7.04 MacBook Dual-boot Install - Blank, black screen after rEFIt; unable to boot.

[Kaervek]

OS X 10.4.6 (currently downloading 10.4.11 update in background)
Dual-booting Ubuntu 7.04 32bit.

I followed the install-portion of the following guide:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBook

Machine Name: MacBook
Machine Model: MacBook1,1
CPU Type: Intel Core Duo
Number Of Cores: 2
CPU Speed: 2 GHz
L2 Cache (shared): 2 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MB11.0061.B03
Serial Number: 4H627BVBVMM
SMC Version: 1.4f12
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled

I partitioned my drive during a fresh OS X install. I set aside 20 gigs for Ubuntu, and decided against a swap partition (some research online helped me determine it simply wasn't necessary - I'd be interested if anyone thinks otherwise, and for what reasons).

Anyway, the Live CD booted wonderfully, and the subsequent install went without a hitch. Upon rebooting, I re-synced the MBR with rEFIt's partition tools. Now, when I select my linux partition from rEFIt, the MacBook simply goes to a blank, black screen and no apparent hard drive activity or indication of a boot process. It should be noted that I've not had a successful boot of Ubuntu on this machine at all in the past - this is the first attempt at a Linux install.

I've re-installed Ubuntu a second time to see if that might fix the issue, but to no avail - I have the same identical problem. I've searched these forums, and while there seem to be many similar issues brought forward, none of them seem to be quite the same. If I've managed to overlook a thread that happens to deal with this issue specifically, I'll gladly take my lumps from the community

Thanks in advance, and I'll do my best to include any further information that I may have failed to include here upon request.

[hajk]

Why were you installing 7.04 (Feisty) when there's the current 8.04 LTS (Hardy) version? Not using a swap partition is not that easy, since the installer will complain mightily (and that's when using the "alternate" installer -- the liveCD installer won't even let you install without a swap partition AFAIK). Reason: swap is needed when hibernating the MB. So, are you sure that you even installed Ubuntu on the HD? And if so, is it on one of the primary partitions 1-4? Have you installed Grub, either to the MBR of /dev/sda (my choice) or to the boot partition?

[Kaervek]

Thanks a lot for the reply, hajk!

Why were you installing 7.04 (Feisty) when there's the current 8.04 LTS (Hardy) version?

7.04 was the only disk I happened to have in my possession. I planned on updating at a later time when a broadband connection became available. I've not been given a reason to believe that 7.04 is incompatible with my hardware. I am willing to download Hardy and try that, but I'd like to try fixing this problem without having to download a newer release.

Not using a swap partition is not that easy, since the installer will complain mightily (and that's when using the "alternate" installer -- the liveCD installer won't even let you install without a swap partition AFAIK).

I didn't receive any errors while installing, as I stated in my OP that the install appeared to go smoothly and successfully. I am under the impression that I would have had to create a swap partition myself, and that one wouldn't be created automatically.

Reason: swap is needed when hibernating the MB. So, are you sure that you even installed Ubuntu on the HD?

I was under the impression swap was necessary only when physical memory became unavailable. Having 2GB of RAM seemed sufficient enough to not warrant a swap. I am willing to create a swap and re-install Ubuntu if anyone feels this will be of benefit to me.

Can anyone confirm that hibernation won't be possible without a dedicated swap partition, possibly with a link to supporting documentation?

And if so, is it on one of the primary partitions 1-4?

Yes. It was installed onto the 20GB EXT3 partition that I specified through the Live CD during the partition process. As I stated above, perhaps not in such clear terms, the Ubuntu installation appears in rEFIt as a bootable partition. Upon selecting this partition as my boot device, I am presented with the blank, black screen I described, and no apparent computer activity.

Have you installed Grub, either to the MBR of /dev/sda (my choice) or to the boot partition?

Yes, as per step #6 here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBook

6. Install Ubuntu as usual, except:

• In the partitioner, select Manually edit partition table
• Delete /dev/sda3 and /dev/sda4 if they exist
• Create a new ext3 partition for your root
• Mount the newly created ext3 partition on '/'
• On the last screen, click on the "Advanced" button and select instead /dev/sda in the drop-down list for installing GRUB
• Note that Boot Camp will cause problems if you make more than two partitions in total.

