Need help partitioning when reinstalling Ubuntu 14.04

Question

I upgraded to 14.04 about a month ago on my HP Mini netbook (about 16 GB hard disk). A few days ago the system crashed (I don't know why but I was using internet at the time). When I restarted the computer, Ubuntu would not load. Instead, I got a message from the BIOS saying

Reboot and Select proper Boot device or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device and press a key

I took this to mean that I needed to reinstall 14.04.

When I try to reinstall Ubuntu from the USB stick, I choose "Erase disk and install Ubuntu" but then I get a message:

Some of the partitions you created are too small. Please make the following partitions at least this large:

/ 3.3 GB

If you do not go back to the partitioner and increase the size of these partitions, the installation may fail.

At first I hit Continue to see if it would install anyway, and it gave the message:

The attempt to mount a file system with type ext4 in SCSI1 (0,0,0), partition # 1 (sda) at / failed. You may resume partitioning from the partitioning menu.

The second time I hit Go Back, and it took me to the following partitioning table:

Device          Type      Mount Point    Format       Size      Used      System
/dev/sda
  /dev/sda1     ext4                     (checked)    3228 MB   Unknown
  /dev/sda5     swap                    (not checked) 1063 MB   Unknown

  + - Change                                       New Partition Table...     Revert

Device for boot loader installation:
/dev/sda ATA JM Loader 001 (4.3 GB)

At this point I'm not sure what to do. I've never partitioned my hard drive before and I don't want to screw things up. (I'm not particularly tech savvy.) Can you instruct me what I should do.

(P.S. I'm afraid the table might not appear as I typed it in.)

Results from fdisk:

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 4294 MB, 4294967296 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 522 cylinders, total 8388608 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/sda doesn't contain a valid partition table

Disk /dev/sdb: 7860 MB, 7860125696 bytes
155 heads, 31 sectors/track, 3194 cylinders, total 15351808 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0009a565

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1   *        2768    15351807     7674520    b  W95 FAT32
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$

Here is what it displays when I open the Disks utility (I tried the screenshot terminal command you suggested but it didn't seem to do anything):

4.3 GB Hard Disk /dev/sda

Model: JM Loader 001 (01000001) Size: 4.3 GB (4,294,967,296 bytes) Serial Number: 01234123412341234 Assessment: SMART is not supported

Volumes Size: 4.3 GB (4,294,967,296 bytes) Device: /dev/sda Contents: Unknown

(There is a button in the utility that when you click it gives the following options: Format... Create Disk Image... Restore Disk Image... Benchmark

but SMART Data & Self-Tests... is dimmed out)

When I hit F9 Change Boot Device Order, it shows the hard drive as:

SATA:PM-JM Loader 001

When I hit F10 to get me into the BIOS Setup Utility, under Diagnostic it shows:

Primary Hard Disk Self Test Not Support

NetworkManager Tool

State: disconnected

Device: eth0 Type: Wired Driver: atl1c State: unavailable Default: no HW Address: 00:26:55:B0:7F:0C

Capabilities: Carrier Detect: yes

Wired Properties Carrier: off

When I run command lshw -C network, I get:

WARNING: you should run this program as super-user. *-network description: Network controller product: BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY vendor: Broadcom Corporation physical id: 0 bus info: pci@0000:01:00.0 version: 01 width: 64 bits clock: 33MHz capabilities: bus_master cap_list configuration: driver=b43-pci-bridge latency=0 resources: irq:16 memory:feafc000-feafffff

*-network description: Ethernet interface product: AR8132 Fast Ethernet vendor: Qualcomm Atheros physical id: 0 bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0 logical name: eth0 version: c0 serial: 00:26:55:b0:7f:0c capacity: 100Mbit/s width: 64 bits clock: 33MHz capabilities: bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=atl1c driverversion=1.0.1.1-NAPI latency=0 link=no multicast=yes port=twisted pair resources: irq:43 memory:febc0000-febfffff ioport:ec80(size=128)

WARNING: output may be incomplete or inaccurate, you should run this program as super-user.

