Cannot install 13.04 - Quadro card requires nomodeset.

[seanmandrake]

Hi! I have tried to find an answer for this but just can't seem to:

I have been successfully using Kubuntu 12. 04 on various PC's, have become fond of it and wanted to install 13. 04 onto my big box, however, I know from experience with other linux distros that the Quadro GFX in this box cannot run a graphical installer without crashing, (nouveau just hates it AFAIK). So, sure enough I tried and it is the same for Kubuntu 13. 04. As soon as it reaches the first GUI install screen everything starts ripping, I get faults and it eventually hangs. The live install doesnt even do that and just blanks and re-boots.

So what I want to know, is how can I force a nomodeset from a USB install?

I have used pendrivelinux to expand the ISO onto the USB and make bootable so is there a file in there somewhere (aka GRUB style) I could edit perhaps? (can only find grub. cfg). Or is there some key that can bring up an advanced options menu for the installer perhaps? Or even an alternate install distro for 13. 04 as 12. 04LTS offers?

Many thanks!

[oshunluvr]

You can add "nomodeset" on the fly - when the grub menu appears, hit the edit key (I thinks it's "E") and simply add the nomodeset option to the end on the line.

Another idea for installing: What if you installed basic Ubuntu server with no desktop, logged in, installed the nvidia driver, rebooted to be sure it works, then install kdedesktop? This is several steps more than the Ubiquity install, but avoids the GUI installer.

Other options: Have you tried "Safe Graphics Mode" when booting to the liveUSB?

[seanmandrake]

Hi,

I am not getting a grub menu at all, 13.04 just boots of fthe USB straight to a GUI with two big, pretty icons: One for liveCD and the other for install. From there it's a choice of hang and reboot or crash and reboot. Very weird. Could it be how I created the bootable USB?

Your second option sounds possible (I know the nvidia drivers work fine) but it's totally beyond me how to do that really.

[seanmandrake]

Solved.

I still dont know if this is a quirk of the distro itself or the USB installer but anyway, here is my findings for other folk:

The distro doesnt seem to have any inbuilt options. It's just live or install and it throws all the graphics it can at you, which i snice, but if you need to add them you have to do that yourself somehow...

I tried three USB installers:

• Universal USB Installer - Was by far the prettiest of the three but boots straight into a Kubuntu install GUI with live or install options and nothing else.
• unetbootin - Booted to a text based options menu which had duplicate 'Stat Kubuntu' options, was unclear and crashed out on me.
• YUMI - Simple text based menu and I was able to trace through the syslinux txt files to find E:\multiboot\menu\ku130464.cfg (your drive and filename will no doubt be different) wherein I found a familiar grub style boot string I could duplicate and add nomodeset to thus giving me the option that worked.

I dont know enough to be certain what is going on here, I get the idea that surely Kubuntu's distro should offer nomodeset (or an *advanced* mode) during the boot / install process somewhere? But this has to happen before it boots... Maybe I am wrong. In any case I hope this helps. All is well now.