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schumacherisgod
October 11th, 2009, 03:03 PM
Hi,

I have a Dell laptop that won't boot into Windows anymore. It randomly started giving me the mysterious black screen with a cursor problem. So... there are a lot of files on there (mainly photos) that I want to save before I start all over again.

I've downloaded and burnt a Ubuntu CD using the ISO image using NTI CD & DVD Maker Gold and created it properly from the ISO (for 9.04). I put it into my messed up Dell and change the boot sequence and it gives me the Ubuntu menu. So far, so good. The problem though, is that this menu doesn't respond to the ENTER key. I can move up and down the menu with the arrows fine, so it isn't like the keyboard driver isn't loading properly. When I select 'Try Ubuntu without any change to your computer' (or any other option for that matter) and press enter, nothing happens. I've tried burning other CDs and it still won't work.

I have no idea how to get around this, and would really like to avoid taking the laptop apart and hooking the hdd up to another computer if possible.

Ideally I'd like to install Ubuntu so I have access to my files. I really don't want to lose any data. A dual boot system would be fine with me, as long as I can get to my files.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as this has been bugging me for days.

Cheers.

Mostly.Harmless
October 11th, 2009, 03:49 PM
Im also a newb, but I so frequently screw up my own computer that Ive picked up a few tips.

My tip for you is if a more advanced user helps you get that "enter " key problem solved, run a live session. From there you should be able to access your HDD and your files. Get an external and back up the necessary files.

From my albeit limited experience, ubuntu installer requires you to fiddle around with partitions during the install, its quite possible you could accidentally wipe your HD.

So my advice is to backup before you go through the process!

schumacherisgod
October 11th, 2009, 03:55 PM
Thanks for the advice, but the whole problem is that I can't access my files to backup or anything else. If I could, there'd be no problem!

barthel
October 11th, 2009, 04:10 PM
If [ENTER] isn't working, you might have more serious issues than a corrupt MS-Windows installation.

If your hard drive has a standard interface (some Dells do not), you could buy an external hard drive enclosure and put your drive in it. Then take it to another system and copy your files to another device like a flash drive.

Then you can do some diagnostics and maybe get your system working again.

mac9416
October 11th, 2009, 04:15 PM
The problem though, is that this menu doesn't respond to the ENTER key. I can move up and down the menu with the arrows fine, so it isn't like the keyboard driver isn't loading properly. When I select 'Try Ubuntu without any change to your computer' (or any other option for that matter) and press enter, nothing happens. I've tried burning other CDs and it still won't work.

Can you use another keyboard? Another option is to just let it count down 30 seconds and it will automatically select the 'Try Ubuntu without any change to your computer' option and boot the live CD, so you never have to hit <enter>.

schumacherisgod
October 11th, 2009, 04:23 PM
Can you use another keyboard? Another option is to just let it count down 30 seconds and it will automatically select the 'Try Ubuntu without any change to your computer' option and boot the live CD, so you never have to hit <enter>.

I don't have a countdown... :(

Thanks for the advice guys. I guess I'll just have to take it apart. Bit annoying, but never mind. Thanks :)

darter
October 11th, 2009, 05:42 PM
I don't have the best answer but: Maybe burn a different Ubuntu version and try again? Hardy or something early? Xubuntu or just something different. New USB keyboard? Make a bootable USB flash drive just to try something different? Good luck.

p2bc
October 11th, 2009, 06:25 PM
Ok, my 2 cents, from my experience and from few things I picked up from what you said.

Your system is a bit old??? Yes/No and when I said old 3-4 years. Systems have changed a lot in just 3-4 years. And even though Linux in general needs less to run than say the other guy it still needs something. I tried to install Ubuntu on an "older" machine and I was pulling out my hair, yelling and spitting I was so irrate, because I was trying to use 9.04 and the amount of RAM it needed was much higher than what the computer had. Now a day it is not uncommon to see a computer with 2-4 gig of ram. 3-4 years ago 1gig was special more like 512meg was the norm. All that to say it was soooo slow, and the buffering was going crazy with the CD-rom wanting to give up and die. Try using Xubuntu, that is what worked for me in the end. Just a lighter weight distro. Don't need to use an ealier version as such, most distros are backward compatible, but also older versions don't have the fixes that the newer ones do.

Next try and external USB keyboard, and if it is that old you might have a PS2 connection. You can get them pretty cheap, and if it is not the problem you can always bring it back.

As for automatically booting into Ubuntu, if you don't touch a key and wait it will start automatically after 30 secs, even if you don't see the count, but you must no touch a key.


2 more cent if you are so incline to consider, which would make sence if you are going down that route. It will increase the value and longevity of you computer. If you are going to remove the HDD, fine out what type it takes, IDE or SATA, buy an external HDD case to support that kind, but also another HDD, as well as the maximum amount of RAM you board can take. I got a 500gig HDD and 4gig of RAM, the max my Laptop can take and swapped it all in. Put the old drive that came with the computer in an external case to do backs and sold the old ram. All of it for less than $150CA. Just saying if you are going to open the case anyways, might as make it worth your wild.