Announcement

**Primoz** · Mar 18, 2009, 04:04 PM

Re: A real tale of woe ... does this stuf work?

Originally posted by patch

Here's what has happened to me, so far, in my struggle to install ubuntu/kubuntu on two different machines:

Machine 1: - AMD64 with 1Gig RAM, ASROCK m/b K8Update-1690 ATI graphics card, cant say what exactly ...

Here's what I did:

1. download and burn the image of kubuntu 8.10
2. fire up the machine and try to install - I want to overwrite an existing windows xp install (which, incidentally, worked just fine)
3. machine hangs at various points during installation whilst 'copying files ...'
4. check forums, most seem to think this problem is due to dodgy RAM ... seems it can be resolved by buying some new RAM ... so I buy 1gig at cost of £33 and install it.
5. Re-try installing kubuntu ... looks like it's 'tried' to partition disk (but not completed) on previous run so windows o/s gone completely
6. Install hangs again...
7. back to forums ... maybe it's a 'bad' burn ... so I BUY a kubuntu 8.10 cd at cost of £4 ish.
8. whilst waiting for the 'bought' dvd to arrive I borrow a CD of ubuntu 8.10 from guy at work ... cd runs fine on his stuff in Live CD mode .... try to install ubunto on my pc .... IT POWERS OFF a few seconds after I select Install ubuntu at install menu
9. 'bought' dvd arrives with kubuntu8.10 on it ... try to install ... runs for a little while the POWERS THE MACHINE OFF
10. tried to re-install xp a couple of times ... intermittently powers off OR when it gets to the 'Press Enter to install XP' screen it doesn't accept keyboard input

cant tell any more about the config of this pc as I can't boot it up ...
+++++ end of saga (so far) with machine 1

with machine 2 ... 6 months old, AMD 64 x2 dual core 5000+ 2.6gHz, 4gb RAM, windows xp Pro sp3, ATI Radeon xpress 1250 card ... ASUS M2A-VM mobo installed

1. tried to install from 'bought dvd' using wubi ... seemed to finsh OK but when rebooted and selected kubuntu from o/s list ... just hung there for a while and then ... POWERED OFF

anyone tell me what's going on here

?
seriously beginning to wonder whether it's worth the effort at all.

Wow that's a bad luck!
And I thought I had problems with installing Kubuntu, when upgrading it would just break the whole system.
I remember that I had a similar problem as you have on machine 1 on one of my old computers.
Whatever I tried to install it didn't work. I ended up installing an old PCLOS on it. It alternately worked and didn't work.
Ended up with deconstruction of machine and selling it by pieces.
I know that this might stir some users, but maybe your computers are just "allergic" to Linux? If your windows is working fine just use it and
when you decide to buy a new machine consult this forums what to buy to ensure compatibility.

**patch** · Mar 19, 2009, 02:28 AM

Re: A real tale of woe ... does this stuf work?

Hey Primoz,

Yeah, maybe it's not as easy as it's made out to be. Some time ago I began thinking about what to do with the 'old' machine (1).

Was told a few times 'install ubuntu and you will have a blazing fast, bleeding edge box ...no problem at all'

Ha ha ... If only.

I would go back to widows on the 'old' box but I cant even get that to re-install now!

**IndyTim** · Mar 19, 2009, 03:08 AM

Re: A real tale of woe ... does this stuf work?

Your woes sound like an infomercial for the benefits of trying out the LiveCD version BEFORE installation. Sorry I can't add any technical remedies to make your Lx happy.

Good Luck,

IndyTim

**dibl** · Mar 19, 2009, 04:36 AM

Re: A real tale of woe ... does this stuf work?

