[MULTI BOOT] Installing Kubuntu 15.04 on Asus preinstalled with Windows 8.1

[joneall]

I have a brand new Asus X553M laptop with Windows 8.1 pre-installed. Obviously, I want to install Kubuntu, preferably 15.04. For some reason I can't identify clearly, I want to keep Windows 8.1.

I know there are lots of posts on this topic, but I have not found what I need yet.

To start with, just getting the thing to boot from the DVD is a 3-step process. How to do this came from http://superuser.com/questions/74776...-on-asus-x551m.

1 - Use F2 to boot into BIOS. On Security page, disable Secure Boot, then F10 to save results and reboot.

2 - Again, F2 into BIOS. On Boot page, enable CSM (not allowed if not already in non-secure boot mode). F10 again. I do NOT understand why you should need the Compatibility Support Module just to boot from a DVD. Will this keep it from handling UEFI correctly?

3 - Again, in BIOS on Boot page, I selected Boot option priority #1 and set it to "UEFI Slimtype DVD A DA8A5SH-L".

Booted again and it read from the DVD. Boot gave Grub-like screen with 3 choices:

Start Ubuntu
OEM install (for manufacturers)
Check disc for defects

I picked start Ubuntu (to just try Kubuntu on this machine), it read the DVD like mad for a minute or two and displayed the kubuntu logo in the middle of the screen. Then all activity stopped. After 10 minutes, nothing else has happened.

Anybody had success with this?

[Qqmike]

First, I have not dealt personally with Windows with UEFI.
So, first, our local expert on this gives this how-to:
Dual-booting Kubuntu on a Windows machine
https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showthread.php?65253
He is also in this excellent, informative discussion:
https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showth...-start-kubuntu

You are correct about CSM: you should disable it; it is not consistent with true UEFI booting.

As he explains in the second link, you should consider disabling secure boot.

When you download Kubuntu to make your DVD, select the 64-bit version of Kubuntu, not the 32-bit version. Check the mdsum or shasum of the iso you downloaded, make sure your iso is good. For UEFI: 64-bit.

ASUS seems to be a leader in providing good UEFI firmware, and it's user friendly. You should not have any problems getting this to work.

My recommendation is to set up your partitions BEFORE actually installing Kubuntu to your hard drive. And do not allow the installer to re-format your partitions you set up (as ext4); the installer MAY want to re-format the swap partition; if so, that's OK. If you know how to use Windows, you could do the partitioning inside Windows using Windows disk utilities. Or, better (imo) use Linux GParted Live CD:
http://gparted.org/livecd.php

You run GParted (that is, you re-boot the ASUS laptop with GParted in the DVD drive or the USB port if you made the flash drive instead--and in ASUS firmware (F2), select the UEFI version of the DVD). You shrink the Windows partition down. Then make a partition for your Kubuntu root partition ( / ), your /home partition, and a swap partition (no more than twice the size of your RAM; if your RAM is 4 GB, swap can be 8 GB partition). Format root and /home as ext4. Do NOT mess with any partitions Windows has placed on your hard drive. The ESP partition (EFI System Partition) is important, Windows has already set it up for you, it may be 100 or 200 MB.

Then you run your Kubuntu installer DVD and select to install Kubuntu. In the installation, select the Manual method (it may be labeled something else, it is the last choice given to you in a list of 3 or 4 choices).

But, first you must get your live DVD working in UEFI.

I snipped this from a recent how-to I wrote about carefully selecting the right mode to run your DVD in -- the UEFI mode (not the older legacy BIOS modes):

Install the Kubuntu OS in UEFI mode
--> Must be 64-bit Kubuntu OS for UEFI. I am using Kubuntu 14.04, 64-bit.

Important: You must make certain you are installing Kubuntu in UEFI mode.

I used a Live DVD Kubuntu installer.
Install the DVD in the optical drive, reboot the PC, enter UEFI(-BIOS) by pressing F2.
Under Advanced, find the ASUS boot menu, and the "boot override" menu under that.
The bootable devices will be listed.
Choose the one that corresponds to the Kubuntu UEFI choice.
Look for UEFI / FAT) or some reference to UEFI.
My Live Kubuntu DVD installer showed up twice in UEFI BIOS (under Boot Override) as a "normal" DVD writer, and also as:
UEFI (FAT) TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-224DB (1028 MB) (= my Samsung DVD player).
Found out you may have to re-boot a time or two for this to appear correctly, so I think.
Select that option from the boot override menu.
The PC will re-boot, and you will see a text mode screen with a grub-like menu. Select install O/S. If, instead, you see the full graphical setup menu, the installer is probably in legacy BIOS mode so reboot, enter the UEFI setup, navigate to boot override and try again.

