9.04 AMD64 doesn't install, old 8.04i386 version does

[TomVT]

Greetings,

I've just put together a new box
ASUS M3A78-EM mother board
WD 1 TB SATA HD
5 gig DDR2 (2-2gig and 2-256MB floating around since I upgraded the old box)
Panasonic SATA optical drive

I've done all the steps to get a Live CD of 9.04 AMD64. Did it twice actually, and everything on the disks checks out fine. Both booted, checked fine for errors. I tried every installation option available, and every time the screen shows a bunch of error messages about "softreset" etc indicating some SATA devices aren't ready and then dumps me into the command line for initramsf.

I tried this a few times, and pulled out my old LiveCD of 8.04 i386. This installs and runs just fine. With this loaded, I tried the upgrade path towards 9.04, going to 8.10 first. I didn't do all of the 8.04 upgrades, just skipped ahead. Pretty much the same thing happend after a while.

Reinstalled 8.04, works fine. Lots of upgrades offered, since the disk is maybe 18 months old. I upgraded 8.04 before trying the next upgrade path again. This seems to have worked successfully. But, before I try to go to 8.10, and possibly end up having to wipe the disk again, I thought I'd seek advice.

Questions;

1) Any ideas on what's going on with 9.04 AMD64. I haven't tried the 32-bit version yet. I've got the hardware to run 64bit, and would just as soon try.

2) I've got a 32-bit version of 8.04. Can I chose to upgrade to a 64-bit version of something at some point through the upgrade paths?

2) The MB has HDMI on-board. It came with drivers for Windows VISTA and WindowsXP. Will I be able to find a driver for Ubuntu, any version? I'd planned to hook this machine up to my HDMI TV, both to be able to work in the livingroom and to stream video to a bigger screen. If Ubuntu won't do this, I'm kinda stuck.

Thanks in advance,

Tom in VT

[ronparent]

Have you tried just running the 9.04 AMD-64 cd in live mode? What happens?

ps You might try removing the 2-256Mb memory modules - I doubt they contribute much, and are not likely a match for the new sticks.

[TomVT]

I'll pull the 256s and try running from LiveCD. The sticks are theoretically a match, same speed etc, but it's worth a try. I'll report in if the live mode works. BTW, what chipset does your MB carry, and which ATI implementation? Mine has ATI Radeon HD3200 GPU. Thanks.

[ronparent]

Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-UD4H with ATI Radeon HD3300 GPU. I'm not happy with the proprietary ATI drivers (don't recognize 1920x1200 24" monitor) but nothing I can't live with for the time being.

[TomVT]

I tried running 9.04 off the CD. Got pretty much the same thing

BEGIN CODE:

[ 2.332312] ata1: softreset failed (device not ready)
[ 3.668306] ata3: softreset failed (device not ready]
[ 8.832607] ata3.00: failed to set xfermode (err_mask=0x4)

<ETC>

[ 30.816250] ata3: exception Emask 0x40 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x800 action 0x6 frozen t4
[ 30.816283] ata3: SError: { HostInt }
[ 31.636292] ata3: softreset failed (device not ready)
Loading, please wait...



BusyBox v1.10.2 (Ubuntu 1:1.10.2-2unbuntu7) built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.
(initramfs) <blinking cursor>

:END CODE

I've got 6 internal, and one external SATA ports. Only the first two are connected, #1 for the HD and #2 for the optical disk.

Any ideas welcome.

Thanks.

[ronparent]

The live cd is just a preview of what to expect trying to run an installed system. It would be pointless to install until you can trace down the source of the problem.

That said, I doubt that you would find any difference in trying to run 32bit vs, 64bit. Also hardware with your general specs generally has no problem running ubuntu. I have simular hardware, including hdmi port, and have had absolutely no problems running. I haven't tried using the hdmi yet, but, I doubt it's a factor.

One of the first suspects would probably be the bios. Have you checked for a bios update? Next might be memory. Have you run memory check? Have you tried to run any windows systems? If it is a hardware problem I doubt that any other OS would run either. Win 7 is still free and if you can get hold of a copy I believe you can still obtain a key. Win 7 is incidently very compatibly with all contempoary hardware. If you can't run with win7 or ubuntu, this points to a hardware fault rather than compatibility problem.