Originally posted by patch

9. 'bought' dvd arrives with kubuntu8.10 on it ... try to install ... runs for a little while the POWERS THE MACHINE OFF
10. tried to re-install xp a couple of times ... intermittently powers off OR when it gets to the 'Press Enter to install XP' screen it doesn't accept keyboard input

cant tell any more about the config of this pc as I can't boot it up ...
+++++ end of saga (so far) with machine 1

I would try running it in Live CD mode first, and do some experiments to see which boot code you need to get past the power management problem. Good guesses would be "noapic", "nolapic", and/or "noacpi". Check the FAQ #2 in my signature for this procedure.

The fact that an XP installation CD is having some problem makes me wonder about the hdd. Maybe, with the Kubuntu (or Mepis or sidux or e-live or Knoppix) Live CD booted, in the CLI console or console window, first confirm with

Code:

fdisk -lu

that you know the ID of the hard disk drive, which you have not mounted at this point, then zero out the MBR with

Code:

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=1

where "/dev/sda" is the actual ID of your hard drive. It will be "sda" if there is only one hdd.

Then use a Parted Magic or GParted Live CD, and partition that hard drive. The first thing it will do is write a new MBR, once it detects that the MBR is blanked out. Just accept the default for that. Then proceed with making up to four primary partitions, including one for swap, and then try your installer again. On the first boot, you'll have to use your boot option that lets it get past the power management issue on that hardware. Once booted, you can edit the menu.lst file at /boot/grub/menu.lst to add the boot option to the kernel boot line and also to the "# kopt=root=xxxx...." line.

Note: The "dd" command is also referred to as "Data Destroyer" -- I'm only recommending you use it because your hdd is already non-functional, if not damaged. Folks unfamiliar with the dd command should steer clear of it unless they've studied up on it, backed up their data to external media, and made time for a complete reinstallation of the OS.

One last notion -- "after a while powers it off" could possibly also be "after a while the CPU overheats and powers itself off". Just a thought.

Hope this helps!

**patch** · Mar 19, 2009, 06:55 AM

Re: A real tale of woe ... does this stuf work?

Hello dibl,

Thanks for your detailed and constructive reply. I am, in case you didnt know, a linux uber-noob so I'll ask you to bear with me for a while here

I would try running it in Live CD mode first, and do some experiments to see which boot code you need to get past the power management problem. Good guesses would be "noapic", "nolapic", and/or "noacpi". Check the FAQ #2 in my signature for this procedure.

OK with that I think ... just 'mess about' with the codes until it stops powering off.

The fact that an XP installation CD is having some problem makes me wonder about the hdd. Maybe, with the Kubuntu (or Mepis or sidux or e-live or Knoppix) Live CD booted, in the CLI console or console window, first confirm with

Code:

fdisk -lu

that you know the ID of the hard disk drive, which you have not mounted at this point, then zero out the MBR with

Code:

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=1

where "/dev/sda" is the actual ID of your hard drive. It will be "sda" if there is only one hdd.

So, the fdisk -lu command will give me the ID of the hdd ... ok with that so far.
Then I will need to type the dd ... stuff into the console window, that right? and replace the 'sda' (only got one hdd in there) with the ID ... got that too ... so far so good.

Then use a Parted Magic or GParted Live CD, and partition that hard drive. The first thing it will do is write a new MBR, once it detects that the MBR is blanked out. Just accept the default for that. .

So I take out the LIVE CD and reboot with the GParted Disc in, that right? or have I missed something there?

Then proceed with making up to four primary partitions, including one for swap, and then try your installer again.

So GParted will ask me how many partitions I want and I just tell it 4, that right? why should it be 4, any particular reason?

On the first boot, you'll have to use your boot option that lets it get past the power management issue on that hardware. Once booted, you can edit the menu.lst file at /boot/grub/menu.lst to add the boot option to the kernel boot line and also to the "# kopt=root=xxxx...." line

OK with that too I think.

One last notion -- "after a while powers it off" could possibly also be "after a while the CPU overheats and powers itself off". Just a thought.

Sure, could be ... but it seems like too much of a coincidence that the powering off and hdd problems surfaced after my install attempts ... I'd never had any problems like that before whilst running xp ... but, take your point.

