Linux woes

R

Ruoska

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Hi all! I am new here, and as is often the case, brought here due to some manner of problem.

Here's my story in a nutshell: I have been trying to set-up my desktop computer to dual-boot Win7 with Linux. At first, I tried Ubuntu, as I figured it would be the easiest, being the mainstream distro. Also, I had no problems installing it on my laptop. On my desktop, however, I am not able to proceed to the desktop environment. I have tried Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Mint with Cinnamon and KDE flavors, 32-bit and 64-bit versions, live CDs, USB flash drive boots. All kinds I have tried. I recall reaching the desktop environment once or twice, but 90% of the time I end up in either a black screen, or a Unity/Mint colored splash screen. Starting in recovery mode is equally fruitless, as it seems to run on an infinite loop on some system check. (see picture)

Pictures while trying to boot Linux Mint from LiveCD, 1. Normal Boot 2. Recovery Mode


My configuration:

M-Board: Asus P7H55 Intel H55 LGA1156 ATX
CPU: Intel Core i3-540 3.06Ghz LGA1156
GPU: Asus Radeon HD 6870 1GB DDR5 AND/OR Asus Nvidia GTX 650
Ram: Kingston HyperX 2GB DDR3, 8GB all in all
Power: Cooler Master GX-lite 500 W ATX
HDD: Samsung 1TB HDD and Maxtor 200 GB HDD

I am at a loss as to what I should do to make it work. I am fairly certain the problem is with hardware, but cannot guess what could be causing it. I have tried installing on both the Maxtor HDD (which is otherwise formatted and empty), as well as on the Samsung drive using WUBI. But neither allows me to reach desktop environment. I figured the GPU to be the problem, and tried with the NVIDIA card, but no difference there.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.
 


I had the same problem with a Ubuntu install on a laptop. Your best course of action is probably to remove Linux(the Ubuntu official help site is where I would start) and assure that Windows 7 still works correctly after the removal. Then, instead of installing Linux to dual boot with Windows, pull the hard drive out of your laptop and use a 8-32Gb usb drive to install Linux. If it works from the usb correctly(try this multiple times) then try your to install Linux alongside of Windows. Hope this helps!
 
Hello,

The issue is most likely the graphics card as you said. Place the Nvidia card in the computer and do not use the AMD card. Then during install of Ubuntu use the nomodeset option:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BootOptions#Changing_the_CD.27s_Default_Boot_Options

You should then be able to install. Once you reboot into the installed system make sure to install the latest nvidia drivers and possibly modify /etc/default/grub to include the nomodeset option by default.
 
Everything you are trying is Ubuntu-based, so... try something else! Get a few non-Ubuntu live DVD distros, like Fedora, Slax, Debian, OpenSUSE, Deepin, or others... and see what happens. It's just another option for you, but you might be surprised and enjoy one of these.

Also, although UEFI is usually a problem for Windows 8 computers, it is also on some older Win 7 machines too. UEFI is the replacement for BIOS, so you would have to boot into your "Setup" to see what you have there. If you see settings in Boot Options for things like "Secure Boot" and "Legacy Mode" (or "CSM") then you have UEFI. I looked up your motherboard specs but could not find anything that says BIOS or UEFI, but UEFI has been around for about 10 years, so it's hard to say who has it and who doesn't (except Win 8 always has it). Hopefully you have regular BIOS though. UEFI is a pain, but you can usually get around it too.

If your trouble is video, you already have some good advice on that.

Good luck!
 
Alright, I will try the nomodeset to determine whether the now installed Nvidia card will work out. I'm unsure why it wouldnt work with a Linux Mint Live CD out of the box, but I'll give it a go.

Atanere: Ive been looking into openSUSE, I'll give it a go no matter whether I get Ubuntu derivatives to work or not. I checked the UEFI and BIOS thing, based on another post of yours here at linux forums, but I have BIOS so its not an issue with UEFI incompatibility.
 
Good deal... BIOS is so much easier! Nomodeset cures a lot of black screen issues, so hopefully it will cure yours also. You'll be Linux'ing in no time.
 
@atanere "(except Win 8 always has it)."

No, not necessarily. Perhaps in the laptops/computers that were factory installed with Windows 8, but not always. I have a laptop that is from 2008 with Vista factory installed and I changed to Windows 8/8.1and I have BIOS. Maybe the question to ask is "Did Windows 8/8.1 come factory installed as it could be UEFI issue and ...<give you advice on how to help here >".
Isn't UEFI a setting for those who have touch devices? I only have a passing knowledge of it and that was my understanding. I could be completely wrong though.
 
