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I have dual-boot system. Now, I want to erase all packages and all home's files on my Kubuntu, i.e I need 100% clean system. I decided to make a bootable usb-stick. I tried to boot from it, got GRUB-menu with 3 options (1.Start Kubuntu 2.bla-bla(for manufactures) 3.Check for defects). I choosed first one. Then I'm getting kubuntu logo hanging for infinite time. I've done this before, why I can't do this now? BTW, all 2 OSes (Kubuntu and Windows) are working, so I can use them.

And I wanna ask - is there an option to do it with installer from desktop or whatever, but without booting from usb? If not, how I can fix problem booting from usb?

pushandpop
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    Sounds like a corrupted USB write -- try re-downloading the ISO image, MD5 checking it, and rewriting it to the USB with Unetbootin (from Windows) or dd (from Ubuntu). – Zeiss Ikon Jan 19 '15 at 15:45
  • This should help put you on the right track: http://askubuntu.com/questions/17764/how-can-i-check-the-integrity-of-a-downloaded-ubuntu-cd – Elder Geek Jan 19 '15 at 16:03
  • @ZeissIkon I checked md5sum and it's different! I tried to redownload iso 5 times via different ways (mirror, torrent etc., but not via browser as default bc it's very and very slowly it can take hours). – pushandpop Jan 19 '15 at 16:26
  • @pushandpop Do make sure you're using the MD5 for the same ISO you're trying to install -- if the file is different, the MD5 will never match. Otherwise, it sounds as if you have a bad Internet connection; can you download the ISO from another computer with a faster/better connection? Local public library, for instance? – Zeiss Ikon Jan 19 '15 at 17:04
  • @ZeissIkon I have good internet connection (20 mbps). And it works just fine via torrents and mirrors. I was talking about default download way.. – pushandpop Jan 19 '15 at 17:05
  • @pushandpop If you're consistently getting bad MD5, either you're downloading from a source with a corrupted file, or the transfer is getting damaged on the way to you. The latter could come from a bad connection -- however, I didn't catch that it was only slow from Canonical. I'd suggest starting the download just before you go to bed; it'll be done when you get up (or just let it run in the background while you do other things). – Zeiss Ikon Jan 19 '15 at 17:08
  • @ZeissIkon ok, i'm gonna try 14.04 instead of 14.10 – pushandpop Jan 19 '15 at 17:10
  • @ZeissIkon I've just done! Still different md5, should i try to burn usb? – pushandpop Jan 19 '15 at 18:34
  • @pushandpop Are you certain you're comparing your MD5sum with the correct value from the file source? I can't picture that many downloads getting corrupted without at least one being good... – Zeiss Ikon Jan 19 '15 at 18:43
  • @ZeissIkon I'm sorry, i was checking sha256sum - my bad. Now, I've checked it correctly and sums are equals, but still have infinite kubuntu logo (it's shining but nothing is happening even after 40min) – pushandpop Jan 20 '15 at 10:31

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Seems to me I've run into that problem with a bad USB write from a good file -- unetbootin sometimes changes an ISO in a way that prevents it from booting successfully; dd makes a faithful copy that, in my experience, always works. It's also possible for a damaged partition to cause this kind of failure; recreating the partition table on the flash drive usually corrects that problem. If the MD5 is good, those are the two things to look for.

Zeiss Ikon
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  • I tried different USB writers. Wubi? Yes, it's working, but AFAIK this one is not complete LInux, is it? I want complete OS. – pushandpop Jan 20 '15 at 14:30
  • Been a long time since I've used Wubi -- it installs the Linux in a virtualizer inside Windows, doesn't it? Not quite what you're after, I suppose. Last time I had trouble with unetbootin, I found using dd to copy the ISO to the USB solved the problem -- but you'll need to be in Linux to do that. – Zeiss Ikon Jan 20 '15 at 19:02
  • I'm gonna try another (3rd) USB and different distro. I'll put result today, I hope so. – pushandpop Jan 21 '15 at 07:18
  • Thats it! 3rd USB fixed this problem... – pushandpop Jan 21 '15 at 12:36
  • You probably need to recreate the partition tables on the two that didn't work; a very minor partition problem can cause the writes to get damaged in a way that won't fully boot. Meantime, glad to hear it's working. – Zeiss Ikon Jan 21 '15 at 13:02
  • Thanks! You can edit your answer, so I can mark it as "solution" if you want. – pushandpop Jan 21 '15 at 15:36