Cheers.

**dibl** · Mar 19, 2009, 07:20 AM

Re: A real tale of woe ... does this stuf work?

Originally posted by patch

Hello dibl,

Thanks for your detailed and constructive reply. I am, in case you didnt know, a linux uber-noob so I'll ask you to bear with me for a while here

I would try running it in Live CD mode first, and do some experiments to see which boot code you need to get past the power management problem. Good guesses would be "noapic", "nolapic", and/or "noacpi". Check the FAQ #2 in my signature for this procedure.

OK with that I think ... just 'mess about' with the codes until it stops powering off.

Right.

The fact that an XP installation CD is having some problem makes me wonder about the hdd. Maybe, with the Kubuntu (or Mepis or sidux or e-live or Knoppix) Live CD booted, in the CLI console or console window, first confirm with

Code:

fdisk -lu

that you know the ID of the hard disk drive, which you have not mounted at this point, then zero out the MBR with

Code:

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=1

where "/dev/sda" is the actual ID of your hard drive. It will be "sda" if there is only one hdd.

So, the fdisk -lu command will give me the ID of the hdd ... ok with that so far.
Then I will need to type the dd ... stuff into the console window, that right? and replace the 'sda' (only got one hdd in there) with the ID ... got that too ... so far so good.

"sda" is actually the correct ID, if there is only one hdd. So you can repeat the command exactly as I typed it, and zero out the MBR of your hdd.

Then use a Parted Magic or GParted Live CD, and partition that hard drive. The first thing it will do is write a new MBR, once it detects that the MBR is blanked out. Just accept the default for that. .

So I take out the LIVE CD and reboot with the GParted Disc in, that right? or have I missed something there?

Right -- boot the GParted or the Parted Magic live CD, and use that to do the partitioning and formatting.

Then proceed with making up to four primary partitions, including one for swap, and then try your installer again.

So GParted will ask me how many partitions I want and I just tell it 4, that right? why should it be 4, any particular reason?

No, it won't ask, it will just show you a single unpartitioned drive (graphic). Here's what it looks like, post-partitioning:

http://gparted.sourceforge.net/screenshots.php

So, you will right-click on the unpartitioned space, and choose "new", and then use the little window that counts Megabits, and make the first partition, choose the filesystem format (ext3) for it, leaving the rest of the space unpartitioned. 10G is a good size for a Kubuntu root partition, and allows a modicum of space for a user's /home partition, but you'll later symlink in any large data partitions. (Or, maybe you'd rather mount /home on a separate partition -- that's also popular, and is explained here.) Then you'll need to right-click the remaining unpartitioned space, choose "new" again, and make the second partition, and so on. Depending on your system memory, 1G should be plenty for the swap partition. Then you can decide whether you want the remaining space all in a single partition, or as I said you are permitted up to a maximum of four primary partitions. Nothing will actually take effect until you click on the big "Apply" menu button, after you have set it up -- it processes all the selected operations in a single batch.

If you choose to make one of your primary partitions an "extended" partition type, then you can make logical partitions within it. This is all information you can find with Google -- I can't write a partitioning tutorial now, but follow #5 in my "Top 20 FAQs", there's a wealth of information on the topic.

On the first boot, you'll have to use your boot option that lets it get past the power management issue on that hardware. Once booted, you can edit the menu.lst file at /boot/grub/menu.lst to add the boot option to the kernel boot line and also to the "# kopt=root=xxxx...." line

OK with that too I think.

One last notion -- "after a while powers it off" could possibly also be "after a while the CPU overheats and powers itself off". Just a thought.

Sure, could be ... but it seems like too much of a coincidence that the powering off and hdd problems surfaced after my install attempts ... I'd never had any problems like that before whilst running xp ... but, take your point.

Cheers.

I didn't know whether you might have built it yourself, or otherwise whether there is a possibility of a faulty CPU heatsink or something like that. You never know what will induce a piece of hardware to stop working correctly ....