You have probably already driven yourself crazy with what ifs. Many things can go wrong with a MB. As painful as it may be, you may have to notify Asus of your problems, and if they can't help you track it down, get an RMA to return the board for exchange (either to the manufacturer or the vendor depending on your vendor's return policies). Don't trouble yourself with second guesses over wheather or not this particular board was a good choice because there is a small chance of failure of even the best hardware (covered under the general heading of s--t happens). Do post again if you still need help.

[Bucky Ball]

Stick with 8.04 LTS unless you don't mind doing some tweaking. 9.04 is still not really stable for everyone and will improve with updates. I would try it again in a month or two.

[TomVT]

Ron,

Thanks for all your time. Hardy Heron seems to run fine, but I haven't really pushed it yet. Does it seem like there could be a MB problem specific to 64-bit software, but ok for 32?

Thanks,

Tom

[tallmat]

Are you sure this isn't an error with drive recognition and Ubuntu's install? I know Ubuntu has this thing about not knowing where to boot from sometimes. Error 17? Disabling and fidgeting with the drives, and changing the boot menu loader location in ADVANCED OPTIONS (last menu before it physically partitions) during install helped me get past my initial problems with installation. I decided to put the loader on my actual drive of installation, and reconfigured things from there.

I just installed Ubuntu for the first time a few days ago and I have to say the AMD 64 bit , quad processing is slow which, as I was researching, brought me to this thread. I notice I can't even browse an internet site without bottlenecking another Ubuntu function somewhere.

I'm a noob myself, so what do i know? Hopefully, I can get some quad processing monitors and figure the finer points out as I do. 32 bit emulation is up with getlibs and WINE and the ATI Linux drivers are fine!

M3A32-MVP- Deleuxe Wifi
3870 HD ATI Radeon 2x
Quad 64 AMD 9550
Two Raids WD 3x500gb (1 real, 1 sofware based)
1 IDE WD 250GB with xp on it

[ronparent]

Tom,

At this point an argument can be made for anything. For instance is the 64 bit failing because it is accessing memory the 32 bit can't reach. Is something screwy with the cpu. etc.

If I were in your position I would begin swapping out component (ie memory sticks, cpu, power supply, yes even cd/dvd drive, etc.) and testing outcome with the live cd. Cast aside your prejudices and try installing a 64 bit windows (xp, vista, 7 - it needent be permanent). I'm running out of ideas here. There are no shotages of theories or easy fixes. Ignore them and roll up your sleeves and start digging - systematically of course. Feel free to bounce you own ideas off this forum. Good luck,

Ron

ps 8.04 is a good stable system, but, you don't want to consign 64 bit hardware to runing only 32 bit OS's do you?

[Bucky Ball]

ps 8.04 is a good stable system, but, you don't want to consign 64 bit hardware to runing only 32 bit OS's do you?

?

Download the 64bit version of 8.04 LTS then! Try 9.04 later. The stablest version is the BEST place for a newcomer to start. 9.04 still getting there, 9.10 even further away. The latest is not generally the greatest in Ubuntu world (but will be six months down the track!). If you want to go the absolute latest, go Karmic Koala and get really confused!! Or even a nightly build ... :)

Try 8.04 LTS 64bit. A good place to start. Once you know your way around and are familiar with some common tweaking move on if you feel like it.

[TomVT]

I've had to work so it's been a while since I checked the machine. I just tried the 8.04 AMD64 version. It runs from Live CD and the uname command verifies 64-bit operation. It is somehow an issue with 9.04. Guess I'm waiting for 9.10. Thanks for all the ideas.

[Bucky Ball]

Have fun waiting but if you actually want to get some work done ....

I suggest set aside a partition and install Karmic. Log crash reports and help help the whole community and Ubuntu to be better than it already is (and 8.04 has changed my computing life because it was tested and tested and still we test!). When you want to actually get stuff done and not tweak head for your Hardy install. :)

Good luck wherever you go with it. :)