Note that a solution for the issue described here has been found, but because it affects both KDE and Cinnamon, I've posted the solution in the "Installation" Linux Mint Forum here: http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=126993.
Hi and thanks for reading this post.
I am trying to install Mint 14, 64 bit, KDE onto a Dell Studio 17, 1747 laptop. The problem I am having is strange because I have successfully previously installed the regular Linux Mint 14 not KDE on that laptop already (14.1 Cinnamon 64bit).
The laptop is:
Dell Studio 17 (1747)
CPU: Intel i7
Video: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 (ChipID = 0x9480)
I got the video card information by booting Cinnamon and looking in the Xorg.0.log file.
When I boot from the install DVD, the computer freezes. For example, if I hit F12 as it boots, then I see the following text, and then the computer freezes (it doesn't respond to any key presses and needs to be hard-shutdown).
The only thing that seems weird to me among those text boot messages is the following lines:stdin: Not a typewriter
Generating locales...
en_US.UTF-8... up-to-date
Generation complete.
grep: /root/etc/default/apport: No such file or directory
using CD_ROM mount point /cdrom/
Identifying.. [de05264a619a326f10cfeb52f6b65365-2]
Scanning disc for index files..
Found 0 package indexes, 0 source indexes, 0 translation indexes and 0 signatures
E: Unable to locate any package files, perhaps this is not a Debian Disc or the wrong architecture?
* Starting Bridge socket events into upstart
* Stopping Mount network filesystems
* Starting configure network device security
* Starting SMB/CIPS File Server
* Starting configure network device
* Starting mDNS/DNS-SD daemon
* Stopping Failsafe Boot Delay
* Starting System V initialisation compatibility
* Starting set sysctls from /etc/sysctl.conf
* Starting configure network device security
* Starting configure network device
* Starting modem connection manager
* Stopping set sysctls from /etc/sysctl.conf
* Starting bluetooth daemon
* Starting configure network device security
* Starting configure network device
* Starting CPUS printing spooler/server
* Starting Samba Auto-reload Integration
* Stopping Samba Auto-reload Integration
* Starting SMB/CIPS File Server
* Starting network connection manager
Scanning disc for index files...
Found 0 package indexes, 0 source indexes, 0 translation indexes and 0 signatures
E: Unable to locate any package files, perhaps this is not a Debian Disc or the wrong architecture?
I have already tried the usual things:
I have verified the MD5 checksum of my .iso image
My boot media is good quality (Verbatim) and was written at a slow speed. Also, just to be sure, I've wrote the image to a second disc using the laptop in question, and that disk behaves identically. Also I have checked the disk by booting it using a spare PC, and the install disk boots fine on the other machine.
I ran the "Integrity Check" option of the install DVD and it passed.
I have also tried using some of the kernel boot parameters...
This experimentation was performed using "Compatability Mode" with the following results:
Compatability Mode - Default Kernel Parameters
Freezes after line:
Stopping save udev log and update rules [ok]
Compatability Mode - Kernel Parameter: nomodeset
It gets 1 step further, freezing after line:
Starting load fallback graphics devices [fail]
Compatability Mode - Kernel Parameter: acpi=off
It boots much much ore slowly, freezing after:
Starting load fallback graphics devices [fail]
Compatability Mode - Kernel Parameter: nomodeset xforcevesa
It gets a couple of steps further, and it doesn't always freeze
at the same point. Sometimes I get this:
Starting load fallback graphics devices [fail]
Starting configure virtual network devices [ok]
Stopping enable remaining boot-time encrypted block devices [ok]
but sometimes I only get this:
Starting load fallback graphics devices [fail]
Starting configure virtual network devices [ok]
Anyway, I'm running out of ideas for what to try next. I would really like to get Mint KDE installed on this laptop. What should I try next?
Thanks
Note that a solution for the issue described here has been found, but because it affects both KDE and Cinnamon, I've posted the solution in the "Installation" Linux Mint Forum here: http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=126993.