[solved] Can’t load Mint 17.1 onto my computer

[winehound]

Hi I’m a newby, so hope this post is in the right section. I have never used Linux before, having always been put-off by people saying “good technically but you need coding and programming skills to use it” well now I’m trying it, and I’ve hit problems immediately.

My computer: custom built by Power Computers Ltd;
500 GB hard drive;
AMD Athalon 64x2 Dual Core 3800+ Speed 2 GHz;
1 GB DDR memory;
DVD writer; Samsung SH-S162L
Motherboard Asus, Tek 8 AN-VMCSM; Bios AMI 0506;
Windows XP Home SP3;
Display adapter NVida Geforce 6150 on-board chip; (Driver 307.83);
Nvida Network Bus Enumerator, (driver 5090);

I’ve downloaded both the 32 bit and 64 bit Iso versions of Mint 17.1 Cinnamon, and burned each one onto separate DVD RW using Nero Iso burning software; the comparative checksums of both are correct; all the appropriate files show in the folders, but neither version will load correctly.

Booting method I use: Starting with the DVD in the drive, power off:-

At “power on”, post runs normally, then loads the contents of the DVD, the splash screen shows “Mint will load in 10 seconds” there is a wait until the loading is complete, then a splash screen shows a desktop view with the Mint logo and everything freezes; nothing works, I then have to pull the plug to re-start. This happens with both versions.

An alterative way I have tried is: - At the “Mint will start in 10 seconds” stage, I press “enter” and Mint then displays 5 alternatives; if I choose “start in compatible mode” then Mint loads a large amount of files which cascade through the screen, when this has finished the Mint desk top and logo appear full screen, with a note explaining that it will run very slowly because of a rendering problem and that this mode should only be used for testing. Mint will run in this mode but hits and misses, is very, very, very slow, and not really usable for evaluation. When I click “shutdown” some of the pre-loaded files pass back through the screen, the computer then hangs and I have to pull the plug on the power to shut down.

On the Mint release notes, in the “solving freezes with some Nvida Geforce GPUs” it suggests adding extra arguments to the boot menu of the live DVD as follows:-

If you are unable to boot Linux Mint with an NVIDIA card, or if you are experiencing constant freezes and system lock ups, please append "nomodeset" to your boot arguments. At the boot menu of the live DVD/USB, press Tab to edit the boot arguments and add "nomodeset" at the end of the line. If you're still having issues, you can also remove "quiet splash --" from that same line.Alternatively you can use the "nouveau.noaccel=1" boot argument. Once the system is installed, use the Driver Manager to install the nvidia-304 driver.

For me, as a newby, this instruction is not sufficiently detailed and presents me with a few problems.

1/ How do I append “nomodeset” to the boot menu of the burned live DVD?.

2/ If I am to edit the boot argument in the boot menu of the live DVD, which part of the boot menu do I edit? the grub folder? which file? the grub.cfg or the loopback.cfg? which end line? there appears to be several; The end line in Both files? all the lines, Only one? Does the argument need a back or forward slash to separate it from the end line, And how do I then burn this instruction onto the previously burned DVD?

In closing, I would like to congratulate all who have taken part in the production of Mint; it looks fantastic, and from the limited foray I have been able to take, it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. I’m hooked, but I now need a little help to get it operational so that I can evaluate further. If there’s anyone who can help with details and procedural process in laymen’s terms, I would be very grateful.

Apologies for the long post. Winehound

[Fornhamfred]

Ok boot up your live dvd and instead of letting auto load press enter to take you to the grub screen. Press the tab key and that will display the line you need to amend.

[kc1di]

Hello winehound and welcome to Linux & Mint,
As Fornhamfred has already mentioned you hit the tab key and the line that you looking for will appear just under the boot list box.
the end of the line will look like this :

Code: Select all

Quiet Splash --

change it to look like this:

Code: Select all

Quiet Splash nomodeset

then hit enter

after it boots up the resolution will be wrong. but if you choose to install it it will install ok. after installation and reboot go to control center and select Driver Manager that will install the recommended driver for your Nvidia card I have the same card as you in one of my machines and once set up it works fine.

good luck

[winehound]

Hi fornhamfred and kcid, and thanks for your reply.

Question:- Do I have to actually install mint before going through the process you advise. The reason I ask is, the only way I can get to the desktop to click on the install is to load the live DVD in compatibilty mode. Would Mint install correctly and fully while in compatabiliy mode?

As you will notice from my original post, the only way I can get to a workable dektop is to load the live DVD in compatibiliy mode, and hitting tab while in this mode produces nothing.

If at first you don't succeed............

[Fornhamfred]

If you can run the dvd in compatibility mode and get to the desktop then you can just go ahead and run the install. Once you have the installation complete you can follow kc1di's explanation and change the video driver.

