Originate Overviews of Oracular Oriole Kubuntu 24.10

[NoWorries]

I was surprised to see Oracular in the daily build repository as I was expecting to see it in about 2 weeks from now. You will find it at:

https://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/daily-live/current/

I have now downloaded it and it was after my third attempt I finally got it so I could View it on my "Sacrificial Laptop". I must admit that if you have tens of minutes to wait, you will finally get to the View option. The Info centre shown below was taken from the View Kubuntu option and is.


It is not surprising that this is identical to the Noble System. So I expect to see dramatic improvements in the coming weeks.

[NoWorries]

I always decide to install new distributions on my "Sacrificial Laptop" which I keep in the garage. This is an ASUS R501VM N56VM which I bought in 2012. When I startup the installation disc for Oracular, I select the option, Try or Install Kubuntu. Try certainly works BUT Install fails every time I select it. This is because I have difficulty understanding the advice on how to Install 24.10 on this machine which doesn't have a modern BIOS. I will now show how I was able to successfully install Oracular rather than being stopped halfway through or ending with some error that I did not know how to resolve.

The first error I get on Installation is a message - Waiting for 1 Module(s). This action fails and I then get the message that it cannot connect to the Internet. I have an Ethernet cable plugged into the Laptop which is connected to the Internet and operates successfully on previously installed operating systems. I have now found that it connects to the Internet as there is a drop down option where I can select my Ehernet 1 connection. Missing that has now made me more aware to look more carefully!

As I always like to keep my home directory, I choose the install option to define my partitions. As I proceed, I then get a warning that - Systems that connect to the internet use a GPT partition table and is the best option for all systems. This installer supports a setup for BIOS (if not done so already) go back and set the partition table to GPT, next create a 8MB unformatted partition with the bios-grub flag enabled.

An unformatted 8MB partition is necessary to start Kubuntu on a BIOS system with GPT.

I was a little overwhelmed with this as my BIOS does not have a GPT option. So I removed my system partition formatting, created a 10MB partition formatted it as ext4, set the label as bios-grub and then the mount point /bios/boot. My system partition was only 10MB smaller after this and I formatted it as ext4 with a mount point /. I think that a btrfs format would also work with this.

After doing all this I was able to successfully Install 24.10. I have now installed all my favourite apps and it is working very well. I must say, that at the moment, I have not had any updates since I completed the installation. I look forward to seeing what the developers do with KDE Plasma 6 as I am sure they are working very hard on this new distribution.

The output from my partition manager on Kubuntu 24.10 shows the partitions on my disk and they are shown below.



One thing to keep in mind, if you plan to Install 24.10, is to not be in a rush. For example, after starting the installation usb, I would do activities that take about 30 minutes or more to finish and then return to choose the Install option. After setting up all the partitions as above and starting the install, I would then go away for another period of time and return to see the results.

I Hope the above encourages you to consider trying Kubuntu 24.10 at this early stage.

[Schwarzer Kater]

[…]
As I proceed, I then get a warning that - Systems that connect to the internet use a GPT partition table and is the best option for all systems. This installer supports a setup for BIOS (if not done so already) go back and set the partition table to GPT, next create a 8MB unformatted partition with the bios-grub flag enabled.

An unformatted 8MB partition is necessary to start Kubuntu on a BIOS system with GPT.

I was a little overwhelmed with this as my BIOS does not have a GPT option. So I removed my system partition formatting, created a 10MB partition formatted it as ext4, set the label as bios-grub and then the mount point /bios/boot.
[…]

"Systems that connect to the internet use a GPT partition table …" - you must have misread something as this does not make any sense from a technical standpoint.

You have a "BIOS system" = "legacy" BIOS and not UEFI - this is what was meant in "An unformatted 8MB partition is necessary to start Kubuntu on a BIOS system with GPT."
No "legacy" BIOS or UEFI has a "GPT option" - MBR and GPT are types of partition tables for storage media like HDDs or SSDs and have - first off - nothing to do with "legacy" BIOS or UEFI.

The 8MiB partition for supporting a start with "legacy" BIOS from storage media with GPT should be unformatted (not ext4) and should not have a mount point (the system has little use for this unformatted partition after boot and the user should not have the possibilty to directly alter the contents of this partition at all (!) - a bit similar to the informations within MBR after boot) - only the bios-grub flag should be enabled for this partition.
See https://www.kubuntuforums.net/forum/...822#post678822 for the single steps.

Nice classic mouse cursor, by the way!

[NoWorries]

At least what I did worked for me. From what I remember, when I defined my 10MB partition with a label, the system would not accept it until I defined a format. The system that I have has no Windows or other systems installed, so no UEFI. I am wondering if you have been able to install this system in the way you are suggesting as you are so knowledgeable?

[Schwarzer Kater]

It has worked (and been) this way with 24.04 and Calamares and several other Linux distributions than Kubuntu that have been using the Calamares installer long before for example.
There is no technical difference to the Daily Build regarding the things I tried to explain - and yes, I simulated a "legacy" BIOS with GPT in a VM for the Daily Build and was able to install it the way I described for 24.04 in the post I linked above.
Whether you set a label or not is up to you and has nothing to do with the partition's functionality.






