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View Full Version : [ubuntu] Problems with installing Ubuntu through already existing hard disk



orphefs
July 20th, 2008, 04:28 PM
Hi there,

I am new to the Linux world, and Ubuntu was recommended to me by a friend as an excellent distribution. I downloaded the Ubuntu .iso (specifically ubuntu-8.04.1-desktop-i386.iso) and since I have no blank cdr's handy at the moment, I decided that it would be rather educational to try and install ubuntu through using my existing hard disk. I searched online and bumped into this article: http://www.instantfundas.com/2007/08/install-any-linux-distro-directly-from.html

I partitioned my hard disk as follows:


- NTFS partition for Windows (c:\)
- Ext3 partition
- Swap partition
- Shared FAT32 partition (d:\) (drive letter as it shows from windows xp)

I went through the necessary steps of extracting the kernel and ram disk files from the ms-dos grub zip file, placed them into c:\boot along with the .iso file. Modified the GRUB menu.lst as described in the article; Then, I modified boot.ini to boot select GRUB.

When booting, GRUB loads fine, however when I select the option 'Install Linux', it seems as if stuff loads up to a certain point, but then everything stops, this thing called BUSYBOX shows up and the command line starts with 'initramfs'!

What to do next? I am kind of disappointed, as the article mentioned that this way of installing should work with all Linux distros!

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and excuse me for my ignorance!

sisco311
July 20th, 2008, 04:48 PM
try to download the vmlinuz and initrd.gz from:
http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/hardy/main/installer-i386/current/images/cdrom/

and change the menu.lst to:

title Ubuntu Installer (hd0,0)
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz vga=normal ramdisk_size=14972 root=/dev/rd/0 rw --
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.gz

orphefs
July 20th, 2008, 07:02 PM
Hey, thanks for the reply!

If you have the time, could you maybe explain to me what "/dev/rd/0" points to, what "rw --" means and why ramdisk size is set to that number?

I tried this out, everything works until the installer does a CD check, and since I dont have the cd and the .iso file is on my hard disk, the installation can't proceed! Any help on that? Maybe I should try this link for vmlinuz and initrd.gz ? --> http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/hardy/main/installer-i386/current/images/hd-media/

Anyways, thank you very much for taking the time!

Regards :)

sisco311
July 20th, 2008, 07:18 PM
move the iso file to the root of the partition:
c:\ubuntu-8.04.1-desktop-i386.iso

the hd-media kernel is for the alternate cd
(text based installation)

orphefs
July 20th, 2008, 07:37 PM
tried it, the installer still displays the following msgbox:

------------------------------------------------
Detect and mount CD-ROM

Your installation CD-ROM couldnt be mounted. This probably means that the CD-ROM was not in the drive. If so you can insert it and try again.

Try again to mount the CD-ROM?
------------------------------------------------

What next?

sisco311
July 20th, 2008, 08:37 PM
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation

Try to mount manually the iso.
Open a terminal
Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal
and type:

sudo mount -t ntfs /dev/sda1 /mnt
sudo mount -o loop /mnt/ubuntu-8.04.1-desktop-i386.iso /cdrom
Or try to install it with the alternate cd image:
download the Alternate CD image from the Ubuntu web site
and the vmlinuz and initrd.gz from hd-media.
HowTo (http://users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzone/p3.htm)

Or mount the iso in Windows with daemon tools(or other
image mounting software) and install it from windows.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WubiGuide
Note: wubi will install ubuntu on a virtual disk on your
Windows partition.

You can transfer the wubi install to a real partition:
LVPM: Upgrades Wubi installs to dedicated-partition Ubuntu installs (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=438591)

:lolflag:buy a blank cd.

orphefs
July 23rd, 2008, 05:16 PM
Hi again,

I installed Ubuntu after all, using the alternate CD and the hd-media kernel file...However, I did something stupid :???: :

When it asked me to install the graphical desktop environment, I accidentally pressed no! Now I tried the command:

sudo apt-get install ubuntu_desktop

and bash comes up with the following message:

E: Couldn't find package ubuntu_desktop

The ubuntu .iso is available on my windows c drive, which I have mounted successfully...Is there a way I can add the .iso file to the sources.lst of apt? Or is there another way to install the graphic environment?

p.s.: I also tried the command 'startx', but it says that it is not installed, and that I have to try installing xinit first, of which the package cant be found either!!!