Link:
Some of this does not apply to you, but the UEFI principles do apply:
https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showth...l=1#post368216


This should be easy, but since it is all new to you, it may seem difficult--it is not, as SteveRiley's how-to shows.

Bear in mind that Kubuntu 14.04 is the long-term release; the 15.04 may not yet be as stable or easy to use.

[joneall]

Wow, that's a lot of reading just to install Kubuntu! I admit I have not read it all yet, but still have a question or two.

In the Grub menu I see, what is "OEM install (for manufacturers"? Install of what? I suppose I am already executing something on the DVD.

I presume the Kubuntu DVD is set up to be booted either as boot-record or UEFI. Right?

I have re-disabled CSM. The boot options are now "UEFI Slimtype DVD" (in 1st position) and "Windows boot loader" (in second position). What is the second thing and where is it -- on the DVD or on the hdd? This is Grub asking the question.

In any case, the result is the same. It reads the DVD, displays the kubuntu logo and that is it.

The DVD was made from the 64-bit Kubuntu and is the same one I used to install it on my desktop. Filename = kubuntu-15.04-desktop-amd64.iso. I'm guessing it's the right one since it is read by "EUFI Slimtype DVD". (Sounds like an ad for a weight-losing diet...)

But could there be something wrong with the iso image? As I said, it works. And the md5sum is correct.

Thanks for your help.

[joneall]

I forgot. I made the partition (as yet unformatted) with the windows disk manager from windows.

I have no swap partition tho. I read somewhere that with 4GB of RAM that was not needed.

[ronw]

I have no swap partition tho. I read somewhere that with 4GB of RAM that was not needed.

You don't need a swap partition unless you want to use sleep/hibernate, if you are willing to risk a hard crash in the event the system needs more than 4GB of RAM (or whatever amount you have installed).

With 8GB of RAM, I don't remember the last time the swap partition ever got used. But the swap partition only takes up 3% of my 256GB drive, so I let it sit there, just in case.

[Qqmike]

In the Grub menu I see, what is "OEM install (for manufacturers"? Install of what? I suppose I am already executing something on the DVD.

That's for manufacturers (of the PC) to install Kubuntu on the PC they are building for sale, for the retail buyer of the PC. It is not for you. If you got that far, to that screen, then you should be OK! Is there not an option on that screen to Try Kubuntu? and to Install Kubuntu? "Try Kubuntu" would be running the live DVD without installing yet, so you can try out Kubuntu to see what it does.

I presume the Kubuntu DVD is set up to be booted either as boot-record or UEFI. Right?

Yes, that's correct.

I have re-disabled CSM. The boot options are now "UEFI Slimtype DVD" (in 1st position) and "Windows boot loader" (in second position). What is the second thing and where is it -- on the DVD or on the hdd? This is Grub asking the question.

Not sure what you mean. You mean GRUB asks you this question? WHAT GRUB could that be? You have not yet installed the Kubuntu, where is that GRUB coming from? If it is on the DVD ( ? ) , I suppose just select UEFI Slimtype DVD (I mean, you don't need to run Windows, right?).

Btw, when you boot the computer, and you press F2 to enter ASUS UEFI setup menus, look for the Boot menu, and within that menu screen look for a Boot Override menu. The latter allows you to override whatever Boot menu is set; you can override the Boot menu for just that booting session, without changing your boot order. If you can't find a Boot Override menu, I suppose just use whatever boot menu you do see. The ASUS manual (on line) should spell this out for you.

It is OK to use Windows to do the partitioning--no problem. You may have to have the Kubuntu installer format those partition(s) as ext4. Swap: I'm no expert, I also heard what you heard about it. Disk drives are so big nowadays, I always just make a swap partition with a size equal to twice my RAM. Something, too, about 64-bit expecting some RAM (8 GB?) and some swap ... not sure what I recall about that. But in any case, having a swap is no big deal, right?

