Preinstallation Problems

-1 PROBLEM
When I boot from the Ubuntu DVD-ROM, the drive spins up as if something is happening,
but I see nothing. (Alternatively, I see on-screen graphical corruption.)

-SOLUTION
It’s possible the DVD-ROM disc is either dirty or faulty. Examine its surface for scratches, or try cleaning it with a moist tissue. A typical indicator of a dirty or damaged disc is that
the drive spins up and then instantly spins down several times in succession—listen to the whir of the drive’s motor to tell if this is the case. If the disc seems OK, it might be that your computer is unable to display the Ubuntu boot menu. To get around this, when you see the blank screen blank or graphical corruption, press the Esc key. Then press Enter. You’ll see the word boot: at the top left of the screen, along with a prompt at which you can enter commands. Type live, and press Enter.


-2 PROBLEM
The computer boots from the DVD-ROM, but when the boot menu appears,pressing Enter doesn’t start the installation. In fact, nothing happens at all! I’m unable to move up and down through the menu choices either—the keyboard is totally unresponsive.

-SOLUTION
If your PC uses a USB keyboard, it might be that it’s not being recognized by the Ubuntu
boot loader. To get around this, it’s possible to make most computers pretend that USB
keyboards are older PS/2 keyboards. This is done on a fundamental hardware level and is
invisible to the operating system. Here are the steps:
1. Enter the BIOS setup program by pressing Delete during the initial stages of your
computer’s boot routine (while memory testing and drive identification are still
taking place). Some computers might use a different key combination to enter
BIOS setup, such as Ctrl+Insert, but this information will be displayed on screen.
2. Use the cursor keys to navigate to the Integrated Peripherals section, and then look
for an entry along the lines of USB Legacy Support. Set it to Enabled.
3. Press Escape to return to the main menu, and opt to save the changes.
4. Reboot the computer.
Note that you should repeat this procedure and deactivate USB Legacy Support once
Ubuntu has been installed. At that stage, Ubuntu should be able to recognize the USB
keyboard properly.


-3 PROBLEM
Immediately after I press Enter at the boot menu to start Ubuntu’s live distro mode, the
computer looks like it’s crashed—the graphics are corrupted!

-SOLUTION
Your graphics card may be incompatible with the framebuffer graphical mode used by
Ubuntu’s boot routine. You can overcome this problem by following these steps:
1. Reboot and, when you would normally press Enter to start the Ubuntu installation
routine, instead press the F6 key (the Function keys run across the top of the
keyboard).
2. You should see a line of text appear below the menu that begins Boot Options.
Using the Backspace key, delete quiet splash -- from the end of the line. Then
press Enter.
If you continue to see graphical corruption, try using the solution to the next problem.


-4 PROBLEM
When I select the Start or Install Ubuntu option and press Enter, I see a status bar, but
when the Ubuntu desktop should appear, it looks like my computer has crashed—all I see
is graphical corruption.

-SOLUTION
Reboot the computer, and when the Ubuntu boot menu appears, select the Start Ubuntu
in Safe Graphics Mode entry. Then press Enter. This will start Ubuntu using Vesa graphics
drivers, which are compatible with practically every graphics card made within the last
ten years.
If you’re trying this solution after trying the solution to the previous problem, select
Start Ubuntu in Safe Graphics Mode, and before pressing Enter, repeat the steps in the
previous solution: press F6 and then delete the text at the end of the Boot Options line.



-5 PROBLEM
After I’ve selected the Start or Install Ubuntu option on the menu, the status bar appears,
but then the computer freezes.

-SOLUTION
It’s possible the power-saving feature or the advanced programmable interrupt controller
(APIC) in your computer is causing problems. Press the F6 key, and type the following at
the end of the Boot Options line that appears:
acpi=off noapic nolapic
Press Enter when you’ve finished to boot Ubuntu.


-6 PROBLEM
I’m attempting to install Ubuntu onto a notebook computer. After I select the Start or
Install Ubuntu option and press Enter, the screen is filled with graphical corruption, and
it looks like Ubuntu has crashed. (Alternatively, the screen looks squashed, or some elements
are off-center or off the edge of the screen.)

-SOLUTION
When the Ubuntu boot menu appears, press the Escape key and press Enter. At the boot:
prompt, type live vga=771. Then press Enter.

-7 PROBLEM
During booting, my computer hangs. On screen I see a lot of output, but at the bottom of
it are the words aec671x-detect....

-SOLUTION
When the Ubuntu boot menu appears, press the Escape key and press Enter. At the boot:
prompt, type live gdth=disable:y. Then press Enter.

-8 PROBLEM
The Ubuntu DVD-ROM seems to boot into live distro mode, but then the screen goes
blank, and my monitor flashes an error along the lines of “Cannot display this mode” or
“Out of mode”. (This problem might affect users of wide-screen monitors in particular.)

-SOLUTION
It sounds like the graphical configuration Ubuntu automatically generates for your computer
isn’t correct. Reboot the computer, and when the Ubuntu boot menu appears, select the
Start Ubuntu in Safe Graphics Mode entry. Then press Enter. This will start Ubuntu using
Vesa graphics drivers, which are compatible with practically every graphics card made
within the last ten years.
Alternatively, it’s possible that, although the screen is blank, the Ubuntu login screen is
running in the background. You can, therefore, try logging in “blind” (that is, without any
visual feedback on screen). Type your username, press Enter, type your password, and
press Enter again. At this point, you may find that the desktop appears as it should. This
should allow you to run the Ubuntu installation program.
solution after trying the solution to the previous problem, select
Start Ubuntu in Safe Graphics Mode, and before pressing Enter, repeat the steps in the
previous solution: press F6 and then delete the text at the end of the Boot Options line.