So I wanted to format my old laptop which used to have Ubuntu 10 on it and Windows 7 (32 bit I think).

I downloaded the latest version of ubuntu and set it up to boot from a USB drive. I then booted from the USB drive, as I wanted to remove everything from my laptop I choose for the old Ubuntu 10 and Windows 7 to be removed and a fresh install of Ubuntu 12 to be setup, everything ran perfectly during the setup, I created my username and pw etc etc, then at the end it said I needed to restart which I did. After it restarted it froze on a startup screen showing Acer and F2 <setup> and F12<boot options>, I waited and waited, nothing happened, tried both the options, again nothing.

I then manually switched it off and tried again, same thing, tried another time with the USB stick removed, still nothing. By now I realised that something had gone wrong, I couldnt get off this screen and the laptop wasnt booting from the USB drive or anything so I grabbed my old Win7 disc to attempt to boot from that and install it, DVD drive wont open, nothing happens when I press the button. OK now Im in trouble....

Im out of options here, can anyone help? Would be much appreciated as I need to go away soon and must have access to a laptop

My Laptop:

Acer Aspire

Intel i3

2GB RAM

Prior to this it had the following OS:

Ubuntu 10

Win 7 - 32 bit

Edited December 15, 201213 yr by lopburi3
correct font

Ugly.

Try starting in safe mode and see if you can go back to a restore point prior to the install.

May have to re-format the hard disk and reload windows.

Good luck.

Safe mode wont be there....

Best bet is reformat the hdd in another machine and try again.

Or maybe give a bios update a go

Go into bios and check the boot order cd, first. you can shut down and open the drive via the little hole with a pin. inst the cd and restart. It will go to the cd. repair the MBR

Thanks guys, got the disc drive open via the hole, same thing as above when win 7 disc in. All I get every time is Acer screen with F2 setup and F12 boot options but neither work when I press them. Tried with WIN7 disc in, with USB ubuntu drive in again and without, always the same.

Are there no factory resets on these things?

If your 2gb memory are 2 seperate modules try alternately removing one, sounds like bad memory (or just reseat them)

Sent from my LG-P970 using Thaivisa Connect App

Hi,

I had this problem heaps on various dual-boot installs. Found how to resolve. Try this:

1 reinstall Ub from your usb (assume you created it with unetbootin?), using the option 'do you want to totally wipe this disc' or somesuch...

2 have a coffee, whatever the present recommendation is....

3 here is the catch:

<it said I needed to restart which I did. After it restarted it...>

4 rather than restart the f***er, close it down.

5 then remove the usb.

6 Restart without usb in there, update etc., should be sweet.

Good luck, AA

Start fresh.

Boot the the Ubu liveCD (from your pendrive, check the boot order in your BIOS).

When the install program reaches part about preparing the disk, go into the partition tool and create a new partition table. This will zap the existing one.

Do some research on multi-boot and partitioniong if not familiar with this.

Proceed with install.

Hopefully this will result in a fresh, bootable system with no MBR ambiguity. At least this will get you past your brick problem.

If you want a dual-boot system with Windows you'll have to install Win first, but you can always go back. First things first.

I have already tried restarting the computer with my ubuntu USB drive plugged in and my Win 7 DVD is the drive, nothing happens for both just the same acer screen with the F2 setup and F12 boot options there but neither work when I press them....

Have you tried pulling the battery for 30 seconds?

Just tried that, same

Had a similar problem a little while back. It came down to the fact that the proprietary NVIDIA drivers didn't work with the new version of Ubuntu. Only option was to go back to an earlier release of Ubuntu.

What happens if you boot up with nothing in any drives? Can you get further than F2 or F12 then?

Not sure if my previous post is clear (or drunken carp),

but what I found worked

- after installing Ub alone, or as a dual-boot after installing win, via a usb created with unetbootin

- at the prompt to restart

Shut down your system (ie, avoid clicking 'restart now' or some such) and take out the usb.

Then boot-up.

Thus far, always works for me on older systems (32-bit).

If this doesn't work, drinks are on me (if you can make it to BanSaphan).

Cheers, AA

your previous post was clear but the problem is elsewhere. you may want to read OP's posts, he's saying he's stuck at BIOS. someone's gonna get free beer

Some time back, I found a small program that when put on a CD will totally wipe and format your hard drive. I'm sure you can find this free download using Google.

Can you open your BIOS settings? If so get a liveOS of some sort to boot from a CD or USB. Otherwise remove HDD and attach it to another linux machine and use command-line to wipe and overwrite the entire disk.

If you can not set BIOS boot order you have a more basic problem.

Take the battery and RAM out and leave the machine overnight. Clean RAM contacts and install the minimum. Replace battery and click ON. Can you now get to set the BIOS boot order? If so, see above, if not you are down to possibly replacing the cmos battery and/or flashing a new BIOS.

I cant get into BIOS or anything, tried pressing F2 or F12 while turning it on and everything. There's an Acer repair shop quite near me at season square so taking it there later today.

Turns out it was the HD, they removed it at the shop and could then get into the BIOS with no problems so I just bought a new HD.

So should I attempt to install Ubuntu 12 again or not?

Hope you kept the old HDD? You can over-write and reformat it if it is not actually damaged.

As to trying the install again - I'll duck that question

Yep kept it.

I will put Win7 back on for now as need to have a working laptop asap and will look at adding ubuntu later. Would it be better to put the older Ubuntu 10 on as thats what it had before?

Yep kept it.

I will put Win7 back on for now as need to have a working laptop asap and will look at adding ubuntu later. Would it be better to put the older Ubuntu 10 on as thats what it had before?

If it worked ok before it's probably a sensible thing to do...

I've mentioned this in other posts, that Ubu went through some ill changes after 10.

For me 11 was a headache, went back to 10.

12 has a whole new interface, if you love your iPhone and game console it might be for you.

Otherwise check out Mint, Ubu-based but with a more familiar interface.

personally i would recommend you try out anything BUT ubuntu - since you already have some experience you should experiment with something else. my current favorites to recommend are crunchbang, archbang and recently again antiX (now that they have a 64 bit beta). all very lightweight, well supported and easy to use. also mint's debian edition, which is a little heavier but very nice.

OK well im sticking with Win 7 for now as Im going away soon and cant risk screwing up my laptop again, I will look into the other options in the new year, thanks for all the help.

OK well im sticking with Win 7 for now as Im going away soon and cant risk screwing up my laptop again, I will look into the other options in the new year, thanks for all the help.

All the OS information is inside the HDD's. If you were able to install W7 to the old one, then you can use the new HDD for testing linux. I'm using Kubuntu 12.10, which is ok.

Next time when you buy a new hard drive, consider SSD. The speed difference is huge.

Your hardrive probably went mecanicaly defective, bios is waiting for hardrive identification and hangs cause the drive is unable to reply.

There was a news story how installing linux can brick Samsung laptops. Could this be related?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01/31/ubuntu_uefi_bricking_samsung_laptops/

That was specific to a few particular Samsung models and UEFI.

http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/not-good-samsung-uefi-laptops-can-brick-when-booting-ubuntu-20130130/

Help is on the way:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/02/01/linux_samsung_laptop_fix_advice/