My computer CAN'T install Linux

[ethanmad]

Hi,

I'm sick of Windows and I just love Linux. My horrible laptop runs Ubuntu and sometimes I prefer it to my quad-core home-built desktop because of how smooth Linux is. My desktop however, just cannot install Linux at all. I've tried 3 distros to no avail (Ubuntu, Fedora, and Arch Linux). I'm not sure if the problem is in the installation or in the boot process (as I'm no Linux expert), so I'm really lost and I've never heard of this type of problem, so any help at all would be much appreciated.

By the way, I've tried installing Ubuntu through both Wubi and the standard installation. In addition, I can't start up a Linux emulator on Windows (but I can do Android).

Here are my computer specs, in case they matter:
CPU: core i5 750 OC'd slightly
GPU: Gigabyte 240 gt 512 mb
RAM: 4 GB corsair 1600 mhz
1 TB HDD
and I run win7 on a daily basis. Would love to switch to a Arch/Ubuntu/Win7 triboot (arch as the main, ubuntu backup linux, and win7 for CS5).


PLEASE HELP ME!

[rcgreen]

You will need to describe what goes wrong when you try to install.

[ethanmad]

Okay, I'll try doing an Ubuntu 11.04 install and I'll take pictures of the error screens and problematic areas.

One more thing: on my bootloader screen (where I select which OS to boot), it lists Ubuntu twice. How can I clear those from the list of OSes? Neither one of them works, so I want them out.

[jayd512]

Hi and Welcome!

First, don't worry about the bootloader screen just yet. You can fix that later.
Can you boot up to a Live version of Ubuntu? Or are there errors there, as well?
If you can boot to it, post the output of the command lspci -vnn.

[ethanmad]

So I'm having trouble booting into Ubuntu on a flash drive. I have my boot priority set to Removable Device first, so it should just boot into my flash drive, but it isn't. I used Universal USB installer to install ubuntu 11.04 to it... I'm going to go look for a RW DVD so I can make a Live CD and I'll tell you the result if I can find one.


UPDATE: I can't find a RW CD or DVD, but I found a Fedora 15 Alpha disc which I think I can boot into. I'll try typing the command into the terminal there.

UPDATE 2: No dice. Can't boot into Fedora. I installed Ubuntu through Wubi and when I boot into it, it says:

"(initramfs) /scripts/casper-premount/20iso_scan: line 46: can't open /dev/sda: No medium found.

Could not find the ISO /ubuntu/install /installation.iso
This could happen if the file sysetm is not clean because of an operating sstem crash, an interrupted boot process, an improper shutdown, or unplugging of a removable device without first unmounting or ejecting it. To fix this, simply reboot into Windows, let it fully start, log in, run 'chkdsk /r', then gracefully shutdown and reboot back into Windows. After this you should be able to reboot again and resume the installation.
_"

When I type "chkdsk /r" into an elevated cmd prompt, I get the following response: "Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by anotherr process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? <Y/N>"

I type in 'Y' and it tells me the volume will be checked upon the next reboot.

UPDATE 3: After waiting hours for the chkdsk to complete, I get the same result upon choosing to load Ubuntu... :'(

[MASONTX]

Some people have had trouble with 11.04, you might try 10.04LTS instead. Another option is to try the alternate install, available from the Ubuntu website.

[ethanmad]

The problem isn't in Ubuntu; it's Linux as a whole. If I try any other distro, I'll get a similar error.

[Jonathan183]

I suggest you uninstall wubi see here ... then resize Windows partition to allow you to setup a dual/triple boot - PartedMagic should allow you to do that. I have found Unetbootin an easy way to create bootable USB drives.
Make sure you have boot from USB or CD before hard drive selected in BIOS, also check that virus protection is set off in BIOS before trying to do the install.
I'd try setting up Arch first, that way you can get things to work without a gui, and then setup the gui after. If there are problems with graphics card drivers you can sort this after the install.

[nightoil]

I suspect the problem is in the BIOS, you'll need to change the hard disk or something like the harddisk controller or sometimes called SATA mode to IDE mode or disable AHCI mode. Unfortunately every BIOS is different so can't say which of the above you'll need to do.

Might be best to make the change & then boot into windows, just to make sure you haven't screwed anything up there. If windows doesn't boot - change back to the original setting.

[ethanmad]

Thanks, I'll try to change the SATA mode over the weekend.