Fedora or other distro.
(I forget which has the disturbing LVM HDD geometry-- RedHat or Fedora ... ? ).

My bets: something like what dibl says is at work here, messing this up ... or some sort of hidden partition thing.

[dibl]

Re: Installation Problem | Kubuntu HH installer doesn`t recognizes partitions

You said Satux was previously installed on it. I did a quick Google search, and didn't find a lot, but I noticed this:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=691762

particularly the "3-click" installation, that does not ask for partitions or drives. Hmmmmmm!

I think Satux has used some special filesystem technique (LVM?, aufs?, squashfs?) to co-opt that hard disk drive. The fact that GParted can't see it is further confirmation. So, you are going to have to use a low level hard drive utility, like DOS FDISK, or the Western Digital utilities if they came with your drive, to re-initialize that hard drive, so GParted can make partitions for you.

[educarvalho]

Re: Installation Problem | Kubuntu HH installer doesn`t recognizes partitions

dibl,

I`ll try to reinstall the satux linux today, just to see how it goes, and will come back to tell you guys. But I believe that the file system that I saw at the original partitions in GParted were ext3. I don`t know if is about that you`re talking... But I`m pretty sure about that!

About the GParted, I`ve used it, and it worked fine! I made my changes and saved those to the hdd. But the kubuntu installer doesn`t recognized the partitions at all. Understand?

Man, this language issue is a pain... maybe I`ve explained that in a wrong way earlier. Sorry.

[dibl]

Re: Installation Problem | Kubuntu HH installer doesn`t recognizes partitions

About the GParted, I`ve used it, and it worked fine! I made my changes and saved those to the hdd. But the kubuntu installer doesn`t recognized the partitions at all. Understand?

Ahh! Sorry, I misunderstood -- I thought you said GParted also could not see partitions on the drive.

OK, if GParted works correctly, then it is not a problem on the hard drive partitions. Yes, they should be ext3 filesystem format.

Now I am wondering about the quality of your Kubuntu CD. Sometimes the Live CD works, but not the installation part, if the burn quality is not good. You must burn it slow, at 4X speed. "DAO" burn mode is best.

I think you said you tried "manual" installation mode -- that is the recommended one for your situation.

[educarvalho]

Re: Installation Problem | Kubuntu HH installer doesn`t recognizes partitions

Hi again!

dibl,

I`ve re-installed the satux linux yesterday, with no problem. Is that 3 steps installation that someone here have told. The installer don`t even asked me for partitions and nothing like this. I`m now downloading the Fedora, but I was thinking. Probably, Fedora Installer will be so complex as Kubuntu. May be, other distro with this 3 steps install should work.

I think you said you tried "manual" installation mode -- that is the recommended one for your situation.

This manual installation mode, how I can do this? Is the text mode that install everything by the console? I`ve tried it, but my screen just got crazy! Something like my grandma TV with bad signal. And my brother have told me that the other time that he`ve run the kubuntu live cd, the screen went crazy too. I believe that this kind of problem have something to do with xorg, isn`t it?

The Fedora is about 90% of download progress. I`ll verify, burn it at 4x, and will come back to tell what happened.

[educarvalho]

Re: Installation Problem | Kubuntu HH installer doesn`t recognizes partitions

Just as I`ve promised, new from the installation oddity...

I`m right now at the Anaconda (the Fedora installer) at the step that I`ve to deal with partitions and hdd. It showed me a lot of options, I can stay with the partition layout that I already have in the hdd, format everything and use the default layout (recommended by Fedora), and... Well, it doesn`t matter at all, cause in all that options the Anaconda installer couldn`t find my hdd. I`ve tried the default option, format and install the standard layout, but returns me this message:

An error has occurred - no valid devices were found on which to create filesystems. Please check your hardware for the cause of this problem.

So, I think that there is no other way to solve this problem. To install the distro I want, must open the notebook and fix the connections of the Sata hdd. But, I cannot do that - because the warranty don`t aloud this kind of action. Well, there is no other way beside to install some windows on this pc.
I`ll think about this tomorrow for the last time, and talk to my brother about it. But I can`t see another way.

Beside all, thanks all you guys for the patience tryin`help me. We`ve done a lot of stuff. Unfortunately, nothing worked. Maybe the next time.

I`ll be back to tell what happened with the Windows( ) install.

[dibl]

Re: Installation Problem | Kubuntu HH installer doesn`t recognizes partitions

Too bad.

I think the problem is either in the BIOS or in the hardware connections.

[educarvalho]

Re: Installation Problem | Kubuntu HH installer doesn`t recognizes partitions

dibl,

Yeah... I`m at the BIOS screen right now, wondering if there is some thing that I can do...
It`s sad, cause I`ve never had any problem like this. And in all my other computers, I`ve solved they so easy... It`s strange... Something that should be better, it`s giving too much trouble. I just can`t believe it.

[Qqmike]

Re: Installation Problem | Kubuntu HH installer doesn`t recognizes partitions

Yeah, too bad.
Your specs are good:
“My config is: Intel Core 2 Duo 1,6Ghz, 2 Gb ram memory, Sata HHD 120Gb. If it helps.”

But, as dibl has said, something is amiss about how the hard drive is connected and/or setup (in BIOS and/or initialized/partitioned).

Do you have any local (free) support number you can call? A “toll-free” tele number? Or an email address of the notebook's manufacturer you can contact to get their advice about why the hard drive is not seen?

[educarvalho]

Re: Installation Problem | Kubuntu HH installer doesn`t recognizes partitions

Qqmike,

Do you have any local (free) support number you can call? A “toll-free” tele number? Or an email address of the notebook's manufacturer you can contact to get their advice about why the hard drive is not seen?

I`ve found a telephone number of the support, but I don`t think that it`s for free. Here in Brazil, these thing always cost something. :/ I`ll call they tomorrow, now I`m interested in install one program for my brother called Maple. That way, he can use the computer with this native linux distro, and I`ll have more time to try. Everything to not use windows!

Oh, and I`ve found an forum at the Satux Linux homepage. I`ll try get some support there too.