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optimistique1
December 15th, 2008, 12:47 PM
I Just got the Advent 5421 today and I have been trying ALL DAY to install Ubuntu or infact any Linux distro.
I have tried around five different distros and NONE of them will install and I can't figure out why as they have installed fine on other laptops.
Basically I try and boot from the 'Live CD's' and then they all get to the step where the Linux Kernel has loaded 100% and then it completely stalls and the disc stops spinning......
Can anybody help me try and get this resolved.
I don't know if I need to somehow load 'grub' into the MBR and if so HOW?
Or does it perhaps need a bios update.
I am not a whizz on computers but I desperately need some help with this?
Many thnks
Garry

joff13
December 15th, 2008, 01:21 PM
I[...]
Basically I try and boot from the 'Live CD's' and then they all get to the step where the Linux Kernel has loaded 100% and then it [...]

Hi Garry,

did you try with a non-live distro? perhaps ubuntu-alternate ?

gjoellee
December 15th, 2008, 01:25 PM
If you have new hardware on your computer it will normally get support in one of the next Linux kernels. There is a new kernel every 3 month

optimistique1
December 15th, 2008, 01:55 PM
Hi, all of the distros I have used have been LIVE CD's including the Ubuntu one.
Also, when you say that there is a new Linux kernel every so often what does this mean and how do I get the distro to boot properly and install.
I get the option to 'install witout making any changes' and then as soon as the splash screen comes on it stops......

eldragon
December 15th, 2008, 02:02 PM
when booting a livecd.....remove the splash line from the boot command in order to see kernel logs..

write here the last line it pops before freezing. might give a clue on what needs to be done in order to have a working system..

optimistique1
December 15th, 2008, 02:12 PM
How do I remove the splash line from the boot command?
Many Thanks
Garry

eldragon
December 15th, 2008, 02:19 PM
How do I remove the splash line from the boot command?
Many Thanks
Garry

dont remember exactly, but read the screen, scan for "edit boot options" or something similar.....if you happen to have the same problem i have you will have a hard time getting the system to boot linux :(

joff13
December 15th, 2008, 02:25 PM
How do I remove the splash line from the boot command?
Many Thanks
Garry

select the line you want to boot
press "e" to edit the line
press "b" to boot

linux_tech
December 15th, 2008, 02:30 PM
What are your system specs?


lshw

The alternate install allows you to do a text based custom install and usually runs on most systems

http://releases.ubuntu.com/8.10/

Make sure to select the correct version for your pc.

If that does not work, use the the live cd to run gparted to pre-format your hard drive as ext3. Then try the install again.

optimistique1
December 15th, 2008, 02:36 PM
Thanks for that buddy will give it a go now-

Here are the sys specs -

Processor(s)
Number of processors 1
Number of cores 2 per processor
Number of threads 2 per processor
Name Intel Celeron
Code Name
Specification Genuine Intel(R) CPU T1500 @ 1.86GHz
Package Socket P (478)
Family/Model/Stepping 6.F.D
Extended Family/Model 6.F
Core Stepping M0
Technology 65 nm
Core Speed 1867.1 MHz
Multiplier x Bus speed 14.0 x 133.4 MHz
Rated Bus speed 533.4 MHz
Stock frequency 1866 MHz
Instruction sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, EM64T
L1 Data cache (per processor) 2 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache (per processor) 2 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache (per processor) 512 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size
Chipset & Memory
Northbridge SiS 672 rev. 00
Southbridge SiS 968 rev. 01
Graphic Interface AGP
AGP Revision 3.0
AGP Transfer Rate 8x
AGP Side Band Addressing supported, enabled
Memory Type DDR2
Memory Size 1024 MBytes
Memory Frequency 333.4 MHz (4:10)
CAS# Latency (tCL) 5.0 clocks
RAS# to CAS# (tRCD) 5 clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 5 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS) 15 clocks
System
System Manufacturer DIXONSXP
System Name DIXONSXP
System S/N 12345678901234567
Mainboard Vendor DIXONSXP
Mainboard Model N/A
BIOS Vendor OEM
BIOS Version 1.13
BIOS Date 07/04/2008
Memory SPD
Module 1 DDR2, PC2-5300 (333 MHz), 1024 MBytes, A-Data Technology
Software
Windows Version Microsoft Windows Vista (6.0) Home Basic Edition Service Pack 1 (Build 6001)
DirectX Version 10.0

optimistique1
December 15th, 2008, 02:42 PM
I also managed to boot the CD without the splash screen and I get a load of text but I don't really know what I am looking for :-(

Does this mean anything:

'MARKING TSC UNSTABLE DUE TO TSC HALTS IN IDLE'....

eldragon
December 15th, 2008, 02:44 PM
if your system is freezing during kernel booting, you will have the same problem when loading the alternate install cd (which needs a kernel to work).

first you need to know which kernel module is freezing your system, and then blacklist it in the alternate install cd before being able to install

optimistique1
December 15th, 2008, 02:57 PM
How do I find out which kernel module is freezing your system?