[cyberdork33]

7.04 was the only disk I happened to have in my possession. I planned on updating at a later time when a broadband connection became available. I've not been given a reason to believe that 7.04 is incompatible with my hardware. I am willing to download Hardy and try that, but I'd like to try fixing this problem without having to download a newer release.

If you plan to use 8.04 in the end, you should start with its installer. Upgrades tend to fail quite often, and even when they do complete, things here and there don't work properly. It is just easier in the long run to install a version from disk. Of course, you don't have to upgrade at all

I am under the impression that I would have had to create a swap partition myself, and that one wouldn't be created automatically.
I was under the impression swap was necessary only when physical memory became unavailable. Having 2GB of RAM seemed sufficient enough to not warrant a swap. I am willing to create a swap and re-install Ubuntu if anyone feels this will be of benefit to me.

Can anyone confirm that hibernation won't be possible without a dedicated swap partition, possibly with a link to supporting documentation?

Whether a swap was created or not depends on what option you chose in the install. You can easily check the status of your partitioning by booting the Ubuntu LiveCD and running the partition editor (gparted). You do not have to have a swap. but suspend-to-disk (hibernate) requires swap at least as large as the amount of RAM you have because of the way hibernate works (the contents of your RAM are stored in the swap partition). It is generally recommended that you have some anyway. (Windows and OSX have "swap" as well, they just use a file on the filesystem as swap. windows calls it virtual memory)

Yes. It was installed onto the 20GB EXT3 partition that I specified through the Live CD during the partition process. As I stated above, perhaps not in such clear terms, the Ubuntu installation appears in rEFIt as a bootable partition. Upon selecting this partition as my boot device, I am presented with the blank, black screen I described, and no apparent computer activity.

Can you check the partition layour first for us? Syncing the partition tables really shouldn't be needed on 7.04 (that was before the bug that makes them get out of sync). In OSX, in /Applications/Utilities there is a partition inspector (part of refit). You can post the contents of that utility and it should tell us the status of your disk.

If you are just going to reinstall, boot from the LiveCD, start the partition editor and delete the partition after the HFS+ partition. Apply the changes and then start the Ubuntu Installer. When prompted, choose to "install to the largest free space". This will create a root and swap partition in the space you have left for Ubuntu. Also, you do not need to worry about changing how grub is installed unless you are planning to use Windows as well.

[Kaervek]

Thanks for the reply, cyberdork!

I don't know precisely what's changed, other than updating from OS X 10.4.6 to 10.4.11, but I've successfully booted into my Ubuntu partition without re-installing or re-partitioning. I'm posting this from Ubuntu right now Any ideas on why my OS X upgrade might have fixed whatever issue I was having - I would think my OS X version would have zero to do with Ubuntu's stability.

I plan on downloading the Hardy .iso next, and upgrading via a fresh install as you've suggested, as opposed to upgrading via apt-get. Will I be able to upgrade over my current 7.04 installation, or will I need to format the partition and start from scratch? I suspect an upgrade on top of my current installation is something that would be ideal, and thus possible. I can't imagine people lose their data when they upgrade their Ubuntu distro!

For the sake of discussion, I'll follow up on your post, even though I've successfully booted into Ubuntu.

Whether a swap was created or not depends on what option you chose in the install. You can easily check the status of your partitioning by booting the Ubuntu LiveCD and running the partition editor (gparted). You do not have to have a swap. but suspend-to-disk (hibernate) requires swap at least as large as the amount of RAM you have because of the way hibernate works (the contents of your RAM are stored in the swap partition). It is generally recommended that you have some anyway. (Windows and OSX have "swap" as well, they just use a file on the filesystem as swap. windows calls it virtual memory)

I've installed gparted via apt-get, and it does not show that I have a swap partition, as I suspected. Like I said, I specifically avoided creating one, which I now regret due to the hibernation issue that's been brought to my attention.

Can you check the partition layour first for us? Syncing the partition tables really shouldn't be needed on 7.04 (that was before the bug that makes them get out of sync).