IMHO when installing it is better to have a root partition, swap partition and a home partition. You can either set these partitions up during the install process or use gparted on the live dvd to do it. If you use the latter then during install select the option "do something else" and select the partition for your system and by right clicking select change. Select to format to ext4, assign it to / and label the partition as Mint 17.1. Do the same with the home partition but assign it to home and label it Mint Home, if you have not already done so assign the swap partition, then continue the installation.

[gold_finger]

Would Mint install correctly and fully while in compatabiliy mode?

Yes, it will install correctly but you will need to boot the installation in compatibility mode the first time also. Then install the NVidia driver as described and reboot again for it to take effect.

Adding to what others have already said -- before you install, I'd recommend a few things:

• 1. Since you've only got 1GB of RAM, 32-bit version of Mint will probably work best.
  2. From within Windows disk manager, defragment the drive before installing Mint.
  3. From live Mint, open GParted and shrink/resize the main Windows partition to make room for the Mint installation. (Here's a GParted tutorial that will show you how to do that.) Leave some room for Windows to grow -- don't shrink it all the way.
  4. Leave free space unpartitioned and exit out of GParted.
  5. Reboot into Windows one time to let it make any needed adjustments to new size.
  6. Reboot again with Mint DVD and start the installation.
  7A. If planning to use a separate Home partition follow directions in this tutorial (basically, a detailed version of Fornhamfred's recommendation) to make your Root, Swap and Home (optional) partitions after selecting the "Something else" install option. If you go with a separate Home partition, these partition sizes would probably work well:
  • Root partition = 15-20GB
    Home partition = rest of space available, less amount to be used for Swap
    Swap partition = 1-2GB
  OR
  
  7B. If not planning on using separate Home partition, you can select the "Install Along side Windows" option and it will automatically use the free disk space to make a Root and Swap partition for you and install the system accordingly. (Your Home folder will reside on the Root partition instead of being separated out.)

NOTE: If space available to install Mint is only 30-40GB or less, it might not be worth making a separate Home partition.

P.s. Of the various Mint flavors, Cinnamon requires most resources to run. If you find that it does not run well on your computer, try out either the Xfce or Mate versions. Either of them should run fine.

[winehound]

Hi Gold Finger,

Many thanks for your detailed reply. As you will probably gather, this is my first foray into Linux, and my reaction so far, has been a mixture of surprise and excitement tinged with a fair amount of apprehension.

I have been using Windows for longer than I care to remember, but having looked at Linux the contrast between Windows and the openness of Linux plus the enthusiastic support of the users is amazing. The down-side for me, as a newbie, is that I find the terminology of Linux and its processes somewhat unusual, so any instruction I receive from the forum needs, by definition, to be detailed, and in-depth until I ”bed in”

Before starting “hands on” I now need to read, starting with The Beginners Guide, and the tutorials which you kindly listed; but before I start; another question.

Kc1di explains in his reply that:- after installation and reboot go to control centre and select Driver Manager and that will install the recommended driver for your Nvidia card

My Asus, Tek 8 AN-VMCSM Motherboard doesn’t have a card but a Nvidia Geforce 6150 GPU on-board chip (Northbridge), with a Nvidia nForce 430 MCP (Southbridge) chipset. My Nvidia driver is, at present 307.83. This, according to Nvidia is up to date.

My question is this:-
If, after reboot, I go to control as suggested to update, would the control centre automatically download and install the Special legacy driver Nvidia-Linux-x86-304.108 or the 304 driver mentioned in the release notes for the Mint. Or are they both the same driver? If they’re not, and I have to choose....which one?

Winehound

[kc1di]

yes it will install the newest driver for you gpu that is in the mint repository. should work out ok.

We were all new to Linux at one time so just take is slow and learn as you go.

[gold_finger]

The down-side for me, as a newbie, is that I find the terminology of Linux and its processes somewhat unusual, so any instruction I receive from the forum needs, by definition, to be detailed, and in-depth until I ”bed in”

You're no different than the rest of us when we first started. When you have time, check out some of the links listed here to help clear things up. Reading the first three chapters of the first item on the list ("Introduction to Linux...") will give you a good head start.

My question is this:-
If, after reboot, I go to control as suggested to update, would the control centre automatically download and install the Special legacy driver Nvidia-Linux-x86-304.108 or the 304 driver mentioned in the release notes for the Mint. Or are they both the same driver? If they’re not, and I have to choose....which one?

It may list 2-3 choices for you to pick from: newest version and maybe 1-2 older ones. Just tick off which you want (newest - probably 304) and tell it to install. After install done, reboot for it to take effect. (That's how it will work whether NVidia is a separate card or on-board chipset.)

[Fornhamfred]

As has been said we all started sometime and are only too glad to help.

[winehound]

Many thanks for the help you guys. Loaded smooth as silk. Now have to set everything up.