Troubleshooting Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Installation on USB Flash Drive

[Peterr]

Hello
I have tried pendrivelinux.com and unetbootin to install Ubuntu 12.04 LTS in a flashdrive. Each time it quickly jumps to run from usb drive before I can touch it when I set boot with F12 to usb.
Then after about ten seconds it seems to freeze. I have to hard boot.
I have formatted the 4GB stick and set it to 2 GB.
I have tried to solve this and GRUB 2 has been mentioned in some of the readings but I know nothing about it.
I do not know why I cannot intstall Ubuntu but wouldd very much like to be able to use it but not install it in my pc.
It would be handy if the pc would not boot.
Why can't the flash drive work?

 

[Peterr]

Hello
I used a dvd-rw I made from a Ubuntu iso and it worked with my laptop. It still will not work with my desktop.

I have changed the desktop BIOS boot to cd/dvd but still no luck.
The pcs are both Win 7 x64, i5,1T + 650GB , Intel 3.30GHz + 3.0 GHz, which makes them quite similar.

Do you have any idea why one will run of the dvd and the other will no?
Any ideas to try to remediate this sue as I really want to run Ubuntu off the desktop.?


Thank you
Peter

 

[Ralph Bromley]

Try Linuxlive USB Link Removed, its another app to make a live USB image, I use it and it works pretty well.
Both unetbootin and pendrivelinux did not do so well for me when using Windows 7

 

[Peterr]

Try Linuxlive USB Link Removed, its another app to make a live USB image, I use it and it works pretty well.
Both unetbootin and pendrivelinux did not do so well for me when using Windows 7

>>Thank you for the recommendation.
I have made note of Lili and when my enthusiasm returns, I may try to use Ubuntu.
To avoid a dual boot, or actual installation, I have to learn to use a vm so I have some work to do.

 

[Ralph Bromley]

Did you try Wubi yet?
Wubi is a windows installer that actually installs ubuntu to try out and runs like a traditional windows program installer, its not perfect but it will allow you to try Ubuntu in a dual boot like situation but without the need to shrink your windows drive.

 

[Peterr]

I am taking a respite because the chase to get Ubuntu has been tiring.
I really need to create a VM so that the family machines are not compromised.
Thank you for your support and I will be back.
Peter

 

[Ralph Bromley]

Dont stress yourself.
as for a VM client try virtualbox thanks to its relative ease of use and setup.
Vmware might be better but its a bit rough to set up if you are new to virtual machine software

 

[Peterr]

Dont stress yourself.
as for a VM client try virtualbox thanks to its relative ease of use and setup.
Vmware might be better but its a bit rough to set up if you are new to virtual machine software

>>HI Raplph
I appreciate that and will chat soon.
Peter

 

[Ralph Bromley]

By the way I noticed you are an IE user, you do realize there is no IE in Linux right?
Firefox is the standard browser in Ubuntu, you can install chrome and opera but not IE at least not directly especially 9 as it wont work.
IE8 works but dont expect miracles from it, remember this is another operating system here so dont expect it to work like windows in the slightest.
Program installation is different in it, there is honestly no flash or java preinstalled and you will have to install things like google chrome in order for them to work (flash support is dead on linux thanks to those morons at adobe, its only going to be maintained in chrome now and the one for firefox is going to be dead soon so if you never used chrome before better learn)
You can get plenty of tutorials online though plus I am willing to help in the learning curve.

 

[Peterr]

Hi Ralph
First, may I ask if the VM like Oracle box installs like any other program and needs to be uninstalled if you do not need it? I installed the Oracle VM but later had to use Revo to uninstall it as it was not working out. I did not know it resided on the hard drive or would not have double clicked it..

Secondly, I had no idea about MSIE 9 and Firefox. In all I have asked and read that point was never surfaced.

You have been more than supportive. I have Ubuntu 12.04 and Oracle's VM on my desktop as downloads. I am not sure what to do with them as I have to weigh the use vs. the poblems to our family machines.
I have tried to copy tutorials etc with no luck and am afraid to clutter the family pcs.
But let me read up a bit more and decide what I'll do. Thank you for beiring so helpful.

 

[Ralph Bromley]

Yes virtualbox does install as a normal windows program, its very easy to install overall

Video tutorial:
Installing VirtualBox on Windows 7. - YouTube

And here is how to install Ubuntu in virtualbox:
Install Ubuntu Desktop 12.04 LTS into VirtualBox - YouTube

 

[Peterr]

Yes virtualbox does install as a normal windows program, its very easy to install overall

Video tutorial:
Installing VirtualBox on Windows 7. - YouTube

And here is how to install Ubuntu in virtualbox:
Install Ubuntu Desktop 12.04 LTS into VirtualBox - YouTube

>>Hi Ralph
I was reading the first tutorial and to begin with, I did not use FF to download either Ubuntu or Oracle's Virtual box. I did download the right ones however.
Should I remove these and use FF to download them or keep the the ones I have?
Better safe than sorry if I should download again.
The second tutorial is terrific and clear; thank you very much.
Peter
PS I noticed at the end of the tutorial he seemd to switch to guests. If so, how do you return to your own screen, not guest?

 

[Ralph Bromley]

Nah it should be good, IE might suck but it does okay when downloading

(err sorry very anti IE here )

 

[Peterr]

Ralph
I was wondering how much room Ubuntu installed takes.
Is there a good tutorial that shows you how you install Ubuntu in Oracle's VM using a flash drive or disc?

I literally spent days loking through Google and Bing for as good a tutorial you sent me for installation.

This way one could use Ubuntu with out taking up room on the hard drive and getting into the machine . If the quality is not as good or there are limitations it would influence which way to go.I have 4 GB usb drives and don't know if that is enough room.
Thank you
Peter

 

[Ralph Bromley]

I recommend at least 8GB of space for the install in virtualbox.
The Ubuntu system itself needs at least 4GB of space to handle all of its parts such as the GUI and other things (Unlike windows the GUI is not tied into the OS so keep that in mind)
If you have enough hard disk space I would not bother with installing a virtual drive onto a USB thumb drive, especially if you only have a 4 gig stick.
How much room do you have on your HDD?
Really a virtual hard disk drive does not eat up that much room unless you have one of those small capacity sold state drives or a very old HDD.
It will not take up any more room then you want it to for the virtual HDD, and it can be easily removed if you honestly do feel the space is too tight.
If that is the case anyway I would not bother with a dual boot, I would just use Wubi as it needs far less room to operate then a full install.
If you have 8 gigs to spare then it should be plenty for a basic install of ubuntu in a virtual machine situation.
8 gigs will give room for the OS, and some minor filespace for yourself to try things out.

 

[Peterr]

Win 7, 1T, i5, 3.30 GHz

You have been very patient - thank you.

I think you know what I am trying to do.
Rather than installing Ubuntu in my pc, I would like to have it in removable media. I was hoping I could put the VM with Ubuntu in the flash drive(4GB) as I would the regular pc.
If my flash drive was larger would that be possible?
Peter

 

[Ralph Bromley]

Well it looks like you have plenty of room on your HDD so I would not worry there.
As for a larger flash drive yes it would work but honestly it will do no harm whatsoever to install Ubuntu in a virtualbox situation.
There is no way in hell it will effect anything except chewing up the 8 or so gigs of space on your drive and if you are planning on a possible dual boot it will need far more room then a mere 8 gigs.
If you dont like it its as simple as removing the virtual drive on virtualbox, it will free up space too when you do that.
But do keep in mind that a virtual install will not be perfect, it does have some drawbacks compared to the real thing as everything is well you know... virtual.
Now you can take advantage of the live USB but it will only give you a hint of what it will be like in a full install as well.
Again I say perhaps the best thing for you to do outside of a virtualbox install is to try Wubi.
It runs very similar to a virtual machine but actually installs ubuntu on the side of windows but it will uninstall like a windows program if you dont feel it up to your taste.
Trust me if you are planning on a dual boot if you do wind up liking Ubuntu then you would have to worry about filespace and such, you may even want to invest in another hard disk drive if you are concerned about ubuntu messing up Windows.
Right now you just want to try it out without it doing harm to windows which is understandable, but the best way to do it is with either virtualbox or Wubi and both will need some hard drive space that can be gained back if you need it, it will be far easier to uninstall wubi and virtualbox and dump all of its drives then to do a install of ubuntu trust me.

 

[Peterr]

Hi Ralph
I hope I can be exact for you to understand.
When you click on IDE to 'empty', you next go to the right and click on a "browse" to select ubuntu.
Each time I have tried with the VM from Oracle's blueish page(1st one) it does not have the option of browsing to Ubuntu.
What should I do?
peter

 

[Ralph Bromley]

Okay from the settings screen in the storage section select the IDE controller and select the add CD/DVD drive icon (the one that looks like a CD) and a box may pop up that says "You are about to add a new CD/DVD drive to controller IDE Controller.Would you like to choose a virtual CD/DVD disk to put in the drive or to leave it empty for now?"
Here you hit "choose disk"
This should open up the file browser and its up to you to remember where you downloaded ubuntu rather it be your desktop or whatever.
Choose your image and hit open.
Trying the more direct approach here so hopefully it will work.

 

[Peterr]

I was folowing the tutorial and understand your note.
However, please see the attachment of my prtscn to see where I have to stop due to an error.