Help ex put linux on my laptop and now it doesnt work

Chibifishy

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Hey, so an ex installed linux on my old laptop and I haven't touched it in a few years after a friend borrowed it. She said it stopped booting and I never really checked it when she gave it back. Now I want to fix it, but i have no idea what to do. I took some pics of the screens, but this is where I'm stuck.
 

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WOW, this is classic :)

(Wizard appears in a puff of smoke, bearing good news and bad news ... but the bad is not so bad :D)

G'day @Chibifishy and welcome to linux.org :)

I am from Australia, so you will see me at different times.

This is an old Ubuntu distribution, you have. Where Windows is an OS (Operating System), so too, (GNU-)Linux is an OS, but Linux has hundreds of different flavours, called Distributions or Distros for short.

BTW thanks for all those pix, they help.

I am just confirming some research I am aware of and I will be back soon.

Cheers

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz

BTW short answer is you will likely need to install a newer version of Ubuntu (which is on your laptop), but there are options.

Think about whether there is any personal data that needs to be saved, and we can accommodate that.
 
When you get to the menu listing Linux and Windows Recovery it is here that it seems that the Windows Recovery will not do anything. When you choose Linux it appears that it is needing to be updated, but the source is unavailable. Most likley it is too old and not supported. I have an Acer Aspire One which works great with Lubuntu. You may want to download Lubuntu and use a USB stick or other media to install it toy your laptop. I think there is nothing there that you need to keep from the laptop now (hopefully). If you do need to get some of the data off the hard disk then you could easily perform a Full Install to a USB Stick (see the article on this site). You can boot from the USB Stick and then use it to copy data from the hard disk to the USB stick. After you have saved any data you can then install Lubuntu or another to your laptop. Once done you can copy data back to the hard drive. For more space you may want to remove the Windows Emergency Repair partition on he hard drive.
 
WOW, this is classic :)

(Wizard appears in a puff of smoke, bearing good news and bad news ... but the bad is not so bad :D)

G'day @Chibifishy and welcome to linux.org :)

I am from Australia, so you will see me at different times.

This is an old Ubuntu distribution, you have. Where Windows is an OS (Operating System), so too, (GNU-)Linux is an OS, but Linux has hundreds of different flavours, called Distributions or Distros for short.

BTW thanks for all those pix, they help.

I am just confirming some research I am aware of and I will be back soon.

Cheers

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz

BTW short answer is you will likely need to install a newer version of Ubuntu (which is on your laptop), but there are options.

Think about whether there is any personal data that needs to be saved, and we can accommodate that.
I honestly dont even remember if there was anything that I wanted to save on the computer and was gonna try to just reset the whole thing. So either way I'm fine lol
 
G'day all :)

@Chibifishy , that version of Ubuntu is likely something like Ubuntu 12.04 'Precise Pangolin' or 12.10 codenamed 'Quantal Quetzal'. If the latter, support ended (EOL = End of Life) in 2013, if the former which is LTS (Long Term Support) EOL for it was still April 2017.

So it might still be run, but you couldn't get Updates for Software or Hardware, nor Security Updates, which would put Internet access at risk.

Also, one of the rare viruses to infiltrate the LInux world, known as ShellShock aka The Bash Bug, went through in September 2014, was quickly dealt with and Linux Kernels were upgraded and patched.

Your kernels show as perhaps 3.05 through to 3.13.0-34, and Shellshock affected us with 3.16, so again, if unpatched, a risk.

Better to blow it all away.

Lubuntu, as mentioned and linked above, may be a good option (and I like that link, Arochester, where DO you get them?:D)

Given you feel there is no need for data salvage, then a simple download of Lubuntu, burning it to a USB stick (called Live) and trying/installing might be your way to go.

Although the links contained within Arochester's link are still current, despite the article being 2012, the reference there is to Lubuntu 18.10 - this is a short-term release with an EOL of 9 months, ie July this year.