@atanere "(except Win 8 always has it)."

No, not necessarily. Perhaps in the laptops/computers that were factory installed with Windows 8, but not always. I have a laptop that is from 2008 with Vista factory installed and I changed to Windows 8/8.1and I have BIOS. Maybe the question to ask is "Did Windows 8/8.1 come factory installed as it could be UEFI issue and ...<give you advice on how to help here >".
Isn't UEFI a setting for those who have touch devices? I only have a passing knowledge of it and that was my understanding. I could be completely wrong though.

@ChristiW : good call, and you're right! It is new PC's that ship with the "Windows Logo" for pre-installed Windows 8 systems that have UEFI. And I may be wrong here too, but what I think the real requirement of this is that UEFI has Secure Boot enabled. Secure Boot is a feature not found in older BIOS systems, and it is a low level protection of the operating systems against some malware, such as root kits.

In theory, Secure Boot is a good idea. For those who run only Windows, they might never know about it. But getting Linux to run on these systems is not always easy. Even the bigger Linux distros that are "UEFI-ready" will not always install or run properly. Some will run with Secure Boot enabled, but some won't. Some need the UEFI setting "Legacy mode" to be enabled, but I'v heard that some systems do not have that option (which may make Linux installation quite impossible).

So, UEFI is not about touch devices. It is the replacement for BIOS. Some call it UEFI BIOS, but it is not BIOS at all although it is supposed to offer legacy support for BIOS.

For many years Linux was relatively easy to install alone or to dual-boot with Windows. The GRUB or LILO bootloader installed on the Master Boot Record (MBR) of the hard disk, and all was well. It is quite a different story now with UEFI, at least for anyone buying a store-bought computer with Windows. All of my desktops are regular BIOS right now, but I have fought with UEFI on two laptops so far.... which is good for learning but also very frustrating. I think eventually there will be an improvement both from the OEM's and from the Linux community to help resolve these problems, but right now can be very difficult, especially for people trying Linux for the first time.
 
After I made my post @atanere , I looked up UEFI and I was incorrect. I think tmy believing that it was correlated to a "touch device" came from the fact that most touch devices comes with Windows 8 already installed, so it's most likely (but not always) using UEFI. From what I understand, Microsoft is going to make this the default in the new devices that come out using their product. Conceptually, it's a good idea, but in reality it looks like a pain in the patootie to me. :p
 
Alright, I will try the nomodeset to determine whether the now installed Nvidia card will work out. I'm unsure why it wouldnt work with a Linux Mint Live CD out of the box, but I'll give it a go.

Atanere: Ive been looking into openSUSE, I'll give it a go no matter whether I get Ubuntu derivatives to work or not. I checked the UEFI and BIOS thing, based on another post of yours here at linux forums, but I have BIOS so its not an issue with UEFI incompatibility.

So, how is it.......? :) Did you get it.....?? :3
 
Hi guys,

Sorry for the late update, girlfriend got a little flustered with me spending so much time battling with Linux while Im supposed to be writing my thesis. :)

Here is an update:

I am using the GTX 650 card. I removed the hard-drive with my windows installation completely and am testing with an empty 200gb Maxtor Harddrive. I installed Mint KDE 17 first on it, installed proprietary NVIDIA drivers, and more or less the system works like a charm. Not every boot up goes all the way though, and sometimes it gets stuck on the black screen. Curiously this seems to have nothing to do with using or not using nomodeset. But overall, I would say it was a success.

Xubuntu 14.04 was less of a success, however. Worked just fine booting from the USB and installing, booted fine on the first boot. I then installed Nvidia proprietary drivers, and suddenly I cannot boot to desktop, nomodeset or not. I tried rebooting like 10 times, and everytime it gets stuck on the black screen with a blinking cursor top-left. I can't imagine something would have broken beyond repair with just doing that, especially as Mint works fine still. Perhaps I'll try a clean reinstall of Xubuntu later and see if the problem replicates. If it does, I'll give some other Ubuntu distribution a test.

Once I confirm everything to be working properly, I will carefully start testing with the windows drive attached. Should I expect some boot weirdness, when one is configured for windows, while other boots with Grub? Or will it simply use whichever one is used in the primary Hard Drive, as set in BIOS?

