Installation failures

[pandemonium2]

Hi
I'm new here, and new to Ubuntu. I have always used Windows but had heard good things about this OS so thought I would try it. I just bought a fairly cheap HTPC (Intel BOXDN2820FYKH0 NUC Celeron 2.5" HDD with Gigabit Network) with Intel HD Graphics up to 756 MHz, audio up to 7.1 surround via HDMI interface. I installed Ubuntu via a bootable USB. I'm not a computer genius so perhaps installing this OS was not a good idea, but all seemed to be going well until it came to the audio. Graphics but no audio. I followed the instructions on this thread - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=205449 . This ultimately resulted in the lttle speaker icon in the top right of the desktop vanishing altogether, and the System Settings icon which appears on the left side of the screen vanishing also. Reinstalled the desktop as I saw suggested on another thread without any cure.

Now I feel as though I should wipe the installation and put Windows on it, which I will do if you guys think this OS is not for persons of my IT skill(lessness), but I must say I was impressed with Ubuntu - very quick to boot comparitively and much more user friendly than Windows 8.1. Maybe it would be best to get back to where I was when the install was first done and try again?

Sorry for my first post being report of one major screw up. Usually the way to learn I suppose.

Thanks in advance.

[kc1di]

Hi pandemonium2 and Welcome to Ubuntu,

I personally can not be of much Help but we've all been there and it can be over come at some point by someone on here so be patient.
if you could go to a terminal and post the output of this command it may be of help to those trying diagnose the problem.

sudo lshw

[pandemonium2]

Thanks.
I noter that the thread I followed says it was outdated and gave a link to a much more thorough procedure, which I will follow. I had spent 4 hours trying to fix it, and must have been a little sore in the eyes to have missed that. My major concern atm is to repair the Ubuntu installation, then I'll follow the updated procedure and report if I still have problems - apologies for that. Just in case the terminal command will assist in restoration, I've included the output, which was quite a lot. I've just done a cut and paste for this - sorry about formatting issues:

home-desktop
description: Desktop Computer
product: ��������������������������������� (To be filled by O.E.M.)
vendor: ���������������������������������
version: ���������������������������������
serial: ���������������������������������
width: 64 bits
capabilities: smbios-2.8 dmi-2.7 ldt16 vsyscall32
configuration: boot=normal chassis=desktop family=To be filled by O.E.M. sku=To be filled by O.E.M. uuid=80BBD44D-A653-E211-A482-C03FD564E57E
*-core
description: Motherboard
product: DN2820FYK
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 0
version: H24582-201
serial: GEFY4160039Y
slot: To be filled by O.E.M.
*-firmware
description: BIOS
vendor: Intel Corp.
physical id: 0
version: FYBYT10H.86A.0015.2013.1210.1722
date: 12/10/2013
size: 64KiB
capacity: 8128KiB
capabilities: pci upgrade shadowing cdboot bootselect edd int13floppy1200 int13floppy720 int13floppy2880 int5printscreen int9keyboard int14serial int17printer acpi usb biosbootspecification uefi
*-memory
description: System Memory
physical id: 24
slot: System board or motherboard
size: 4GiB
*-bank
description: SODIMM DDR3 1066 MHz (0.9 ns)
product: 8KTF51264HZ-1G6E1
vendor: Micron
physical id: 0
serial: D892D689
slot: SODIMM 0
size: 4GiB
width: 64 bits
clock: 1066MHz (0.9ns)
*-cache:0
description: L1 cache
physical id: 2c
slot: CPU Internal L1
size: 112KiB
capacity: 112KiB
capabilities: internal write-back
*-cache:1
description: L2 cache
physical id: 2d
slot: CPU Internal L2
size: 1MiB
capacity: 1MiB
capabilities: internal write-back unified
*-cpu
description: CPU
product: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU N2820 @ 2.13GHz
vendor: Intel Corp.
physical id: 2e
bus info: cpu@0
version: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU N2820 @ 2.13GHz
slot: CPU 1
size: 2128MHz
capacity: 2400MHz
width: 64 bits
clock: 133MHz
capabilities: x86-64 fpu fpu_exception wp vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_tsc aperfmperf pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer rdrand lahf_lm 3dnowprefetch ida arat epb dtherm tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid tsc_adjust smep erms cpufreq
configuration: cores=2 enabledcores=2 threads=2
*-pci
description: Host bridge
product: ValleyView SSA-CUnit
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 100
bus info: pci@0000:00:00.0
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
*-display
description: VGA compatible controller
product: ValleyView Gen7
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 2
bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom
configuration: driver=i915 latency=0
resources: irq:107 memory:d0000000-d03fffff memory:c0000000-cfffffff ioport:f080(size=8)
*-storage
description: SATA controller
product: ValleyView 6-Port SATA AHCI Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 13
bus info: pci@0000:00:13.0
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 66MHz
capabilities: storage msi pm ahci_1.0 bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=ahci latency=0
resources: irq:104 ioport:f070(size=8) ioport:f060(size=4) ioport:f050(size=8) ioport:f040(size=4) ioport:f020(size=32) memory:d0815000-d08157ff
*-usb
description: USB controller
product: ValleyView USB xHCI Host Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 14
bus info: pci@0000:00:14.0
version: 0c
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi xhci bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=xhci_hcd latency=0
resources: irq:103 memory:d0800000-d080ffff
*-generic UNCLAIMED
description: Encryption controller
product: ValleyView SEC
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1a
bus info: pci@0000:00:1a.0
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi bus_master cap_list
configuration: latency=0
resources: memory:d0500000-d05fffff memory:d0400000-d04fffff
*-multimedia
description: Audio device
product: ValleyView High Definition Audio Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1b
bus info: pci@0000:00:1b.0
version: 0c
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=snd_hda_intel latency=0
resources: irq:108 memory:d0810000-d0813fff
*-pci:0
description: PCI bridge
product: ValleyView PCI Express Root Port
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1c
bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.0
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=pcieport
resources: irq:16 ioport:2000(size=4096)
*-pci:1
description: PCI bridge
product: ValleyView PCI Express Root Port
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1c.1
bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.1
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=pcieport
resources: irq:17 ioport:3000(size=4096) memory:d0700000-d07fffff
*-network
description: Wireless interface
product: Wireless 7260
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
logical name: wlan0
version: 73
serial: f8:16:54:6b:ec:70
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=iwlwifi driverversion=3.13.0-36-generic firmware=22.24.8.0 ip=192.168.0.23 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11abgn
resources: irq:106 memory:d0700000-d0701fff
*-pci:2
description: PCI bridge
product: ValleyView PCI Express Root Port
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1c.2
bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.2
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=pcieport
resources: irq:18 ioport:e000(size=4096) memory:d0600000-d06fffff
*-network
description: Ethernet interface
product: RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
logical name: eth0
version: 0c
serial: c0:3f:d5:64:e5:7e
size: 10Mbit/s
capacity: 1Gbit/s
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix vpd bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=r8169 driverversion=2.3LK-NAPI duplex=half firmware=rtl8168g-2_0.0.1 02/06/13 latency=0 link=no multicast=yes port=MII speed=10Mbit/s
resources: irq:105 ioport:e000(size=256) memory:d0604000-d0604fff memory:d0600000-d0603fff
*-pci:3
description: PCI bridge
product: ValleyView PCI Express Root Port
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1c.3
bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.3
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=pcieport
resources: irq:19 ioport:4000(size=4096)
*-isa
description: ISA bridge
product: ValleyView Power Control Unit
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1f
bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.0
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: isa bus_master cap_list
configuration: latency=0
*-serial UNCLAIMED
description: SMBus
product: ValleyView SMBus Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1f.3
bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.3
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm cap_list
configuration: latency=0
resources: memory:d0814000-d081401f ioport:f000(size=32)
*-scsi
physical id: 1
logical name: scsi0
capabilities: emulated
*-disk
description: ATA Disk
product: Samsung SSD 840
physical id: 0.0.0
bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0
logical name: /dev/sda
version: EXT0
serial: S1D5NSCF427402Y
size: 111GiB (120GB)
capabilities: gpt-1.00 partitioned partitioned:gpt
configuration: ansiversion=5 guid=f3d2f8e6-6171-4e84-bd65-b7377d9a3873 sectorsize=512
*-volume:0
description: Windows FAT volume
vendor: mkfs.fat
physical id: 1
bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,1
logical name: /dev/sda1
logical name: /boot/efi
version: FAT32
serial: 4543-52b9
size: 510MiB
capacity: 511MiB
capabilities: boot fat initialized
configuration: FATs=2 filesystem=fat mount.fstype=vfat mount.options=rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,co depage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro state=mounted
*-volume:1
description: EXT4 volume
vendor: Linux
physical id: 2
bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,2
logical name: /dev/sda2
logical name: /
version: 1.0
serial: f6f291e2-ee7d-4323-aaa7-3dfc8da7909d
size: 107GiB
capabilities: journaled extended_attributes large_files huge_files dir_nlink recover extents ext4 ext2 initialized
configuration: created=2014-10-05 16:25:24 filesystem=ext4 lastmountpoint=/ modified=2014-10-05 19:41:24 mount.fstype=ext4 mount.options=rw,relatime,errors=remount-ro,data=ordered mounted=2014-10-05 19:41:24 state=mounted
*-volume:2
description: Linux swap volume
vendor: Linux
physical id: 3
bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,3
logical name: /dev/sda3
version: 1
serial: f1bfda79-2c7c-467f-8503-c29041e52bcc
size: 3989MiB
capacity: 3989MiB
capabilities: nofs swap initialized
configuration: filesystem=swap pagesize=4095