If you want a longer lasting version, with support, better is 18.04 (supported until April 2023), and found here

https://lubuntu.net/lubuntu-18-04-bionic-beaver-released/

Where would you want to download the install file to? Windows? Other?

We can advise on the burning method, and on how to install.

Also, if you can give us the Brand name and model number of your computer, we can check out its specs and better advise.

Cheers

Wiz
 
Arochester's link....
Thought bucket A place to empty my head

you just have to love that !!
 
G'day all :)

@Chibifishy , that version of Ubuntu is likely something like Ubuntu 12.04 'Precise Pangolin' or 12.10 codenamed 'Quantal Quetzal'. If the latter, support ended (EOL = End of Life) in 2013, if the former which is LTS (Long Term Support) EOL for it was still April 2017.

So it might still be run, but you couldn't get Updates for Software or Hardware, nor Security Updates, which would put Internet access at risk.

Also, one of the rare viruses to infiltrate the LInux world, known as ShellShock aka The Bash Bug, went through in September 2014, was quickly dealt with and Linux Kernels were upgraded and patched.

Your kernels show as perhaps 3.05 through to 3.13.0-34, and Shellshock affected us with 3.16, so again, if unpatched, a risk.

Better to blow it all away.

Lubuntu, as mentioned and linked above, may be a good option (and I like that link, Arochester, where DO you get them?:D)

Given you feel there is no need for data salvage, then a simple download of Lubuntu, burning it to a USB stick (called Live) and trying/installing might be your way to go.

Although the links contained within Arochester's link are still current, despite the article being 2012, the reference there is to Lubuntu 18.10 - this is a short-term release with an EOL of 9 months, ie July this year.

If you want a longer lasting version, with support, better is 18.04 (supported until April 2023), and found here

https://lubuntu.net/lubuntu-18-04-bionic-beaver-released/

Where would you want to download the install file to? Windows? Other?

We can advise on the burning method, and on how to install.

Also, if you can give us the Brand name and model number of your computer, we can check out its specs and better advise.

Cheers

Wiz
I did take a pic of the bottom of it, it's an Acer Aspire not really sure where the model number is lol.
 

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Also I'm not sure about where to download the file. Whatever is best seems best I'd say.
 
OK, so does the laptop have 2 or so USB slots for USB sticks? Or a DVD burner or both?

Are you communicating with us from a Windows machine, if so, which version (7, 8 or 10)?

And does it have 2 or so USB slots for USB sticks? Or a DVD burner or both?

Wiz
 
OK, so does the laptop have 2 or so USB slots for USB sticks? Or a DVD burner or both?

Are you communicating with us from a Windows machine, if so, which version (7, 8 or 10)?

And does it have 2 or so USB slots for USB sticks? Or a DVD burner or both?

Wiz
The laptop has both. I'm using my phone, but I'm sure I can use someone's computer
 
Haven't forgotten you, @Chibifishy , just been busy with some family issues, now pretty well under control, and of course, you look around and see I always have my hands full here :)

Putting together a strategy, and I'll run it past you a little later in my day.

Cheers

Wizard
 
If you get yourself a USB stick of 4GB or so (bigger does not matter), then get on to Roomie's computer and download Lubuntu from the following site

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/lubuntu/releases/18.04.2/release/

The one you want to get is by choosing the blue highlighted part as described below

32-bit PC (i386) desktop image

For almost all PCs. This includes most machines with Intel/AMD/etc type processors and almost all computers that run Microsoft Windows, as well as newer Apple Macintosh systems based on Intel processors.

Just let it save to the default location, likely Downloads.

On the same web page, if you scroll further down, you'll see a section with a curvy arrow and Parent Directory, and 7 lines down

SHA256SUMS

Click that. These are the hashsum algorithms that confirm that your download is complete, legitimate and has not been tampered with nor corrupted during the download process.

