ubuntu on HP

[Dragon-Fur]

Hi Joe...

I am sorry it is not going as planned...

A  couple of issues here...

This is not HP Support.  Smiling.  This is user support.  Just users here.

The information (links) I gave you for the Grub2 bootloader recovery are the best I can do.  I understand the line code on Grub2 a bit because I understand coding.  I do not understand how Grub2 (or the recovery of same) works in the practical sense - we do not use Grub2 in our home office.

We don't use Ubuntu.  Not for years.  Lots of folks start out with Ubuntu. 

Option 1:

You might actually be happier with Mint.  Mint is a fork of Ubuntu. It uses the Ubuntu repositories.  I think you might be happier with Mint and you may not have the installation issues with Mint.  Still uses Grub2, I'm afraid, but they may not bite you in the backside.  If Grub2 behaves itself, you won't care what it is doing.  Check out Mint and see if you like what you see.

LinuxMint

Option 2:

If you want to avoid the whole ugly Grub2 deal, you could try using OpenSuse 12.1

OpenSuse 12.1 uses Grub1 - much simpler.  Easy to use.  Not rocket science.  No Guru needed for Grub1.

Linux OpenSuse 12.1

OpenSuse 12.1 NOTE:

• Depending on your Video card (or ?), when installing the Open Suse 12.1, it may (the very first time) go to a hash window... 
• To fix / bypass the ugly Hash window: 
• Turn off computer, reboot - System says, "Install interrupted.. Do you want to continue?" 
• You Say "Yes" and all is well...the the installation continues. 
• Somewhere along the line you will Choose KDE or GNOME for window manager and all the other normal Linux installation bits...

Lastly, I do not know that HP supports dual boot in the official sense.  You could call and ask.  I am not, in any sense at all, being sarcastic.  I do not know how HP feels about dual boot systems.  I worked for years with HP as a valued customer of ours when I was an IT professional. It was a while back.

Good Luck!

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                                 2012 Year of the Dragon!

[joemcummings]

Thank you so much for trying to help. I do some work using a couple of desk tops each of which has hardware dual boot. I select the drive to boot from, and therefore the OS, at power up. It is a really safe system but I had been hoping I could use a software dual boot, in hope of running windows in a virtual machine under linux for the obvious benefits of not having to shut down and reboot the other OS to accomplish other tasks. I bought this machine with that in mind, and made it clear to the HP sales people. They assured me it would work. I think it is time to return the thing. I don't mind putting in reasonable effort to make something work, but I am past that point already. If there were someone who could solve the problem I would be pleased to pay. Anyway, thanks again for your time and input.

Best,

Joe

[siepo]

If you cannot boot ubuntu, you can boot from your ubuntu install disk and `chroot' into your installed system to fix things. That goes something like this: sudo -s mkdir /target mount /dev/sda3 /target # assuming that ubuntu is on /dev/sda3 for f in dev proc sys; do mount --bind /$f /target/$f; done chroot /target grub-install /dev/sda This last command installs the bootloader into the MBR. All other grub files should already be on your linux partition. When you are done, leave the chroot with Control-D, then undo the mounts with: for f in dev proc sys; do umount /target/$f; done umount /target An alternative is using the wubi installer I do have a win7/ubuntu dual boot laptop. I gave up on the pre-installed windows early on, because I could not shrink windows down to a for me acceptable size. So I just wiped the harddisk clean. I installed a 64-bits w7 first from a retail disk and then ubuntu, with grub-pc installed to the mbr. After this, windows would not boot but suggested repair via the install disk, which worked out.

[siepo]

I should have previewed my post first. Another try:

If you cannot boot ubuntu, you can boot from your ubuntu install disk and `chroot' into your installed system to fix things. That goes something like this:

sudo -s mkdir /target mount /dev/sda3 /target # assuming that ubuntu is on /dev/sda3 
for f in dev proc sys; do mount --bind /$f /target/$f; done 
chroot /target 
grub-install /dev/sda

  This last command installs the bootloader into the MBR. All other grub files should already be on your linux partition. When you are done, leave the chroot with Control-D, then undo the mounts with:

for f in dev proc sys; do umount /target/$f; done 
umount /target 

An alternative is using the wubi installer.

I do have a win7/ubuntu dual boot  hp laptop. I gave up on the pre-installed windows early on, because I could not shrink windows down to a for me acceptable size. So I just wiped the harddisk clean. I installed a 64-bits w7 first from a retail disk and then ubuntu, with grub-pc installed to the mbr. After this, windows would not boot but suggested repair via the install disk, which worked out.

Anyhow, you may get better help from ubuntuforums.org.  The 4-primary-partitions problem is extremely common.

[Dragon-Fur]

Thanks siepo...

That does look like what I'd expect.  It is helpful to see a live example.

What Joe finally said, after all of everything... is that he desires to set up a Virtual Machine environment for his dual boot.  VMware (the free stuff) is not probably the answer and the paid variety would give Joe paid support, at least for part of what is desired.

IMO:  I agree that the whole idea of trying to use the installed windows is awkward.  One does not have any control, the partitions are never what one wants, and the environment is delicate.  It is backward to the purpose.  In some cases, working with an installed windows is necessary, and for those instances I have sympathies for the participants.

I don't think this post was ever about a simple dual boot system;  that I didn't understand this was the case is the awkward bit.  Smiling.

Thanks for your input!

[cheriR]

I've been trying to do this ever since I bought my DV7, I can install it on every other computer in my house, but it seems the DV7 is designed only for windows.  It seems HP and Microsoft are in collusion, I visited the website for UEFI and it says their goal is to supplant... ( to take the place of (another), as through force , scheming, strategy, or the like....to supersede (another) especially by force or treachery . (2): to eradicate and supply a substitute for.....)  It seems somebody is upset that it is so easy to take advertising dollars from them, and feed those dollars through Ubuntu.  That is the reason HP will not give us instructions on how to gain control over the uefi bios.  If you read on Insydes site it seems that Insyde makes a bios and HP mods it as they wish, and are able to hide options from us that have been avialable since the inception of computers.  I still have machines that require dos to reprogram, and I am not able to dual boot dos either.  Until HP understands that our computers are our tools that we buy to be able to mod the way we please to be able to do our work, and provides us with a viable solution the only option I have is to purchase another brand in the future.

Atleast my wife got a new toy computer to play with.  I"m stuck using a 10 year old laptop, with XP and Dos and Linux to do my work, until I can find a replacement that I am able to control.  Next time I buy a computer I'll carry a external HDD with several different operating systems and various tools, and buy the one that boots to it.

I thought the bios was to get away from having to have a boot disk, now we have a bios and a boot disk.

If we don't demand otherwise, very soon computers will be like cell phones, and if the computer industry succeeds with this, they will fix it so a cell phone, and a computer will be unrootable.