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I'm trying to install Ubuntu 18.04.3 LTS on a high end Lenovo Thinkpad which I intend to use for development due to it's GPUs.

First attempt was to install on a HyperVisor VM. I briefly saw a some sort of boot error message the first time I connected to it, but it worked for about 10 minutes. After that I lost connection to the VM and I could never get back. I ended up deleting that VM and creating a new one, but never could get a system I could connect to. When I attempt to connect I get a tiny white screen, then a full sized black screen, then a message to try to reconnect.

I tried next to boot off the USB drive and install, but the installer freezes and crashing before the install process starts.

All of this made me think there was some sort of BIOS driver compatibility issues so I tried upgrading BIOS, but I still can't get anything to work. Any suggestions? I could pay for support if something thinks they can help.

Mike
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  • I've gotten a little closer to figuring this out. It seems it is the gpu because when I boot from the USB installer I get a error about "nouveau" which is a nvidia driver. I got the installer to work by pressing e and adding "nomodeset" to the loading script, but now the installation hangs after login. I assume there is something similar to "nomodeset" I was supposed to do for the installation, but I'm not sure how to do that. – Mike Dec 20 '19 at 03:19
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    Did you validate ISO (may not be your issue, but it's the first thing I check..) https://tutorials.ubuntu.com/tutorial/tutorial-how-to-verify-ubuntu#0 – guiverc Dec 20 '19 at 03:20

2 Answers2

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The problem turns out to be the gpu. I can now boot from a USB and do an installation thanks to the suggestions listed below. The installation doesn't work, but at least I can do an installation.

Errors from nouveau when installing or booting from live usb

Mike
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On which OS have you created the bootable USB? Lenovo laptops especially thinkpads have an issue with interacting with a bootable usb made on linux especially if it was not in FAT32 format.

Try to follow these steps:

  1. Format the USB with FAT32 format.
  2. Make a new bootable USB from a windows computer.

If you dont have a windows PC then you can do a temporary virtual machine inside of linux.

Mark Kirby
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Ifly777
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