Thanks :)

sisco311
July 23rd, 2008, 05:55 PM
Hi.

try:

sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install ubuntu-desktop

orphefs
July 23rd, 2008, 06:03 PM
:lolflag:, i haven't even set up my internet connection yet!!! How do I do that?

I have a Speedstream Router with USB and Ethernet plugs...What commands should I use?

It's hard for a Windows user to get into Linux, but it's fun!!!:popcorn:

sisco311
July 23rd, 2008, 06:26 PM
how do you connect to the router?
pppoe, dhcp or static ip?

take a look here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=571188&highlight=network
ask if you have any question.

orphefs
July 23rd, 2008, 06:28 PM
When I look at http://192.168.254.254/ on windows, it says:

Point to Point Connection Summary:
PPPoE(00) 8/35 91.140.16.137

Does that help?:)

sisco311
July 23rd, 2008, 06:36 PM
try:

sudo pppoeconf
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=571188

sisco311
July 23rd, 2008, 07:04 PM
maybe you should start a new thread with a descriptive title.
like:
howto configure internet connection without GUI?

orphefs
July 23rd, 2008, 07:15 PM
I connected the modem via ethernet and executed that command, but I says:

"Sorry, I scanned 1 interface, but the Access concentrator of your provider did not respond.......may also be another running pppoe process which controls the modem."

Then I tried:

sudo lshw -C network

and the thing I noted is that it says "*-network DISABLED"...

How can I enable the network?

sisco311
July 23rd, 2008, 07:27 PM
post the output from:

ipconfig
from WINDOWS

orphefs
July 23rd, 2008, 07:42 PM
there you are:

http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/3924/ipconfignk9.th.png (http://img381.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ipconfignk9.png)

however i think you can ignore the first two connections, my existing windows installation needs to go to the recycle bin for being so messy :lolflag:

sisco311
July 23rd, 2008, 07:56 PM
edit the interfaces file

sudo nano /etc/network/interfacesadd this lines:


# The primary network interface
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp
(save the file and exit, Ctrl-o, Ctrl+x)

edit the resolve.conf:

sudo nano /etc/resolv.confadd this line:

nameserver 192.168.254.254(save, exit)

restart the network

sudo /etc/init.d/networking restartand post:

ifconfig

orphefs
July 23rd, 2008, 08:22 PM
edited the files, when restarting the network, it still displayed messages like 'send_packet: network is down'..

Here is the output of ifconfig:

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:16 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:16 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:2 carrier:3
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:1296 (1.2 KB) TX bytes:1296 (1.2 KB)

sisco311
July 23rd, 2008, 08:32 PM
3 hours lost
30 minutes to reinstall ubuntu with gui:lolflag:

try to mount the iso in the /cdrom folder and install ubuntu-desktop:

sudo mount -t ntfs /dev/sda1 /mnt
sudo mount -o loop /mnt/ubuntu-8.04.1-desktop-i386.iso /cdrom
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install ubuntu-desktop

orphefs
July 23rd, 2008, 08:38 PM
not only 2 hours, more than that!!! However, i think its a way for me to learn Linux well! Do you know of any good tutorials I can use??? :)

sisco311
July 23rd, 2008, 08:43 PM
not only 2 hours, more than that!!! However, i think its a way for me to learn Linux well! Do you know of any good tutorials I can use??? :)
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/index.php
https://help.ubuntu.com/
http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Teaching/Unix/

i didn't found any tutorial about using the GUI.
maybe because it's banal:)

orphefs
July 23rd, 2008, 08:51 PM
thanks man!

nah, no worries, I always wanted to know other command lines except MSDOS!!! If I wanted a GUI, I'd remain inside windows!!! Thanks for your help again, it's appreciated!!!:)

doomslagen
July 23rd, 2008, 11:12 PM
have similar problem...please see my thread and help me!!!