[SOLVED] Install LINUX MINT on nb Acer E11 dualboot Win 8.1

[CyS]

Hello,

I am trying to install Linux Mint 17 cinnamon 64bit in dualboot with Win 8. Already left a 28 Gb raw partition for Linux.

Tried doing a direct USB boot but that lead me to a 3 choice screen: Normal, recovery mode and a 3rd option... can't remember exactly.. but each choice i make takes me to a black dead screen. nothing works.

I asked around - chat and looked over forums and fount the same answers: redo the USB, i did redid them (microSD cards, usb3 and usb2 ones..) using Linux and windows programs, nothing works... so moving on...

then i got to the UBetbootin

for now i installed it... used these settings:

Unetbootin.jpg

When i select disk drive i only have a choice: C: so... i installed it.

When i reboot i get to the choice screen: Win 8 or Uefi then when i choosed uefi i wend int o a reboot and said a file was missing. So i left it as is and uninstalled (fairy simple to do!)

I gave it another try, now i managed to give it to use my f: drive USB 3.0 key and rebooted my computer.

I got to a Grub Version 2.0 command line interface and have no idea what to do next.

Any imput will be helpfull...

[austin.texas]

[TUTORIAL] Installing Mint on a Windows 8/8.1 Computer - http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=163126

[Spearmint2]

you are trying to use windows to mount the ISO file and then from that install Mint 17 to another partition on the drive? Won't happen. Only can do that using Mint4win or WUBI, which is not included on the new DVD's like older versions of Mint. You first need to install the LIVE version to a DVD or a USB drive, boot to that device, then run the Install program on it.

Read the link supplied and remember to set the boot loader to the EFI partition on the drive, not the drive itself.

If you want the LIVE version on that partition, there is a work around and it also offers persistence. Install VMware from Oracle, aka Virtual Box and then set to boot from the ISO file. Each time then you save the "machine state" and all you do will continue to be saved. You can also make snapshots, just in case you accidentally forget to save machine state. You would format that partition to FAT32 and place the ISO file on it and make sure that partition is where all the VM files are saved.

[CyS]

@austin.texas: thank you for the tutorial. But as i specified earlier I made a couple of USB key and they all get stuck at the same point: the boot menu for linux mint and then the black screen that does nothing - i met with some friends this evening that sugested i should try an Ubuntu version (due to lack of drivers)

@ Spearmint2:

- Not trying to use Windows to mount the ISO - that will never work acording to my logic too...... i used the UNetbootin to modify the boot to load the files (read i could do it using this methot - have no idea how)... it obviously did not work 100% it did got me to the comand line. and as you are sugesting to install the live version onto a USB I am back to square 1.

I will try to follow the tutorial again and post the results. if all fails i am left to erasing my whole drive, install first linux then windows.... and i'll build from there... need

[Spearmint2]

If you get a black screen, then do CTRL-ALT-F1 and see if you can get a terminal or tty screen to show. If so, run following commands for some information.

Code: Select all

inxi -G; xrandr

You may just have a video problem.

Also can try gfxpayload=1024x768 in the boot line of GRUB. When you see the choices, press e letter, then enter that before quiet splash.

[CyS]

I had Secure Boot enabled... that is why i could not load anything....

had no idea what it did and sayd: it's secure.. i should activate it!!!

Installing linux mint right now... thank you all!!!

[austin.texas]

I am glad you got it worked out !
Please go to your first post, click EDIT, and add [SOLVED] to the title.

[CyS]

Well... not quite... i left it on for the night to finish installing then this morning i simply rebooted it, gave me a 'recovery error' fixed it's own boot and can't see the linux choice...

so i have to search how to fix/ADD a boot menu so that i can choose

I actually had an error with a /dev/sda/ contains GPT signatures... so i used the method detailed here... and got to a 465 unallocated HDD... and i had some work stuff that it's going to be a 'unicorns' recovery...

If i click yes it's saying the back-up table is not at the end of the disk... Fix by moving at the end? and i get Fix / Cancel / Ignore... I know cancel and ignore do nothing (tried already) so i clicked fix... and the next disk refresh still gives me the error and regardless of what i choose it closes...

[CyS]

ok. back to square one.. I am reinstalling windows, rebuilding the partition and trying a recovery (one idiot said to himself he has nothing to loose - i forgot one document )

Then i will install linux and build the other partitions.

[Spearmint2]

UEFI BIOS. You may have to turn off Secure Boot, add the new system to the EFI boot in BIOS.

[CyS]

Thank you for your help. I did not get it to work as I wanted and lost all data from my hdd (i was able to recover the folder i wanted)

That GPT partitioning error i could not solve and caused me to loose the whole drive one note here: I did reinstall my copy of windows over Windows with Bing (original) but despite erasing everything i kept the factory partitions and reduced the windows one to create new ones after my needs. i should have simply removed everything and start fresh.

i now have both working on my pc, the only thing i don't like is that it boots directly to windows. to boot linux i have to keep pressed Del to go to boot manager and choose ubuntu.

Apart that all is good! thank you for your imput!

[Spearmint2]

yeah, GPT is a PIA at times. It replaced the MBR system everyone's been used to for drive partitioning for decades. You can read more about it if you google gdisk and rod smith and find his site on it. Also could find the wiki's on GPT or GUID Partition Table and MBR or Master Boot Record. There's what is called "protective MBR" on GPT syst ems, but seems that ONLY works if also using a UEFI capable motherboard, otherwise the MBR sector is totally unprotected from older software overwriting it and then older motherboards defaulting to MBR boot system, instead of the GPT which sits above it. An odd thing can then happen where it's like having two Bosses, but each telling you to do different conflicting procedures for the same job.

Having been back and forth on it, in my opinion, and the safest approach, GPT is best used only on UEFI motherboards and MBR on those which aren't. The problem increases where there's a hard drive over 2 TB in size and it's not set up in Advanced Format to allow up to 16 TB to be utilized, or isn't a Hybrid where 512b sectors are seen by the system but they are actually 4096 size sectors, allowing over 2TB drives. Linux doesn't have a problem adjusting to this, but Windows needs it to be setup that way first.

It can get quite confusing. If you have time to find out just how confusing, just read through this thread, but that might have been more due to the encryption than GPT. There's plenty of GPT threads now you can find and peruse.
http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=90&t=142219

[xfrank]

Cys, I'm going to buy that same laptop in this days. Finally, did you managed to install Linux Mint? Recognized well all the hardware? How about the perfomance?

---------------
I've just found this review:
http://liliputing.com/2014/07/acer-aspi ... eview.html

apparently, Xubuntu works well in this laptop.

[CyS]

Cys, I'm going to buy that same laptop in this days. Finally, did you managed to install Linux Mint? Recognized well all the hardware? How about the perfomance?

---------------
I've just found this review:
http://liliputing.com/2014/07/acer-aspi ... eview.html

apparently, Xubuntu works well in this laptop.

Sorry for the late reply:

I abandoned to have dual boot on it and has been running Linux Mint since... all is smooth! highly recomend it! I just replaced the HDD with a SSD, hope this speed things up

[pmshah]

When the Linux installers used lilo I used to have several versions of Linux and Windows installed on my system, under their own independent and isolated partitions, under Boot-IT-Ng boot manager. Ever since all the developers moved to grub I moved away from Linux. Distros like Puppy used to give an option of where to install the boot record - in the MBR or the PBR. This is no longer available and once Ubuntu took over the entire hard disk and trashed all my partitions. Fortunately I was able to recover all and gave up on misbehaving Linux system. Personally I would recommend Linux only on new machines, First Install Linux. Next install agood and reliable Boot Manager and then Install Windows.