Thanks

[pandemonium2]

Hi again. I decided to do a fresh install so booted from USB again. I erased everything and installed again. It got to the end and said it had to restart, which it did and took me back to the original installation choices of trying Ubuntu, installing Ubuntu, or the manufacturer OEM choice. I went to the trying Ubuntu choice, removed the USB and restarted. The computer restarts and tells me in could not find a bootable device. I booted from the USB again, opened a terminal and typed 'sudo fdisk -l'. It gives me two paritions one is '/dev/sda1' which is system type GPT. The other is '/dev/sdb1' which is system type W93 FAT 32 (LBA). I type in 'sudo grub-install /dev/sda1' It gives me the response 'installing for i386-pc platform grub-installer:error:failed to get canonical path of /cow'.
I went into the menu from install where I could resize partitions myself just to see what was there and there was 4. Is there away to completely wipe the HD and reinstall as I had no problem with the installation first time?

[yancek]

You should be able to reinstall if you have nothing on the drive you want to save and plan to only use Ubuntu. The Installation type "Erase disk and install Ubuntu" will do that. The FAT32 partition is the EFI partition which is used with GPT partitioning which your output shows you have. I don't use it but my understanding is that you have the option to select UEFI/GPT or MBR options during the installation. If you select UEFI/GPT then some grub files are installed on the EFI partition. Not sure what the 4 is you mention, you now have 4 partitions? Could you boot the installation medium and open a terminal and run: sudo fdisk -l(Lower Case Letter L in the command) and post that drive/partition information?

[pandemonium2]

I hit f10 at startup and it gave me the usb and 4 different bootable sectors to choose from. i had installed 4 times, with the erase and install selection each time but it didn't appear to erase properly. None of the boot sectors worked. So I booted to the usb and went into the software and used the partition manager to delete all partitions that I could. Then in the disk utilities I formatted the partition, then reinstalled again. This time the installation went easily as it did first time but the sound didn't work again. I followed the procedure in the first troubleshooting guide in this thread http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1885240 and ultimately got it working so all is going fantastic now. I expect there was an easier way of achieving this, but happy to have got everything in order. Thanks for any time anyone has put in trying to work this one out. Hopefully I won't be posting with problems again for a good while, but will be back to look at tips etc here.

[kc1di]

Glad you got it working :)
Enjoy.