Wubi

Wubi installer fails with ATI graphics drivers

Asked by Ray Beausoleil

This is my first Linux installation; I'm trying to create a dual-boot configuration with Windows 7, and I'm having trouble with ATI graphics drivers.

My question is: Is there a place on my C: drive where Wubi looks for a file containing the configuration of a previous installation?

Initially, I used Wubi to install the AMD64 iso and it worked _perfectly_. The installation completed properly, and I was able to boot into the Ubuntu desktop environment. (I installed Ubuntu on its own hard drive, and I had to wait a minute or two while seeing "Try (hd0,0): NTFS5:", but I've seen a fix for this issue in a couple of places.)

But I couldn't leave well enough alone, and I saw a drop-down menu item that would allegedly install proprietary graphics drivers for my ATI FirePro V5800. This package did not seem to install properly; the system rebooted, and after waiting for "Try (hd0,0): NTFS5:" to resolve, a very brief error message appears, the screen flashes, and then becomes purple -- forever.

So, having learned my lesson, I assumed that I could uninstall Ubuntu and then reinstall using Wubi. However, this doesn't work: after rebooting to complete the install, I get to the point where I see "restoring previously installed packages", and then the system spontaneously reboots, and I'm back to the eternal purple screen.

It seems that Wubi is simply reinstalling the proprietary drivers.

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bcbc (bcbc) said : 		#1

No... there is no place where a previous configuration is stored. When you download a driver/package in the wubi install, that information is contained wholly on the root.disk and when you uninstall, that is deleted. I can't really explain why you'd be having a problem now and you didn't before. Is it possible that you were using an onboard graphics card when you first installed?

PS I found a site that tested the v5800 and they mentioned which driver they used. Don't know if this will help you: http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=amd_v3800_v5800&num=4

Up until you get it installed, try supplying "nomodeset" as a boot option: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1613132

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Ray Beausoleil (ray-beausoleil) said : 		#2

Ah, that's too bad. I doubt that I was using an onboard graphics card the first time; both monitors were lit up, and they're connected to the ATI card.

To complete the install, I tried to use normal mode with nomodeset following the suggestion in post # 8 at the link you provide, but everything turned out the same as before. The system spontaneously restarts when the installer says "Reticulating splines ..." If I try to boot into Ubuntu, then there are a couple of seconds where I see that I can select a "Recovery mode" version of the OS, but it doesn't help.

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bcbc (bcbc) said : 		#3

It does automatically reboot after the 'reticulating spines' comment. Then
when it reboots and you select Ubuntu, try booting with nomodeset again (see
post #1 on that thread). When you add nomodeset it's a one time only
override.

Hope that helps. If you can boot in normally after that with nomodeset, then
try installing the driver, or make nomodeset permanent until you figure out
how to get the driver working.

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Ray Beausoleil (ray-beausoleil) said : 		#4

Sorry, I should have been clearer. After the 'reticulating splines' reboot, when I select Ubuntu, there is (apparently) an immediate error that makes it difficult to use the nomodeset workaround.

If I do not hold down the escape key immediately after selecting Ubuntu, I am dumped into a purple recovery screen with three items in the list: linux (generic), linux (recovery mode), and the Windows boot loader. (The monitor alternates between this screen and a blank screen with a period of about two seconds.) If I select either of the first two items and press 'e', then I can insert 'nomodeset' before quiet splash (although the command list looks different than the example at your link). After ctrl-x, the system hangs with the purple screen.

If I do hold down the escape key immediately after selecting Ubuntu, I am dumped into a purple recovery screen with a grub> prompt. (The monitor again alternates between this screen and a blank screen with a period of about two seconds.) Being a novice, I am at a complete loss here.

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Best bcbc (bcbc) said : 		#5

Select to boot the recovery mode. That will take you to a menu, select "drop
to a root shell" and edit your grub options:
nano /etc/default/grub

Change the line starting: #GFXMODE
Make it the following(with no # at the beginning):
GFXMODE=text

While you're there you can make "nomodeset" permanent as well if you like.
Look for the line with "quiet splash" and insert it there before the
end-quote.

Save the file: CTRL+o
Then quit: CTRL+x I think (check at the bottom)

Then update grub:
update-grub

Reboot and see if that's a little better.

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Ray Beausoleil (ray-beausoleil) said : 		#6

Thanks bcbc, that solved my question.

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Ray Beausoleil (ray-beausoleil) said : 		#7

I was able to download the ATI driver, and now I have Unity running on my main monitor at maximum resolution.

I can't use the second monitor (apparently there's a limitation on the maximum size of the virtual screen), and I still get an immediate error at the beginning of the boot process that throws me into recovery mode. But progress is progress!

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bcbc (bcbc) said : 		#8

okay great. So when you get the right driver installed, you should be able to remove the 'nomodeset'. Also, you may be able to use something a little better than GFXMODE=text but you might have to experiment a little (personallly I don't really care what the grub menu looks like, and I understand in future releases the grub menu will be hidden for Wubi users)

So that was a little bit more work than usually required to install, but hopefully everything will run smoothly from now on.

Please note that with Wubi, your Ubuntu install is on a virtual disk (root.disk) that is a single file and it's therefore less reliable than a real partition. I haven't personally had problems with virtual disks but they are sensitive to hard poweroffs. If your Wubi install is hanging you should use Alt+SysRq R-E-I-S-U-B to reboot safely. See here for more details and options for safely rebooting: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WubiGuide#How_to_reboot_cleanly_even_when_the_keyboard.2BAC8-mouse_are_frozen

Enjoy!

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bcbc (bcbc) said : 		#9

Just saw your last post - I don't have much knowledge about dual monitors. It might be worthwhile creating another question on this (leave off the wubi bit so it isn't forwarded back here). Or another great place for help is http://askubuntu.com/