USB drive prepared for installation of Kubuntu 9.10, but laptop does not boot from it.

Goh Lip g.lip at gmx.com
Wed Dec 23 14:36:07 UTC 2009


On 23/12/09 20:07, Bas Roufs wrote:

>
> In my first message, Goh Lip, I was not very clear with respect to some
> essential software basics at the laptop. In January 2009,. I received
> this laptop with a totally disfunctional and viral WinXP configuration.
> Via a Knoppix live CD <http://knoppix.net/>, I made a backup of some
> essential files at a USB stick. Afterwords it was a big relief to
> totally whipe away all the Windows rubbish. Than, I managed to install
> Kubuntu 8.10 via a normal i386 image CD. A few months later, I upgraded
> the configuration successfully to Kubuntu 9.04 - Jaunty - which has
> functioned quite well. Last November, I tried to upgrade the
> configuration to 9.10. But I made one serious mistake: I tried to do so
> via a slow and unreliable WIFI connection. Somewhere halfway the upgrade
> process, this connection has been interrupted. Ever since that moment, I
> get the following feedback when I try to start the laptop:
>
> /GRUB Loading stage1.5
>
> GRUB Loading, please wait ....
> Error 15/
>
> After 'Error 15', the only thing I keep seeing is a blinkering cursor.
> At that point the upstart process of some unclear configuration between
> Jaunty and Karmic simply stagnates.
> Before the failed upgrade attempt, I had made a backup elsewhere of all
> the files at the laptop. That's why, I tried to 'install Kubuntu Karmic
> 'from scratch'. But apparently, the CD/DVD combo drive does not function
> any more really properly. A countless number of attempts to realise a
> 'fresh´  install simply failed sooner or later in the installation
> process. Also booting from CD was troublesome. Each time, I needed to
> again instruct BIOS to do so.

>
> As I mentioned above, there is no Karmic or Jaunty or any other OS via
> which I can access the HD directly. But because of some technical
> problem with the CD/ DVD combo drive, I do not manage to approach it
> neither via a Karmic image CD. Also the Knoppix CD does not function any
> more properly at that drive. Thatś why, I have been trying to boot from
> the USB drive with a view to installing from there Karmic at the HD. The
> laptop has 4  USB 2.0 access points. In the BIOS, I have put 'removable
> devices' aat the top of the list of items to boot from. When doing so
> after putting the USB stick in the laptop, the set-up software DOES
> recognise the presence of the USB stick. However, it still does not boot
> there.


> A 2nd option I am thinking about is simply replacing the CD/ DVD combo
> drive with some other 2nd hand device enabling me to boot from CD via
> the laptop. But I do not know yet, whether something like that is possible.

Sorry for not reading well that your cd drive is not functioning. My 
bad. Mea Culpa. If you cannot access your old Jaunty, I cannot think of 
any way to fix it without your cd drive. Perhaps others can think of 
some ways.

But... if you can somehow start up your old jaunty (but looks tough 
without stage 1.5) and you can download an iso file for alternate 
install, repeat, alternate, you can upgrade to karmic via mounting that 
iso file by looping viz
mount -o loop alternate.iso /media/cdrom0

But, a cdrom drive would still be handy for future use. Perhaps Mark and 
Steve's suggestion can help.

Sorry again, Bas.

Regards,
Goh Lip







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