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[SOLVED] Installer crashes with black screen... even in text mode!

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    #1

    [SOLVED] Installer crashes with black screen... even in text mode!

    Hi,

    It has been a few days I'm struggling to install Kubuntu 10.10 on my computer. I started with the normal CD, burnt it and boot the computer. Halfway through the graphical installer, I got a black screen and system froze up. I tried several things (including running the installer with nomodest and single options) but didn't help.

    Then I downloaded the alternate CD and started to install in the text mode. I could get passed installing the kernel and programs but right after adding a user/password, the text installer crashed with a black screen and system froze!

    Now, I already have Windows 7 64 bits on this computer and have done all kinds of memory/hardware tests on it and it works fine. The CPU, GPU and the case is well ventilated so nothing is overheating. I also run heavy loads on Windows (MATLAB, Chess engine tournaments) for hours and hours and never had a crash. So I guess the hardware is fine.

    Here are the specs of the system if it can help:

    CPU: i7 950 GPU: ATI HD5870 (model Gigabyte GV-R587UD-1GD) RAM: 12 GB DDR-1666 Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R (rev. 2.0) Optical drive: Liteon ihbs112 USB Mouse and Keyboard

    Windows is installed on a SSD and I have 2x 2.0TB hard disks for data. Kubunto, however was being installed on a separate and dedicated 200GB hard disk. During installation process I format and partition this drive. I didn't disconnect/disable the other drives. In BIOS, all SATA controllers are set to run in AHCI mode.

    My primary suspect is the graphics card. However, why it would ever crash even in the text mode?? Although it works fine in Windows even with heavy gaming so graphics card is itself stable.

    Any suggestions or ideas are highly appreciated. If it does not work might need to stick running Kubuntu in VMware on Windows but that option is no replacement for a real system.

    Thanks,
    Shapul
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    #2
    Re: Installer crashes with black screen... even in text mode!

    Possibly the problem is your CD burning technique. Please review FAQ #1 in the link in my signature -- you must burn the CD at your slowest available speed, and use "DAO" mode if you have it.
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      #3
      Re: Installer crashes with black screen... even in text mode!

      That's an interesting idea. However, I used DAO and also verified the CD after writing it.

      I might try to write a new CD but I don't think it is unlikely to be the issue: I get black screen at different stages of install, sometimes right after partitioning the disks, sometimes during copying files to hard disk and sometimes in the menus. I get it on two different CDs I have now for graphical and text installers. Also during my struggles, once booted with Kubuntu the system after installer crashed in a late stage. I could boot, and login. Most definitely there were some corrupted files/settings since installer was interrupted but still system run. However before I could do much (I was trying to see what was and was not installed) I got a black screen. The point is that's exactly the same behavior as the installer: system runs for few minutes and suddenly crashes.

      Still, I'd like to verify the CDs since we all know computers do not always follow logic Is there a way I can get something like an MD5 hash for a written CD?
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        #4
        Re: Installer crashes with black screen... even in text mode!

        OK, in Windows I mounted the disk image in DAEMON tools and did a binary comparison between the disk and the image. They are identical. I guess that rules out the CD as the source of the problem.

        -AlefSin
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          #5
          Re: Installer crashes with black screen... even in text mode!

          OK, I got it done: the trick was to use "noacpi" option with the installer. I could finish installation with that option.

          Right after the first boot I proceeded to install ATI's propriety drivers to make system stable: without those drivers, fans on the graphics card run too fast indicating GPU is very hot. After installing the drivers fans slowed down. This is important since apparently before correct drivers are running GPU is in an unstable mode, running very hot and fans running very fast. Immediately after drivers kick in (either in Linux or in Windows) GPU fans slow down. I guess this is rather an issue with the BIOS of the graphics card so hopefully it will be fixed by the OEM.

          Anyway, Kubuntu 10.10 is now running fine on my computer
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