Installing Kubuntu on VPC-Z1190X Laptop

[Zithras]

I just got in a Sony Z series laptop and am trying to install Kubuntu on it.

Relevant specs:
i7 processor
dual graphics card (Intel/1 GB NVidia)
4x 128 GB SSD

The first problem i had was that the system had a RAID0 made out of the 4 disks. I broke that down (2 days of effort before I finally figured out a solution for THAT one, seeing as how Sony sends no OS install discs, only Recovery discs to be used with the drives in RAID), and have Windows 7 Ultimate x64 installed and working fine on drive 1. Drives 3-4 are NTFS formatted to use as storage. Drive 2 is currently unformatted.

I want to dual-boot Kubuntu and install it on drive 2. (and likely use it as my main operating system).

I downloaded and burned the Live CD (Intrepid Impala, 10.04), and it loads the menu where it asks me to use it as a live OS or install Kubuntu, and whenever I try and install Kubuntu (or use it Live, for that matter), the screen goes nuts, showing some weird psychedelic color pallette and making it basically impossible to see what I am doing.

I have spent the last day googling, and have found various solutions concerning graphics switching, black screens, touchpad issues, wifi issues, and other annoyances. However, no one seems to have been flat out unable to install Ubuntu (Kubuntu in my case). The closest I got to my problem was a 'black screen' issue.

If anyone has a similar laptop, or has faced a similar problem (wacky colors when trying to install), please could you help me out! I love the specs on this laptop (no one else is making 13 inch laptops that are nearly this powerful), but will likely return it if I cannot install Ubuntu at all. I wasn't sure If I should ask for help in the ubuntu forums or the Kubuntu forums, so I posted on both The only other time I installed Ubuntu (old Dell laptop, Ubuntu, Feisty Fawn), it went off without a hitch, so I'm really hoping this an easy problem that's simply showing up due to my inexperience.

Thanks,
Zithras

[Guest]

Re: Installing Kubuntu on VPC-Z1190X Laptop

try using f6 when the selection screen comes up for the live cd. turn off ACPI APIS and check anything that says low graphics. then try f4 and check anything with graphics there.
I have had to do this with all installs except for Lucid Lynx (10.04) on my main computer and still have to on another because of my set ups. in fact, i think Kubuntu is the only Linux OS that will actually install on my system without using a second monitor.

P.S. Asus also makes such powerful laptops, as do a few other manufacturers javascript:replaceText('%20',%20document.forms.postmodify.message);
alternatively you could disconnect all the drives you dont want linux on (for testing purposes and so you dont mess with the bootloader on them) and try installing Kubuntu instead of using it as a live CD

[Zithras]

Re: Installing Kubuntu on VPC-Z1190X Laptop

Nope - no luck with f6 disabling acpi, apis, nomodeset, etc. - still won't install OR work as a live CD. I'm not really worried about the Windows bootloader on the other drive - it's easy to fix.

How do I access a text-only install mode - maybe that'll work?

Edit: I found this link, and was also linked there by a mailing list: http://questier.com/2010/04/26/ubunt...aio-vpcz11x9e/ This seems a bit much for an inexperienced linux user to bite off, but I'll try poking through it and see if that works over the next few days...expect questions below.

[Zithras]

Re: Installing Kubuntu on VPC-Z1190X Laptop


Still trying to dualboot Win 7 and Kubuntu on a Sony VPC-Z1190X laptop. Installed Lucid Lynx in text mode via the alternate CD, grub and Windows 7 are both working fine. Still trying to get Kubuntu running.

Okay I followed the instructions on here:
http://questier.com/2010/04/26/ubunt...aio-vpcz11x9e/
including the steps under the 6/5/10 update.

When Grub starts, I get the following boot options:
Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-21-generic
Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-21-generic (recovery mode)
Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-21-generic
Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-21-generic (recovery mode)
Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-20-generic
Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-20-generic (recovery mode)
Memory test (memtest 86+)
Memory test (memtest 86+, serial console 115200)
Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sda1)

Options 1-4 won't boot (black screen on startup), even if I start with a 8.04 live cd first as suggested. (They'll give me a command prompt if I select that option, but no graphics)

Option 5 (the 20-generic) will also give a black screen if booted directly, but will give me a command prompt if I replace 'quiet splash' with 'single nomodeset i8042.nopnp' and then boot.
If I then enter 'sudo /etc/init.d/kdm start' at the command prompt I will get a KDE login screen, with a working touchpad.
However, when I enter my login name and password, and try to login, the screen briefly flashes black, and brings me back to the login screen.

Trying to get Kubuntu working on this machine is driving me NUTS (and taking up huge amounts of time)! Windows works great, but I would MUCH rather use Kubuntu as my default OS.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Zithras

(note: the machine does not have the drives in RAID, so this is not an issue here)