Additional Drivers

Broadcom Corporation: U98Z049.00 Wireless Mini PCIe Card

This device is not working.

[radio button not checked] Using Broadcom 802.11 Linux STA wireless driver source from bcmwl-kernel-source (proprietary)

[radio button checked] Do not use the device

The table above is the only partition editor I have encountered (which is accurately presented above). I just went there again and the only difference from last time was that now the line for "/dev/sda1 ext4" has a "/" under the Mount Point heading instead of being blank. — Chris M., May 19 '14 at 03:15
Sorry my fault the command should be sudo fdisk -l at the end its an l and not the number 1. More info fdisk — TuKsn, May 19 '14 at 07:51
@ChrisM. Please put new information into your question, not into comments. It is hard to read and probably will be overlooked by others. — Dubu, May 19 '14 at 17:04
From you information, I guess that /dev/sda is not the netbook disk but your USB stick (4 GB vs. 16 GB). Could that be? — Dubu, May 19 '14 at 17:06
To Dubu: I don't know for sure what /dev/sda refers to. My USB stick is 8 GB. My netbook disk is 16 GB. — Chris M., May 19 '14 at 17:21
Thanks for your edit. And how Dubu mentioned there are only 4GB on your HP netbook. Perhaps the drive of your netbook is broken. Check the SMART Status of sda https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msb2ZLrBoYw — TuKsn, May 19 '14 at 22:51
The video shows an old Ubuntu version, i don't find a newer. But in 14.04 you have only to click on the "Ubuntu Button" (or press SUPER) then enter disks. Now you can follow the video. You can also use the tool GSmartControl‌, you can install it in the Software Center from Ubunut. Please delete your last three comments we have to check SMART first. If you find Warnings make a screenshot and add it to your question (open a terminal then type gnome-screenshot -a). ( PS: sdb 7.8GB should be your USB drive ). — TuKsn, May 20 '14 at 09:00
I'am not sure but it looks like this http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1656801 or http://forums.tweaktown.com/runcore/32906-jm-loader-001-4gb-issue-help.html to be sure start into BIOS and look for your drive. — TuKsn, May 21 '14 at 08:18
To Xubu-Tur: Both of those links are very similar to what I am experiencing. In the second link, someone recommends a firmware update/reinstallation. He made a bootable msdos usb drive and said his disk was recovered as new. Should I be trying something like that? Also see new edit. Thanks for your help. — Chris M., May 21 '14 at 18:22
I don't now if a firmware update would solve this (first you need the manufacture of your drive). A new drive should not be frightfully expensive. Can you post the exact model number of your hp laptop? (PS: please use @Xubu-Tur instead of To Xubu-Tur so i get informed that there is a new answer) — TuKsn, May 22 '14 at 07:38
If you want you can write to hp if there a fix for the "JM Loader 001" problem or if the ssd died. Or you look around for a new ssd. In you netbook should fit the 2.5 inch ssd if i'am right. Something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008120%20600038463&IsNodeId=1&name=2.5%22&Order=PRICE or http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_n_feature_keywords_2?rh=n%3A1292116011%2Ck%3Assd%2Cp_n_feature_three_browse-bin%3A6797516011%2Cp_n_feature_keywords_two_browse-bin%3A4929543011&keywords=ssd&ie=UTF8&qid=1400833637&rnid=4929540011 — TuKsn, May 23 '14 at 08:31
@Xubu-Tur Thanks. I didn't realize new SSDs were that inexpensive. Thank you for your help and patience. — Chris M., May 23 '14 at 21:40
But don't buy the cheapest (ADATA)... look at the ratings and ssds are faster if they have more GBs 64GB should be faster then 32GB. The guide to switch the hd you can find here in the Manual at page 54 Chapter 4 -> PDF page 64. At youtube are also videos but not all for 2.5 inch mass storage devices. — TuKsn, May 24 '14 at 07:56
@Xubu-Tur An update: I received the SanDisk SSD and installed it to my netbook. I installed Ubuntu 14.04 using the ethernet wire (Verizon FIOS) from my home desktop so updates could be downloaded while installing. The only problem I experienced is I haven't been able to re-establish the wireless connection to the FIOS router. I'm calling Verizon to see if they can help with this, but was wondering if you knew of a fix. Thanks again. — Chris M., Jun 05 '14 at 18:31
