Unable to install Ubuntu 14.04.2 on system with Gigabyte Z97x motherboard

[jd.russell2006]

Hi all, I am new to the forums and was wondering if anyone could help me. I have used linux Ubuntu before several years ago I believe version 12. something. So I am somewhat familiar with linux basics and installation, however I can not seem to get to the installer for the latest version of ubuntu. I'd really like to install a linux distro on my computer for cross platform software and game development (I'm currently working with an indie game studios kickstarter group). As mentioned I have some but very limited knowledge when it comes to linux distros and I am only really familiar with ubuntu (although this time I did try installing linux mint as well - that also fails).

The problem is that when I try to boot into the installer it either hangs on a black screen (in UEFI mode) or goes to a blank (sometimes a few lines of text) grey screen in the legacy mode. The installer I am using is a 30 gigabyte flash drive formatted and created with the universal usb installer program (excessive but I don't have anything else not in use atm). I have followed the basic instructions I found from the ubuntu wiki (i think) about installing on a UEFI machine - i.e. I have disabled fast boot and secure boot. This still resulted in the same blank screen behavior.

I am attempting to do this install alongside a Windows 8.1 partition (like I said before interested in cross platform development) that I would like to keep. I just recently built my first desktop (in a while) and some of the rough system specs are as follows:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97x gaming 3 motherboard.
Processor: Intel i5-4690k
GPU: Geforce 750ti Windforce Black Edition (also from Gigabyte)
Memory: G-Skill 8 GB

The motherboard came with the DualBios UEFI setup. The bios version was F3 I upgraded to F5 (the latest).

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I would really really like to be able to do some cross platform development sometime in the near future.

[Vladlenin5000]

Hi and welcome.

This is your "problem", not UEFI:

GPU: Geforce 750ti Windforce Black Edition (also from Gigabyte)

It's one of the most "touchy" nvidia chips when it comes to drivers and new enough to not be supported by the default open source nouveau driver. So, you need to make a couple of workarounds:

1) Use nomodeset to install (generic video)
2) For 15.04 (recommended) -> The correct proprietary driver - 346 - is offered in "Additional Drivers"; for 14.04 you need to add the X-edgers PPA.

[jd.russell2006]

Yes I recall seeing something about nomodeset in a couple of the threads when researching gigabyte hardware and the installation. This explains why linux mint crashed when it got to the part about verifying the graphics drivers... makes sense now.

How do I go about setting this? Exactly what is it and what does it do for me just out of curiosity?

Also, should I use the mentioned 15.04 version instead? Isn't that the latest non-long term version?

Also thanks for the help and the quick reply you were much more helpful than Gigabyte tech support lol.

[Vladlenin5000]

Yes, 15.04 is the soon-to-be released new non-LTS. For now the only advantage I foresee in your case is the possibility of using the drivers that work right out of the Ubuntu's tool for proprietary drivers. The driver offered in 14.04 is stuck at the old 331 and that one doesn't work for your card*.

Now... nomodeset
You can press SHIFT in the first screen when booting from the installation media. That will take you to the "Try Ubuntu" (etc.) menu. There - if I'm remembering it correctly - you press F6 for the additional options/parameters and one of them is nomodeset.

The purpose of nomodeset has been discussed several times but I'm yet to find a better answer than the one NikTh usually gives at Ask Ubuntu:

The newest kernels have moved the video mode setting into the kernel. So all the programming of the hardware specific clock rates and registers on the video card happen in the kernel rather than in the X driver when the X server starts.. This makes it possible to have high resolution nice looking splash (boot) screens and flicker free transitions from boot splash to login screen. Unfortunately, on some cards this doesnt work properly and you end up with a black screen. Adding the nomodeset parameter instructs the kernel to not load video drivers and use BIOS modes instead until X is loaded.

* Don't even try. It won't work and you'll have to edit Grub by adding nomodeset again, purge all the installed nvidia drivers and finally install the one that works via PPA or other methods.

[jd.russell2006]

Ok Thanks so much for clearing that up! You've been very helpful! Is there a way to give rep on this site? Cause I'd definitely give you some.

I found the 15.04 Beta 2 i386 desktop iso on the ubuntu site. I am assuming this is the one I want for an Intel system. So I will be making a new boot loader and attempting to install this shortly. I'll report back what happens!

[grahammechanical]

I found the 15.04 Beta 2 i386 desktop iso on the ubuntu site. I am assuming this is the one I want for an Intel system.

No. You need the amd64 ISO image and not simply because your Intel CPU is 64 bit but because of what it says here

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UEFI

• Use a 64bit disk of Ubuntu. (Ubuntu32bit cannot be easily installed in UEFI mode. This is a problem if 32-bit UEFI is the only way your computer can boot, e.g. if you have a modern Intel Atom based laptop. In this case, you will need a complicated work-around.)
  

The i386 ISO will work on any 32 bit or 64 bit CPU made by Intel and AMD. And the amd64 ISO will work on any 64 bit CPU made by AMD and Intel. But when it comes to Windows 8 and UEFI on 64 bit CPUs it must be a 64 bit ISO image.

Regards.

[Vladlenin5000]

I found the 15.04 Beta 2 i386 desktop iso on the ubuntu site. I am assuming this is the one I want for an Intel system.

Actually no... i386 is for 32-bit systems (regardless of the CPU vendor); amd64 is for 64-bit systems like yours (regardless of the CPU vendor). A 32-bit OS can be installed in yours and it'll work but it won't take advantage of all the RAM you have, among other details.

Currently I recommend 32-bit only for systems that are really 32-bit. There was some controversy about using 64-bit with 2GB RAM or less, ie, some users suggested that due to the memory "shortage" it would make sense to use a 32-bit OS even with a 64-bit CPU; this discussion, however, has nothing to do with your system.


For the rest, you're welcome (and no need for anything else). When you're happy with the solution you can use the thread tools to mark this one as solved so future forum users may benefit.

Happy Ubuntuing...

[jd.russell2006]

Ok, well good thing I didn't do it yet lol. I downloaded the amd64 version instead. I'll attempt to install it momentarily.

[jd.russell2006]

Wow! That was alot easier and faster than expected. It just worked... didn't even have to set nomodeset. 15.04 looks great too. I'm so happy been scratching my head for a couple days now trying to get a version that would install. I verified that windows 8.1 was working correctly the grub boot menu was displayed properly and I am currently in ubuntu typing this response! Marking this thread as solved.

[jd.russell2006]

*Accidental double*