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I'm trying to install Ubuntu 16.04.04-server-adm64.iso on a Lanner FW-7573B appliance.

Usually I've used Ubuntu 14.04 on the appliance, but I wanted to upgrade on Ubuntu 16.04, but for some reason it doesn't work. I've checked out every available post regarding this topic and none of the solution works for me.

For example:
I can't boot from USB: Error setting up gfxboot
or
Can't run/install Ubuntu from USB: "Error setting up gfxboot"
and many, many other posts too.

Just to sum it up again, I've tried to...:

  1. Change the boot order
  2. Type in help and press enter when being in boot menu This is the menu I mean (nothing happens)
  3. Start the installation with boot parameters (When I do this, nothing happens and after a while "Could not allocate memory" hint appears) Like this

Example for boot parameters I've used: install quiet splash nomodeset cli console=ttyS0,115200n8

So I'm totally stuck in this boot: menu. I thought it probably could be a hardware issue because the appliance I'm using is quite old. But after installing Ubuntu 14.04 I could do a "do-release-upgrade" to upgrade on ubuntu 16.04 which works perfectly fine. This means there must be a way to install Ubuntu 16.04 right from the beginning by using an USB stick, or am I wrong?

I have no idea what else I could do now. I mean, it works basically, but it would be annoying to have to install Ubuntu 14.04 primarily and then upgrade it to 16.04, because it takes way more time than isntalling it directly from USB.

I'd be glad for any help and let me know if there are missing some important informations.

Best regards!

Monterato
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  • Please help us help you by telling us: 0. What computer is it (brand name, model number, graphics chip/card)? 1. Which tool (or method) you used to create the USB boot drive; 2. Can you boot from the USB boot drive and 'Try Ubuntu"? 3. Please describe with more details what happens before you get “Error setting up gfxboot/Could not allocate memory”. – sudodus May 09 '18 at 11:01
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  • As stated in the very beginning, I am using a Lanner FW-7573B Appliance (technical data can be found here: http://www.lannerinc.com/products/x86-network-appliances/rackmount/fw-7573) // 1. I'm using Rufus for creating the bootable USB device // 2. No, I can't // 3. Nothing, I turn on the power supply of the appliance, some standard text appears which tells me to press "Esc" or "Tab" in order to get into bios and then I'm stuck in the boot menu shown in my pictures
    • – Monterato May 09 '18 at 11:12
  • Thanks for the details :-) OK, so Ubuntu Server 14.04 LTS booted from USB, but not 16.04 LTS; 1. Did you try the USB boot drive in another computer to check that it works? 2. Did you check that you have the correct architecture (is the processor 32-bit or 64-bit?); 3. Did you check that you can boot Ubuntu Server 14.04 LTS now (that the BIOS is configured correctly)? 4. Did you check 16.04.1 (with linux kernel 4..4 series) as well as 16.04.4 (with linux kernel 4.13 series)? – sudodus May 09 '18 at 11:48
  • Thanks for helping me ;-) Well 1. On other devices the USB boot drive works flawless // 2. Both, the hardware and the iso image are 64-bit (14.04 works, so I don't think that the problem is here) // 3. Not sure what you mean, 14.04 ALWAYS worked on the appliance and beside of the boot order (in order to start from USB boot drive) I didn't do any changes in BIOS // 4. Going to check it right now – Monterato May 09 '18 at 11:59
  • Update: It's exactly the same problem/behaviour with 16.04.1 – Monterato May 09 '18 at 12:38
  • Ubuntu Server 14.04 LTS is supported until April 2019, so you have almost one year to find something that works. Have you tried the new 18.04 LTS? Have you checked that it is not a hardware problem, that your Lanner and the USB pendrive do not talk to each other. Maybe another USB pendrive will work better? – sudodus May 09 '18 at 13:10
  • It's the same problem with ubuntu 18.04 as with 16.04. Though I came one step further already, I removed the line "ui gfxboot bootlogo" from "isolinux.cfg" and I can enter the "Installer boot menu" now. If I try to go for installing I get another error now: "Undefined video mode number: 314" which comes up with 14.04 too and which I usually fixed with the boot paramaters stated in my question. The problems is that I now completely skip the boot menu where I stucked, but I needed it to enter the boot params. Any ideas? – Monterato May 09 '18 at 13:17
  • You can try with the Ubuntu mini.iso of 16.04 and 18.04 too. But I think it can be a good idea to try with for example GRUB_TERMINAL=console according to Grub2/Setup and/or the boot option nomodeset directly. – sudodus May 09 '18 at 13:22
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    I have added my boot paramters within the "txt.cfg" inside of the isolinux folder. I could start and finish the installation process for 16.04 sucessfully :) My problem is solved. Thanks for your help btw // Edit: I will update my question within the next days with a proper solution and pictures – Monterato May 09 '18 at 14:01
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    Congratulations :-) It is a good idea to write an answer with the proper solution and to 'accept' it. This shows other people that there is a solution to your problem. (And yes, you can write and accept an answer to your own question.( – sudodus May 09 '18 at 14:13