Good to hear that it runs again. Your wireless connection issue could be a driver problem with the new Ubuntu version (or the driver are not installed). You can take a look at this site https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WirelessTroubleShootingGuide If Verizon FIOS couldn't help and the Trouble Shooting Guide also do not help you can open a new question on askubuntu.com — TuKsn, Jun 05 '14 at 21:00
@Xubu-Tur In the Trouble Shooting Guide, it says to "insert your wireless adapter into a suitable port/slot". I'm assuming there's already a wireless adapter inside my netbook -- the specs when I bought it say it has a "Wireless-G Card". So I ran the NetworkManager Tool and it gave me the output above. — Chris M., Jun 06 '14 at 02:35
@Xubu-Tur If you'd like, I'll put this up as a new question. I've put additional output above. — Chris M., Jun 06 '14 at 03:12
Its better to make a new question run lshw -C network again as super user -> sudo lshw -C network and past the output to the new question. You can also look if there drivers in the Additional Driver menu for your wireless card. — TuKsn, Jun 06 '14 at 07:55
@Xubu-Tur Before I put this up as a new question: I opened the Additional Drivers utility you suggested and it shows the above. — Chris M., Jun 06 '14 at 14:03
@Xubu-Tur Should I check the radio button for Broadcom 802.11 Linux STA wireless driver source and see if that works? — Chris M., Jun 06 '14 at 14:11
@Xubu-Tur I think I finally may have found the solution to this problem: When I start the netbook, after showing the BIOS options, an extremely quick message flashes by (I had to restart my netbook 30 times to read it all) that says, "b43-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43/ucode15.fw" not found b43-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43-open/ucode15.fw" not found b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware for this driver version. Please carefully read all instruction on this website." Are you familiar with this website? — Chris M., Jun 06 '14 at 15:17
@Xubu-Tur I clicked on the button for Broadcom wireless driver and I now have wireless connection. Yay!!! I suppose I should still go to the website above and download the firmware? — Chris M., Jun 06 '14 at 15:36
@Xubu-Tur Funny thing. Since my wireless connection is restored, I've restarted my netbook and now I no longer get the above error messages flashing by. Does this mean I should not go the website above? I went to the SanDisk website a couple of days ago to register the new SSD and they also had some videos about firmware. I don't really understand what firmware is and how necessary it is to have the latest firmware. What do you think about it? — Chris M., Jun 06 '14 at 16:15
If it works you do not need to go on the website. Firmware is software for devices and without this software they can't run, its similar the BIOS (its also an firmware) for the Mainboard. I think its only necessary to download a new firmware if you have some trouble with the current, or if there are security holes (for example router firmware), or if the manufacturer recommend it. — TuKsn, Jun 06 '14 at 16:57
@Xubu-Tur Thanks for your help over the last few weeks. I really appreciate it. — Chris M., Jun 07 '14 at 18:16

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered May 20 '14 at 19:45

It looks like the USB stick you are using does not recognize the internal storage device (16GB hard disk, you say? It is probably an SSD or flash storage device.) The output from your commands are showing the USB device, not your internal storage device.

On a different computer, I would recreate the USB stick using the official 14.04 .iso file. For windows,PenDriveLinux.com has utilities that will help.

If you are on linux, it's easy enough to do as root.

Format the USB stick using Fat32 (vfat) using Disks utility, fdisk&mfs, etc.
Umount the USB stick
Write the .iso file contents to the USB drive (note: do not "copy" the file), execute

# dd if=*ubuntu_file.iso* of=*path_to_usb*

Put the USB stick in your netbook, boot up, and when prompted select TRY UBUNTU (not install). This environment should help you troubleshoot and identify your harddisk.

Need help partitioning when reinstalling Ubuntu 14.04

1 Answers1