Problems loading Ubuntu Netbook Remix 10.04 on AOA 110

Hello

I bought an Aspire One last year and today decided to change the OS from the pre-installed Linpus Lite to Ubuntu 10.04 (Netbook Remix) after testing the Ubuntu format and liking it.

I downloaded Ubuntu 10.04 and created a bootable USB within Windows. I booted to Acer fine with this. However, problem came when trying to install Ubuntu.

Everything seemed to go well, but on startup, the following appears:

"error: no such device: c5cab486-(etc etc)
grub rescue>"

I'm not very technical, and have had a look on other forums, but am not getting any joy on how to fix this. I was under the impression that the Acer can run Ubuntu fine...? And I can still boot it up from the USB no problem? So why can I not install it?

Any help (in simple language) much appreciated!

 

Hi newbie,

Not fully understood what you did, but:

Does this error appears to you during boot after you installed?
Which device is the one in the error message? Is it your SSD internal disk? If it is, something should be wrong with it's partition table (not good and may be an indication of an imminent disk failure... or not!).
Did you use the same partitions as the were? In such case I would try to reinstall but delete the existing partition and make a new partition table (if you can, fdisk should be just fine for this, but I suppose the installer itself should manage this fine also).

Resume: if I understood correctly, reinstall but don't use the same partition's. Do new ones before installation.

 

Xines

Thanks. Yes, the error appears during boot after installation. The machine has an 8GB SSD with an 8GB expansion card.

During the installation process, it told me whether I wanted to put Ubuntu side-to-side with what was existing (for some reason, it said Ubuntu 10.04 LTS was already installed; not sure why?) or use the entire volume. I did the latter.

I spoke to my brother about this at the weekend, and he suggested I boot from the USB and then use disk utility to reformat the drives. Tried to do this, but it gives me and error saying both are in use. I then tried to repartition one of them and reinstall. That resulted in the computer hanging during standard boot up with just the cursor flashing! So had to reboot via USB to get back in.

FYI, this is what appears when I run the disk utility:

PATA Host Adapter (82801GBM/GHM (I... ATA IDE Controller)
8.1 GB Hard Disk (ATA P-SD1800) [Master Boot Record partition, but no volume partition ]
Peripheral Devices
691 MB file (filesystem.squashfts)
8.0 GB SecureDigital Drive (SDC) [Master Boot Record partition, Volume partition type Ext.4]
SanDisk Cruzer [this is my USB stick with Ubuntu)


Really stuck with this so really Appreciate any more help you can give. Had a brief look on some other forums and remember someone saying going from Linpus Lite to Ubuntu 10.04 was problematic due to the different way they partitioned disks....?

Newbie

 

PS: When I rebooted after trying to install, I got a lot of small print on the screen, ended up with a series of lines that read:

xxxxxxx: I/O error. Device sdb, sector 548704 (etc. etc.)

 

Are you sure that you have installed 10.04 on the SSD or on the expansion card?

It might be worth starting again without the expansion card in either slot.

Then boot from USB, get it to repartition the whole of the SSD (wiping what is on there) and it should fix any errors at the same time before installing.

When the process is finished, and it is up on 10.04, shut down and then put the card in the LH slot.

Other than that, sounds as though your SSD is not good.

 

I did as suggested and removed the expansion card before trying reinstallation. Bingo! System has now successfully installed on the SSD, many thanks.

Looking at the expansion card now, there are a lot of folders on it which I cannot delete; also if I try to reformat the volume, it says it is busy and won't let me. So seems obvious something with the expansion card was interfering with installation. Any ideas on this?

Many thanks anyway

 

Pleased to hear that the install went well. Don't forget to sort out the fan control if you want a quiet life...

As for the SD card, I think the best option would be to find a friend with a windows machine and get them to format it for you.

Glen

 

Thanks Glen; yes, was thinking that with the SD card.

I'd noticed the fan was blowing a gale; is there a link to a solution to this?

Thanks again

 

Here: http://www.aspireoneuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=19702#p111276

 

Thanks. All installed and fan turned to stealth mode.

Another problem has now just occurred however. I was browsing the net fine with wifi, then suddenly the indicator at the top of the screen came up with a ! and said 'Networking disabled'. Now, I know there is a manual wifi switch on the right side of the machine with a green LED indicator. This was off, and I couldn't switch it back on.

Not sure if this is a hardware failure, or software?

Thanks again

 

Software issue, known problem--see https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/374265 for the bug report.
ath5k, the default driver, does not work properly with certain Atheros chipsets, due to ASPM issues.
Known workarounds are:
1. Install madwifi-hal.
(takes installing buildessential, kernel-headers; builds in <5 minutes; muck around with a couple files; proprietary driver)
2. Recompile the kernel, with CONFIG_PCIEASPM=Y set.
(takes installing buildessential, get kernel source; may build in 3-4 hours; rather complex, all told; not officially "supported")

Personally, I've chosen option 1.
Get
http://snapshots.madwifi-project.org/madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6/madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6-r4119-20100201.tar.gz
then install buildessential and linux-kernel-headers;
extract madwifi in your home directory; open a terminal there;
run

Code:

make sanitycheck       #STOP IF YOU GET AN ERROR HERE
make -j4
sudo make install

Then blacklist ath5k:
http://www.aspireoneuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=19702&start=30#p115650

I also made some kernel packages that should work better, but haven't tested them.
You can find them here, if you dare:
http://cid-f785bf5e55218c8e.office.live.com/browse.aspx/.Public/linux/deb

Ibidem

 

Thanks Ibidem, but this explanation is a bit out of my depth knowledge wise; I'm a beginner when it comes to Linux and I can't quite follow. Think I'll have to get some help on this one.

My fault really; the machine came with Linpus Lite which, although ugly, worked fine. Now I've switched over to Ubuntu, seems to be problem after problem.

 

The other solution is to live with it as is. What that means is that to turn wifi back on, reboot the computer and when the acer start up screen appears, but before ubuntu starts to boot, hit the wifi switch (just once). That will turn wifi back on and ubuntu will recognize it. You don't need to do this everytime you reboot, only if wifi gets turned off.

 

For my experience, the boot is a problematic situation in the AAO (110 for me...)...the only way that it works is to install from a USB stick with the ISO modified by Universal-USB-Installer-1.7.9.3.exe (Windows needed to build).

After this, and 3-4 restart to activate Wireless, mouse and device...all thing work great. :mrgreen:

 

I have finished to install Ubuntu Netbook 10.04 ... Wooooo ... it plays the 480p from youtube in full screen with no lag (100% CPU, lol).

On same installation and WinXP SP3, i can't do this (stupid lag from Wifi drivers, i think).

awesome !