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    Ubuntu not booting, not installing.

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by non_gamer, Jul 8, 2011.

  1. non_gamer

    non_gamer Newbie

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    I got my Alienware M17X R3. The first thing I did was to try to install Ubuntu as my work involves some C++ ( ROOT) programming (I know some programming languages, but only peripherally to perform physics computations, I am a complete n00b everywhere else). I have been a happy Ubuntu user since 9.04.

    I have been trying to install Ubuntu all day now, here is a summary of what I tried:

    1. Booting from USB:
    a. 11.04 64 Bit
    b. 10.04 64 Bit
    c. 10.04 32 Bit

    1. Booting from CD:
    a. 11.04 64 Bit
    b. 10.04 64 Bit
    c. 10.04 32 Bit

    Each time, I get the Ubuntu purple screen and then the screen either goes white with no response, or blank with flickering rainbow colors. I have looked elsewhere but the discussion has been too technical for me to understand. Someone wrote somewhere that Fedora works and I tried that too but it doesnt work. Please try to save my life!

    Thanks.
     
    non_gamer, Jul 8, 2011
    #1
  2. Nascentes

    Nascentes Notebook Consultant

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    That's definitely a weird problem.

    If you are game to try a different distro, I would recommend Crunchbang. Very, very lightweight and works great out of the box. It's also based on Debian like Ubuntu is.

    I personally use(and love) OpenBox, however, if you are more comfortable with a little more bulky windows manager such as Gnome which Ubuntu uses, you could try Xfce and even install Gnome once you get it up and running.

    http://crunchbanglinux.org/downloads/statler/20110207/


    Or, another very simple and functional distro is Mint which is pretty popular distro, especially in the IT field.
    There are a few different versions, all of which are very simplistic.

    http://www.linuxmint.com/
     
    Nascentes, Jul 8, 2011
    #2
  3. DR650SE

    DR650SE The Whiskey Barracuda

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    My guess is it doesn't recognize the gpu. Try Linux Mint 11. I had the same issue with Ubuntu. The newer versions. Tried mint and it worked
     
    DR650SE, Jul 8, 2011
    #3
  4. jafar00

    jafar00 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Yeh try Mint which is a nice distro anyway, or try the "Alternative" install which is text only. Perhaps the live CD version is not recognising everything in your R3 but the full install may just work for you.

    I'm running Ubuntu 11.04 64bit on my R2
     
    jafar00, Jul 10, 2011
    #4
  5. Gettinsothrowed

    Gettinsothrowed Notebook Enthusiast

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    I guess this thread could help answer my question, is anyone here familiar with openSUSE on the R3? I've heard it's the best distro to use on a laptop, and I wonder if it works seamlessly?
     
    Gettinsothrowed, Jul 10, 2011
    #5