I also have the same problem if I try and load OSX, that freezes too.

It's almost like the only thing that will install is windows YUK!!!!!

eldragon
December 15th, 2008, 03:04 PM
How do I find out which kernel module is freezing your system?

I also have the same problem if I try and load OSX, that freezes too.

It's almost like the only thing that will install is windows YUK!!!!!

editing the freaking boot options and removing splash.

concerning osx, it might be anything. especially since osx is not supposed to run on anything but a mac..

optimistique1
December 15th, 2008, 03:11 PM
managed to boot the CD without the splash screen and I get a load of text but I don't know what I am looking for

eldragon
December 15th, 2008, 03:13 PM
managed to boot the CD without the splash screen and I get a load of text but I don't know what I am looking for

read my first post.

optimistique1
December 15th, 2008, 03:17 PM
I just tried to install PC BSD and this flashes up saying -

adc0: FAILURE - READ_BIG HARDWARE ERROR asc = 0x3e ascq=0x02

Does this mean anything to anyone???

optimistique1
December 15th, 2008, 03:23 PM
Ok here are the last lines before it freezes in Ubuntu -

1.982827} Marking TSC unstable due to TSC halts in idle

eldragon
December 15th, 2008, 03:24 PM
i missed one of your posts......

edit the boot options, and try with noacpi and remove the splash command...see if that gives you a booting system

you could try adding the following option to the bootoption list: clocksource=hpet

instead of noacpi

optimistique1
December 15th, 2008, 03:28 PM
same as last time -

1.937234} Marking TSC unstable due to TSC halts in idle

eldragon
December 15th, 2008, 03:30 PM
edited my previous post, read it :D

joff13
December 15th, 2008, 03:31 PM
Ok here are the last lines before it freezes in Ubuntu -

1.982827} Marking TSC unstable due to TSC halts in idle

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4464805

optimistique1
December 15th, 2008, 03:40 PM
Ok Eldragon this is what I get now -

1.942928] Marking TSC unstable due to TSC halts in idle
1.943238] ACPI: CPU1 (power states: C1 [C1] C2 [C2] C3[C3])
1.943483] Processor ACPI007:01: registered as coolling_device1
1.943542 ACPI: Processpr [CPU1] (supports 8 throttling states)

The it freezes :-(((

Casper Hansen
December 15th, 2008, 04:24 PM
Just a thought... But did you check md5sum and burn the .iso to the disc at the lowest speed?

Topsiho
December 15th, 2008, 05:05 PM
Someone else already said this before me: if you have new hardware you run the risk that it is not yet supported by the present Linux-kernel.
It appears to me that your processor is not yet known to the kernel you have (and the other Linuxes as well, which all of them do not use a kernel that does not yet exist), so the boot process halts.

The last line says

1.943542 ACPI: Processpr [CPU1] (supports 8 throttling states)

Not paying any attention to the typo, I think the present kernel does not know what to do with 8 throttling states: thus that the processor is not known to this kernel.

When using new hardware you always run the risk that the Linux kernel gets confused. You'll have to wait until the next (stable) kernel is released, and then try again.

Why is someone who says something useful not listened to :confused:

Topsiho

optimistique1
December 15th, 2008, 07:16 PM
Someone else already said this before me: if you have new hardware you run the risk that it is not yet supported by the present Linux-kernel.
It appears to me that your processor is not yet known to the kernel you have (and the other Linuxes as well, which all of them do not use a kernel that does not yet exist), so the boot process halts.

The last line says

1.943542 ACPI: Processpr [CPU1] (supports 8 throttling states)

Not paying any attention to the typo, I think the present kernel does not know what to do with 8 throttling states: thus that the processor is not known to this kernel.

When using new hardware you always run the risk that the Linux kernel gets confused. You'll have to wait until the next (stable) kernel is released, and then try again.

Why is someone who says something useful not listened to :confused:

Topsiho


Thankyou for your help Topsiho, the worst part of all of this was not understanding 'WHY' this was happending.

You mention that I will have to wait until the next stable kernel is released. It may sound silly but how do I know when it is relased and also, when it is released what do I need to do exactly? Does t mean that I have to download the ISO again and how will I know that it contains the kernel that I need...