[joneall]

Not sure what you mean. You mean GRUB asks you this question? WHAT GRUB could that be? You have not yet installed the Kubuntu, where is that GRUB coming from?

Exactly my question. And what does it know about OEM install? All I can say is that you can hear a couple of brief accesses to the DVD and then that screen pops up right away. (I just tried it again.)

When is it going to ask if I want to try Ubuntu or install it?

[Qqmike]

Maybe you are seeing like a black screen, white letters, saying OEM install as, maybe, the third item in a list of three items. (This boot menu is a boot menu from the DVD, one of the many bootloaders that work on CDs/DVDs.) If so, that is your chance to click on the first item (or is it the second item in the list) that says Kubuntu. If so--I'm pretty sure now--after clicking on Kubuntu, wait awhile, give the DVD time to bring up the running Kubuntu screen. On THAT final screen then it will say Try or Install.

[Qqmike]

Here, let me load my live Kubuntu and see for sure (but I think you can readily go with my post above) ...

[Qqmike]

OK, my Live 14.04 DVD shows that black screen with white menu that offers 3 choices: Start Kubuntu, OEM install, and Check disk for defects. Are you not getting that on your 15.04 disk?

[joneall]

This is not helped any by the fact that the Asus keeps giving boot priority #1 to the Windows loader. It's F2 every bloody time.

Tried again with a 14.10 DVD. Same Grub message and same problem.

BUT, with a 14.04 LTS DVD, same grub message and it goes to the installation screen.

It is clear that the grub is on the DVD. (I could check that by booting a windows or gparted DVD.). What in the world does Ubuntu mean by "OEM install (for manufacturers)"?

I am now installing 14.04, but it sure would be nice to be able to install 15.04. What in the world could be wrong with the other two DVDs? Or is it an Asus thing?

[Qqmike]

My 15.04 live flash drive also has the same 3-item menu: Start Kubuntu, OEM, Check Disk. OEM: This is for a manufacturer to install Kubuntu on the PC they are building (and intend to sell to the retail public) -- I think! What else could it be? It is not what we want, though.

Asus keeps giving boot priority #1 to the Windows loader. It's F2 every bloody time.

That is normal. That is the Boot menu that ASUS UEFI firmware has stored. You can change that boot menu, you can change the order of booting. Even then, after setting up your "permanent" boot menu, you should be able to press F2, enter Boot menu, see a Boot Override menu, and select from the Override menu for that one booting session. (This is all in my ASUS Manual, but it is also obvious in the ASUS screens -- on mine you must do F2, then enter the Advanced menus (F7 or click on Advanced with your mouse to do so), then Boot, then scroll way down to Boot Override, then see your DVD-UEFI listed, highlight it, press Enter and go.

[Qqmike]

When you do F2, and you are in ASUS UEFI set up (or they may call it "BIOS"), when you select your DVD or your USB flash drive, whatever, make sure from the list ASUS presents to you that you select your DVD that is listed as UEFI -- ASUS may list your DVD two or three times! At least one of those listings has associated with it the label UEFI (and along with that, the name of your DVD manufacturer or something equally as cryptic, but you can tell it is your DVD drive).

[Qqmike]

Just to be clear and summarize. MY ASUS is like this:

Your PC is ON.
Insert a DVD.
Reboot the PC.
At the ASUS screen, press F2.
Look for Advanced -- click it with the mouse or press F7 to enter Advanced menus.
Click on the Boot tab at top.
Scroll way down to see a Boot menu and scroll further down to see a Boot Override menu.
Use the Boot Override menu to boot the PC just this one time.
On that menu, select something that looks familiar that you want to boot and make sure you select the UEFI version -- an OS may be listed more than once; you do NOT want classical BIOS booting ... You DO want UEFI booting.
--> In our case here, you want the UEFI version of the DVD to boot. Highlight it, press Enter, and you will go.

[joneall]

I managed to install 14.04 for a while, but then it too stopped, remaining blocked at the kubuntu boot logo. I have made a USB key and tried booting that. I have redownloaded 14.04.2 and made a new DVD. Nothing seems to work now. But the fact that it once did makes me think there must be something in the ASUS firmware which is screwing things up.

I am now at my wit's end and have no idea what to try next. Actually, I think I will put it aside until tomorrow.