**patch** · Mar 20, 2009, 02:57 AM

Re: A real tale of woe ... does this stuf work?

Ok, here's an update of my progress whilst trying to boot/run from Live CD with the following boot codes (all were entered without quotes and after pressing F6 at the install menu):

noapic - machine powers off almost immediately, have to turn power switch off and on to get it to restart
nolapic - thinks about it for about 12 secs, screen goes blank then machine powers off, have to turn power switch off and on to get it to restart
noacpi - machine powers off almost immediately, have to turn power switch off and on to get it to restart
nolapic noacpi - machine powers off almost immediately, have to turn power switch off and on to get it to restart
noapic nolapic noacpi - thiks about it for about 10 secs, screen goes blank then shows me the kubuntu logo and the bouncing blue bar for about 10 secs then machine powers off. have to turn power switch off and on to get it to restart

If I simply let the machine sit doing nothing i.e. if I dont select an install option the it will happily sit for ages and not power off ... maybe not the heatsink/fan then? ... mind you, having said that, it's just powered off after about an hour running doing nothing.

any help greatly appreciated.
Cheers.

P.S tried to run the Live CD on my 'new' machine with the codes ... different result - the machine 'hung' at the bouncing blu bar portion and I had to physically unplpug it to get it to restart.

**dibl** · Mar 20, 2009, 09:27 AM

Re: A real tale of woe ... does this stuf work?

Originally posted by patch

If I simply let the machine sit doing nothing i.e. if I dont select an install option the it will happily sit for ages and not power off ... maybe not the heatsink/fan then? ... mind you, having said that, it's just powered off after about an hour running doing nothing.

Hmmmm. Have you explored all of the BIOS options regarding power management? That machine is awfully pre-disposed to shut itself off -- I don't recall ever seeing a problem description like this. If you find power management options in the BIOS, I would advise "disabling" all of them.

P.S tried to run the Live CD on my 'new' machine with the codes ... different result - the machine 'hung' at the bouncing blu bar portion and I had to physically unplpug it to get it to restart.

OK, this sounds like strictly a video issue. First question is, how long did you let it sit before declaring it "hung"? Sometimes they run a process of testing different display options before picking one to go forward with. So, first try it again and let it sit for a solid 3 minutes before you decide it's hung, and also try restarting it with Ctrl-Alt-Delete, and if that doesn't work try pressing Alt-SysRq and hold it while pressing R S E I U B.

If it's still no-go, then you're going to need to try a video boot option. Start with "xforcevesa", then try vga=788, vga=791, vga=794 and work your way through the possibilities (check FAQ #2 for details and links). One of them will work.

**patch** · Mar 20, 2009, 11:55 AM

Re: A real tale of woe ... does this stuf work?

Hmmmm. Have you explored all of the BIOS options regarding power management? That machine is awfully pre-disposed to shut itself off -- I don't recall ever seeing a problem description like this. If you find power management options in the BIOS, I would advise "disabling" all of them.

I can't find any BIOS options at all regarding power management. Apparently it has something called 'Hybrid Booster' but I can't find anything about it on the BIOS setup.

It continues to prefer being 'off' rather than 'on'. I've even begun to start to price up new hardware for an ubuntu m/c (around £200 should be near enough)- and I don't even know if the 'old' pc is saveable or not. I have no idea as to what might be causing it to power off - searching goog etc. doesn't present anything I find useful - it's so annoying that everything worked just fine with xp ... before I tried to install kubuntu ... time to scrap it maybe?? any other ideas greatly rcvd

On a much more positive note ... I have managed to boot from the Live CD on my other, 'new' machine

and even managed to have a look around in kubuntu before it hung on me again. Hopefully I'll be able to get around this by cycling thru the available video boot codes.

Announcement

A real tale of woe ... does this stuf work?

A real tale of woe ... does this stuf work?

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment