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I am trying to boot Ubuntu from USB. I've tried multiple methods to create the USB media - Rufus, YUMI, etc. They all have the same end result.

When trying to boot, I see the Ubuntu logo with the progress bar, then some text flashes on the screen, briefly, then all I get is multicolored static, as in, a mess of colours moving on the screen. More weirdly, sometimes my Windows wallpaper appears, which makes no sense at all, and it seems like Ubuntu is corrupting the HDD (Windows has to check the disc after I try to boot from the USB, and sometimes it complains that Windows hasn't shut down properly).

The power and reset buttons also don't work, pressing them does nothing (although, when I pressed CTRL + ALT + F1, the screen turned black, so maybe it is actually doing something?).

What is the cause of these issues?

EDIT
Ubuntu version: 16.04.4
Windows version: 7, up to date

Graphics Card: Radeon HD 7870
Network Adapter: Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller

MKII
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  • Which windows/Ubuntu version? Are you sure windows was shutdown before you tried booting the live USB? Windows 10 by default doesn't shutdown but hibernates when you click shutdown. – danzel Apr 26 '18 at 07:12
  • I am using 16.04.4, and I have Windows 7, so that shouldn't be an issue. – MKII Apr 26 '18 at 07:16
  • Desktop or laptop? If desktop, try the following: shutdown, disconnect computer from mains, press power button. (This should drain the PSU's capacitors and thus wipe data that may still be held in volatile memory). Plug it back in and try booting Ubuntu. If that doesn't work, you could try to disconnect the drive that contains the windows installation. If it is a laptop, please provide vendor/model. In any case, BIOS or (U)EFI? – danzel Apr 26 '18 at 07:31
  • Please tell us about the computer and also about the graphics chip/card and wifi chip/card (brand name and model for all these). Please edit your question to add this information. It helps us help you. – sudodus Apr 26 '18 at 07:32
  • @sudodus Added that. – MKII Apr 27 '18 at 05:46
  • Tried the first one, didn't work. I can't find out if it is a BIOS or a UEFI, it is not in any of the normal places (System Information, etc). – MKII Apr 27 '18 at 05:47
  • I'm not sure how Rufus/yumi create the live USB. Are you able to access the bootloader (before the Ubuntu logo with the progress bar)? It should look like in this answer. If you see a screen with [keyboard symbol]=[accessibility symbol], press any key to access the bootloader. Then do the steps described in the answer I linked, but with the "try Ubuntu" option highlighted. – danzel Apr 27 '18 at 06:15
  • @danzel I will give it a try. I don't think I've seen the bootloader, I think it goes straight from BIOS prompt/splash to the Ubuntu progress bar, but I might be mistaken. I will also try taking out the graphics card and forcing it to run on the integrated graphics. I will also try burning a CD, I've heard they tend to cause less problems than running from USB. – MKII Apr 27 '18 at 06:52
  • By 'Ubuntu progress bar' do you mean the 5 dots? 2. Yes, it is a good idea to make it work with integrated graphics, and then, when that works, try to make the computer work with the graphics card. Maybe the boot option nomodeset will help [with the graphics card, (but I use Intel and nvidia graphics and don't know much about Radeon graphics cards)].
    • – sudodus Apr 27 '18 at 07:01
  • @sudodus 1. Yes, that's correct. 2. These are the times I regret having a Radeon, honestly... – MKII Apr 27 '18 at 07:02
  • Several people run Ubuntu with Radeon graphics. Let us hope that one of them will see this and help you :-) – sudodus Apr 27 '18 at 07:04
  • When you see the 'Ubuntu progress bar' alias the 5 dots, you know that your computer has booted into Ubuntu. But there may be different problems, not only with the drivers for graphics and wifi. The most robust way to make a USB boot drive is to clone from the iso file to the USB pendrive. See this link. – sudodus Apr 27 '18 at 07:08
  • @sudodus I've already tried cloning with Win32 Disk Imager, didn't work either, unfortunately. – MKII Apr 27 '18 at 07:17
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. – sudodus Apr 27 '18 at 07:25