Further note: Installed Xubuntu 14.04 (very same distro as I installed on the desktop) on my aging laptop. First observation is that it works flawlessly. Second observation is holycrapthisOSisfast. :D

Thanks for the help so far! If anyone has ideas regarding my problem with the Xubuntu distro on desktop computer, Id appreciate help!
 
After I made my post @atanere , I looked up UEFI and I was incorrect. I think tmy believing that it was correlated to a "touch device" came from the fact that most touch devices comes with Windows 8 already installed, so it's most likely (but not always) using UEFI. From what I understand, Microsoft is going to make this the default in the new devices that come out using their product. Conceptually, it's a good idea, but in reality it looks like a pain in the patootie to me. :p

Yes, it is a major "pain in the patootie!" :eek: :D
 
Hi guys,

Sorry for the late update, girlfriend got a little flustered with me spending so much time battling with Linux while Im supposed to be writing my thesis. :)

Here is an update:

I am using the GTX 650 card. I removed the hard-drive with my windows installation completely and am testing with an empty 200gb Maxtor Harddrive. I installed Mint KDE 17 first on it, installed proprietary NVIDIA drivers, and more or less the system works like a charm. Not every boot up goes all the way though, and sometimes it gets stuck on the black screen. Curiously this seems to have nothing to do with using or not using nomodeset. But overall, I would say it was a success.

Xubuntu 14.04 was less of a success, however. Worked just fine booting from the USB and installing, booted fine on the first boot. I then installed Nvidia proprietary drivers, and suddenly I cannot boot to desktop, nomodeset or not. I tried rebooting like 10 times, and everytime it gets stuck on the black screen with a blinking cursor top-left. I can't imagine something would have broken beyond repair with just doing that, especially as Mint works fine still. Perhaps I'll try a clean reinstall of Xubuntu later and see if the problem replicates. If it does, I'll give some other Ubuntu distribution a test.

Once I confirm everything to be working properly, I will carefully start testing with the windows drive attached. Should I expect some boot weirdness, when one is configured for windows, while other boots with Grub? Or will it simply use whichever one is used in the primary Hard Drive, as set in BIOS?

Further note: Installed Xubuntu 14.04 (very same distro as I installed on the desktop) on my aging laptop. First observation is that it works flawlessly. Second observation is holycrapthisOSisfast. :D

Thanks for the help so far! If anyone has ideas regarding my problem with the Xubuntu distro on desktop computer, Id appreciate help!

I'm guessing you tried the Xubuntu on the desktop and NOT installing the Nvidia drivers? It does still seem like a hardware conflict on that one, but glad you are enjoying it on your laptop. Fast is good!

If you are going to attempt to run both hard drives at the same time, I would say that should expect weird results if each hard drive was set up independently. It may only boot one, and not recognize the other... maybe the next time you boot it will recognize the other one. I'm confused just thinking about that!

Only one hard drive should have a boot flag (you can see that in Gparted, for example). The bootloader should probably be GRUB on the booting hard drive so that it will give you the choice between Linux and Windows. And GRUB has to be set properly to know which OS is on which drive. You can do this, but I'm not sure you have prepared your drives for this yet.

There are other solutions too. You could partition your larger Samsung drive and install both OS's on it, and just use the Maxtor for storage for both systems (music, videos, etc). You could get front loading hot-swappable type drive bays and physically change drives easily instead of climbing inside the case each time you want to switch OS's.

It sounds like you're having fun now! :D
 
Thanks for the heads up! I willl look into it at some point when I have time. To be honest, I am finding myself not really needing the windows side too much, since I don't have time play games anyway at the moment...and LibreOffice seems to have come a long way in terms of productivity suites, while thunderbird is a great email client. Though for some reason I can only receive emails on my school account, but it won't let me send them...i'll have to troubleshoot that one at some point, but for now the web client is enough for sending any school emails. :)

Bottom line, yes I'm having fun now! the hotswappable idea actually sounds pretty neat haha :D
 
I agree: LibreOffice and Thunderbird are both excellent, and I use them frequently too. Sounds like something misconfigured that isn't letting you send emails... probabably easily fixed. Check with your school's required SMTP settings and make sure everything matches what you have. You can also configure Thunderbird to use another server other than the school to send your outgoing email.
 
I find WPS the best office suite for Linux, at least for now. Very polished. Just saying... In case you haven't tried it out yet.
 
I find WPS the best office suite for Linux, at least for now. Very polished. Just saying... In case you haven't tried it out yet.
WPS is missing some very crucial functions, but I agree. I only use LibreOffice for spreadsheets.
 

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