Slighty OT: "Legacy" BIOS and UEFI also have nothing to do per se with the operating system itself but the hardware manufacturer's choices and/or the computer generation.
UEFI is an open standard (in contrary to "legacy" BIOS) for the firmware on a computer's mainboard which began replacing "legacy" BIOS in 2006. You can find computers up to about around 2011-2013 which still have no UEFI but "legacy" BIOS. UEFI often has the option of CSM booting, more or less simulating a "legacy" BIOS for the boot process. See e.g. UEFI, BIOS, and other confusing x86 PC (firmware) terms for a partial explanation.
Some operating system don't work at all anymore with "legacy" BIOS (like e.g. Windows 11), Linux (installers) may demand an extra unformatted 8 MiB partition with the appropriate boot flag for supporting "legacy" BIOS with GPT (like e.g. Calamares in Kubuntu 24.04 LTS), a partition which is not mounted to the system during boot.


PS: The installer still uses the "discard" option for ext4 despite a timer for fstrim is running… - see step 1. of Essential and strongly recommended things to do directly after a Kubuntu 24.04 LTS installation for how to correct this.

[NoWorries]

I think the difference between us is the method of installation. The approach that I take is bolded in the lists below:

1 Try or Install Kubuntu

2 Following this I get the options:

1. Full Installation
2. Normal Installation
3. Minimal Installation

Additional Options

1. Download and install updates following installation

Following this I get the options:

1. Install alongside
2. Replace a partition
3. Erase disk
4. Manual Partitioning

As I always do the Manual Partitioning I don't have to do a backup prior to installation although I do have backups, say one month ago. By using this method, I have never had any problems with installations from a previous LTS or other interim releases. The current 24.10 release is the only one that gave me installation problems.

The way I got around this problem with 24.10, I already given in my previous post above.

From the references that you gave, I suspect that the above options being used were either Install alongside, Replace a partition or Erase disk. For these approaches, if you have a previous installation of Kubuntu or Ubuntu, the safest way is to backup all files, including the hidden files, in the home directory prior to the installation.

In your response, what type of installation are you doing in the above list?

[Schwarzer Kater]

I chose to directly Install Kubuntu.
I also chose Manual Partitioning (4. in your case). It should not matter for this step if you chose Full, Normal or Minimal Installation before.

[NoWorries]

"Systems that connect to the internet use a GPT partition table …" - you must have misread something as this does not make any sense from a technical standpoint.

Nice classic mouse cursor, by the way!

GPT and MBR are alternative formatting methods for a disk drive. You can find the pros and cons of these alternative formats on the Internet. You can also find a way to convert MBR to GPT at:

https://recoverit.wondershare.com/pa...gpt-linux.html

If you have a disk formatted as MBR, its BIOS will not give a GPT option. The only way to get a GPT option is to convert the MBR disk to GPT. For me this a VERY LENGTHY PROCESS as my system and home directory are over 320GiB and I would have to back it all up and restore. I have no intention of doing this even though a GPT disk is nore modern and flexible.

It is worth pointing out that this is the first time the GPT ONLY option has been stipulated by the developers. I am sure that there are those on this forum and new users who would like to try 24.10, but are stopped by the GPT only option as they have a MBR formatted disk.

[Schwarzer Kater]

GPT = GUID Partition Table
MBR = Master boot record and normally also contains the partition table


PS:
If somebody is interested Qqmike has written very detailed threads about those things and more, for example:
UEFI, GPT, ESP, GRUB2-EFI, dual-booting, fixing things
and
GRUB 2: A Guide for Users.


What is the current state of 24.10 development branch? Has anything changed (I have not had any time to look again…)?

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

What is the current state of 24.10 development branch? Has anything changed (I have not had any time to look again…)?

Nothing too shiny yet:-

• Kernel - 6.0.8-31.31 (same as Noble)
• QT - mostly 5.15.13-1 but bits of 6.4.2-5build3 & 6.6.2-1 have begun arriving (Schedule says this began May 2nd)
• KDE Plasma - 5.27.11
• KDE Applications - 23.08.5
• KDE Framework - 5.115.0 (Schedule says we should start seeing v6 arriving from today)

Source - https://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/d...amd64.manifest

[Schwarzer Kater]

I just had another quick look at Kubuntu 24.10 development branch today - not too much has changed:

KDE Plasma	5.27.11
KDE Frameworks*	5.116
KDE Gear**	23.08.5
Qt	5.15.13
Mesa	24.0.8
Kernel	6.8.0-31

^* = KDE Frameworks are 83 addon libraries to Qt which provide a wide variety of commonly needed functionality in mature, peer reviewed and well tested libraries with friendly licensing terms.
^** = Over 180 individual programs plus dozens of programmer libraries and feature plugins are released simultaneously as part of KDE Gear.
Applications like the Dolphin file manager, the Kate text editor or the screenshot utility Spectacle belong to them.
KDE Gear is not the same as the KDE Applications but a subset and part of them.

[acheron]

Qt 6.6 should be landing in oracular release pocket soon.