The bottom one is the one you are interested in, which is described as

*lubuntu-18.04.2-desktop-i386.iso
If you get yourself a USB stick of 4GB or so (bigger does not matter), then get on to Roomie's computer and download Lubuntu from the following site

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/lubuntu/releases/18.04.2/release/

The one you want to get is by choosing the blue highlighted part as described below

32-bit PC (i386) desktop image

For almost all PCs. This includes most machines with Intel/AMD/etc type processors and almost all computers that run Microsoft Windows, as well as newer Apple Macintosh systems based on Intel processors.

Just let it save to the default location, likely Downloads.

On the same web page, if you scroll further down, you'll see a section with a curvy arrow and Parent Directory, and 7 lines down

SHA256SUMS

Click that. These are the hashsum algorithms that confirm that your download is complete, legitimate and has not been tampered with nor corrupted during the download process.

The bottom one is the one you are interested in, which is described as

*lubuntu-18.04.2-desktop-i386.iso

It's only the hashsum we need, and that is

c9c1d35fe29a4862ba56e708fd015f2cc39079f2a31e40ddaf1b168655a6e9ac

On Windows 10:

1. Go to start menu and start to type in

powershell

... and launch it

2. Take a look at my screenshot below and we'll examine it.


DHJI3LS.png


SCREENSHOT 1 - LUBUNTU HASHSUM CHECK FROM WINDOWS 10

My hashsum will differ from yours, because my example is for the 64-bit version, yours for the 32-bit. But if you look on that webpage with the sums, you will see mine matches that given. Yours should be the one typed above.

So all you need is your Roomie's userid (not his/her password), which will show with the "prompt", that is in my case,

C:\Users\chris

So I change directory to Downloads as shown above, run a "dir" to establish my Lubuntu .iso is there, and then as follows:

I click on the "l" for lubuntu, then double-click and it highlights

I press Ctrl-c to copy, then go to the blinking cursor at the bottom and

Press Ctrl-v to paste, and the full name of the iso appears.

Press Home for the insertion point to move to the start of the line, and then

Type in the command starting with

Get-FileHash

and complete the details as per Roomie's userid

Press Enter and the SHA256sum will be revealed in a moment.

Compare it against the number I typed above, or from the website to see it matches (forget that Windows puts in capitals to show it).

Once that is done, you know you have a legitimate download of your Lubuntu iso and we are ready to burn it to the stick.

Start making a list of things to fix up with Roomie's computer, and first, perhaps is to remove the Lubuntu .iso (but not now).

There are a couple of small downloads still to be made, to burn the iso to the USB stick, and these might include

Burning it to a stick using Rufus, Unetbootin, or Etcher

Let us know when you are ready to proceed.

Wizard
 
I've finally been able to get everything together, everything look how you described. i got etcher. I'm ready to move to the next step.
 
Watching topic to see reaction of a new user to a working Linux system. It feels like Christmas in June !
 
Hey girl, you are back, I hope you are feeling better :)

I am going to put together a video or two to show both the burning of the Lubuntu iso to stick using Etcher (short) on Roomie's PC, and then a longer one of Installing Lubuntu onto your Acer lappie (longer).

I have a couple of other Members in need to attend to first, but I'll mix that with getting the prep work done for your issue, and be back asap.

(Fishy, have a play in that toy store of yours while you are waiting :))

Let me just summarise to make sure we are on the same track:

  1. We're not worried about any Windows on the lappie, we just want the sole operating system to be Lubuntu
  2. We're not worried about salvaging any data from the existing, obsolete, Ubuntu install that is on the lappie
  3. We've got Etcher on Roomie's PC, and on that PC we have a downloaded iso of Lubuntu that has been verified as accurate
If anything differs from the above, let me know and we will try to accommodate that.

BTW does the lappie have Wifi, or will you be looking to establish internet access via an ethernet cable?

Cheers

Wiz
 

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