Hmm, I don't recall precisely what the difference was prior to syncing the partition tables, but I do know that syncing them helped me to progress. In other words, it was in fact necessary for me to sync.

In OSX, in /Applications/Utilities there is a partition inspector (part of refit). You can post the contents of that utility and it should tell us the status of your disk.

I'll do this after I reboot into OS X

If you are just going to reinstall, boot from the LiveCD, start the partition editor and delete the partition after the HFS+ partition. Apply the changes and then start the Ubuntu Installer. When prompted, choose to "install to the largest free space". This will create a root and swap partition in the space you have left for Ubuntu.

By "the partition after the HFS+ partition," I assume you mean the 20GB partition that I've set aside for Linux? Will do!

Also, you do not need to worry about changing how grub is installed unless you are planning to use Windows as well.

Hmm, okay. I did so because it was indicated in the guide I linked earlier. As there was a link to a triple-booting guide (for adding Windows) at the beginning of that guide, I assumed it was necessary even without a Windows installation. I'll keep this in mind for the next install...

[Kaervek]

In OSX, in /Applications/Utilities there is a partition inspector (part of refit). You can post the contents of that utility and it should tell us the status of your disk.

*** Report for internal hard disk ***

Current GPT partition table:
# Start LBA End LBA Type
1 40 409639 EFI System (FAT)
2 409640 113809327 Mac OS X HFS+
3 113809328 156299562 Basic Data

Current MBR partition table:
# A Start LBA End LBA Type
1 1 409639 ee EFI Protective
2 * 409640 113809327 af Mac OS X HFS+
3 113809328 156299562 83 Linux

MBR contents:
Boot Code: GRUB

Partition at LBA 40:
Boot Code: None (Non-system disk message)
File System: FAT32
Listed in GPT as partition 1, type EFI System (FAT)

Partition at LBA 409640:
Boot Code: None
File System: HFS Extended (HFS+)
Listed in GPT as partition 2, type Mac OS X HFS+
Listed in MBR as partition 2, type af Mac OS X HFS+, active

Partition at LBA 113809328:
Boot Code: None
File System: ext3
Listed in GPT as partition 3, type Basic Data
Listed in MBR as partition 3, type 83 Linux

[cyberdork33]

Everything looks good!

I plan on downloading the Hardy .iso next, and upgrading via a fresh install as you've suggested, as opposed to upgrading via apt-get. Will I be able to upgrade over my current 7.04 installation, or will I need to format the partition and start from scratch? I suspect an upgrade on top of my current installation is something that would be ideal, and thus possible. I can't imagine people lose their data when they upgrade their Ubuntu distro!

You can upgrade yes, but as I stated before, upgrades tend to go bad eventually. I just backup my files and reinstall (wiping out what's there).

[Kaervek]

Well, it would appear as though, while my initial issues weren't as severe as I once thought, they still persist and prevent my MacBook from consistently booting into Ubuntu.

Every time I attempt to boot into Ubuntu, the success of that boot is a literal crap-shoot. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the issue, and there doesn't seem to be any consistent way of reproducing the error. Sometimes it boots, sometimes it doesn't.

The good news, though, is that I actually receive a text-output of the reason the laptop (sometimes) doesn't choose to boot.

Starting up ...
[ 41.982802] ..MP-BIOS bug: 8254 timer not connected to IO-APIC
[ 42.005128] Kernel panic - not syncing: IO-APIC + timer doesn't work! Boot with apic=debug and send a report. Then try booting with the 'noapic' option
[ 42.005198] _

First, I'm not entirely sure which line I'm supposed to enter "apic=debug," and second, the subsequent reboot from this error successfully boots into Ubuntu 95% of the time. It's almost as if, sometimes, the initial boot is to "warm up" this IO-APIC + timer, so that the second boot can proceed. I know that's a pretty simple (and likely incorrect) way of describing it, but I think it gets my point across.

I'll be Googling this error after I post, but I thought I'd update this thread first.

edit: found this thread: http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-613237.html

but it doesn't help in explaining a.) why the error occurs in the first place, or b.) why the error occurs only sporadically. Still investigating...