I am only coming to grips with day to day usage of Linux and everything else is a bit 'over my head' at the moment.

Many thanks

Garry

Seq
December 15th, 2008, 07:50 PM
According to this thread (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=6371433), adding "APIC=off" or "noapic" to the boot string (the same line you edited to remove "splash") should get the livecd running.

If that works, then you might want to Create a bug report (https://edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+filebug) on Launchpad. Ubuntu's kernel team will ask you for more information (not sure what they will need) and hopefully the issue will be resolved and work out-of-the-box in the future.

optimistique1
December 15th, 2008, 08:35 PM
Hey Seq thanks for that I will give this whirl when I get home as I am at work now.
Will update tomorrow if I get no joy.
Fingers crossed....
:-)

Seq
December 15th, 2008, 11:38 PM
Hey Seq thanks for that I will give this whirl when I get home as I am at work now.
Will update tomorrow if I get no joy.
Fingers crossed....
:-)

Post back anyway, I'm sure we would all like to know how it goes.

Just one revision to my "create a bug report" entry above: Make one anyway, not just if it works ;)

optimistique1
December 15th, 2008, 11:46 PM
No worries will post back tomorrow and let you all know either way how it goes. Hopefully with 'good' news. :popcorn:

optimistique1
December 16th, 2008, 02:00 PM
Hi Guys, bad news still no joy. It still hangs at the same place.
Looks like it isn't ever going to work so I am either stuck with windows or I will have to get another latop :-(

eldragon
December 16th, 2008, 09:38 PM
i still believe its something else..

i remember being able to run my buggy notebook with DSL (damn small linux) forcing it NOT to detect any hardware and go with old standards (which are usually supported by new hardware).

you could try that.

test it here: http://damnsmalllinux.org/

it wont give you what you want, but it will help you get a working system to work with (and for example, list hardware, start adding modules 1 by 1).

id feel really exited to debug your notebook! you will learn a lot :D

i dont remember which was the combo to disable hardware detection, read their website :D

Topsiho
December 17th, 2008, 04:49 PM
Thank you for your help Topsiho, the worst part of all of this was not understanding 'WHY' this was happening.

You mention that I will have to wait until the next stable kernel is released. It may sound silly but how do I know when it is released and also, when it is released what do I need to do exactly? Does t mean that I have to download the ISO again and how will I know that it contains the kernel that I need...

I am only coming to grips with day to day usage of Linux and everything else is a bit 'over my head' at the moment.

Many thanks

Garry

The kernel is updated sometimes quite often with the regular updates from Ubuntu. And I am afraid there is a snag here: these updates are applied to an already installed Ubuntu system.
So if I am right (which in this special case I hope I am NOT :)) I fear that you'll have to wait for the next version of Ubuntu, or one of it's Release Candidates (beta versions that are released in the latter part of it's development cycle).
If you have another working computer that is connected to the internet you can watch for these events, download the .iso's, burn them, check them for errors in the drive you are going to use for the install, and then try to install them.

If I am not correct you could of course listen to the other posters and try their suggestions. Keeps you busy in the mean time, and you probably learn a lot from this. People learn more from when the going is tough then when all is going smoothly :) Only don't get frustrated...

If this helps you: usually the install of Ubuntu is very smooth indeed. I use Ubuntu from the start (4.10) and have also used numerous other distributions, such as Mandrake (now Mandriva), Red Hat (my first, 5.1), Fedora and Suse. All are great, but none of them beats Ubuntu (except for the Dutch translations, in Ubuntu these are a mess, but this probably does not bother you :)).

But sometimes Ubuntu does not install on one of my computers, and then I try the alternate version. (Hey: did someone mention this to you? I did not read all posts).
But all my computers that I have and that I had were older ones, except for a Toshiba laptop (which gave no problem at all) and my new Acer netbook, in which only the really new wifi chip gave problems (which were cured insufficiently in a newer kernel), which were fixed very well by compiling and installing a new driver, from a suggestion on a website dedicated to this specific netbook (it helps if you have a very popular computer).

Hope this will help to you,

Topsiho

gjsduarte
February 21st, 2009, 04:26 PM
Hi there.

Try combining the previous parameters adviced in this forum.

"noapic acpi=off irqpoll"

RGDS

Mez
October 2nd, 2009, 08:04 PM
Sory if I'm dragging up an old topic, but I've got one of these myself, and know how to fix it.

The system needs the kernel command "nolapic_timer" to boot...

I can't remember how to change this on a live CD off of the top of my head, but if you can find how to edit the boot parameters, you need to add "nolapic_timer" (without the quotes) after "quiet splash" on the kernel line.

Surprisingly however, Karmic boots without this! - Yay!