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I installed Elementary OS and want to switch to Ubuntu. However, I am unable to boot into the live USB. Is there another way to make the switch?

Adam Cerico
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4 Answers4

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The issue would not be related to elementary, it is most likely in your BIOS setup on the hardware. The actual setup would depend on whether you have legacy or UEFI boot, so it is difficult to guess which one. When the system first boots there is usually a prompt to enter setup that changes from system to system, something like "enter f10 for setup" It can scroll by pretty quick. Most often something like this will be the order of boot. The list should have removable media (USB) higher in the order than the hard drive. If it is UEFI you may need to disable secure UEFI in order to get a list of UEFI supported boot options, this is where you would select from the list which boot option you want.

Bryce Alexander
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  • Yes, I do have UEFI boot. Since installing Elementary the system does not show any USB devices. Secure boot disabled, can easily access the BIOS from the Elementary boot screen. Perhaps the USB itself is at fault. – Adam Cerico Jun 10 '15 at 14:59
  • Without familiarity of your actual hardware and version I would be guessing. If BIOS Boot options do not list the UEFI image on the USB drive then it could be any number of things. There are a lot of blogs and discussions on creating and booting from a ubuntu USB drive using UEFI, walk through them and see if one might hit upon what you are experiencing. I myself only have a weak understanding of UEFI, – Bryce Alexander Jun 10 '15 at 15:25
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In theory, elementary OS is actually Ubuntu. They share the same kernel, most of the repositories and most of the software. The main differences between them are the desktop and user applications, as both systems have made their own.

Depending on which elementary OS version you are using, you can get back to the following Ubuntu "vanilla" version:

  • elementary OS 0.2 Luna -> Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
  • elementary OS 0.3 Freya -> Ubuntu 14.04 LTS
  • elementary OS 0.4 Loki -> Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

Fully "reinstalling" Ubuntu can be quite complex for many people, as it may completely break the system - but if you just want the Ubuntu desktop back, you could try running the following command, for example:

sudo apt-get remove pantheon-greeter && sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop unity unity-greeter

Xerz
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  • I have not checked if the solution works - but don't worry, I'll take care to check if it works, and fix it if it doesn't! – Xerz Jun 10 '15 at 15:44
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Your question is pretty unclear.

Assuming you are on Elementary OS, you should have access to the Software Center. From there, install Startup Disk Creator. From there, select the Ubuntu ISO downloaded from the official website, and the targeted USB device. You can then follow the official guide.

Instinctively, I would say that USB booting is not enabled on your BIOS. Have a look at this Lifehacker article for more info.

Edit: The official guide states that "If you're using UEFI, do not currently use Unetbootin with Debian iso files due to a bug." Make sure you are using a 64bit image, 32bit are apparently hard to install in UEFI. Have you considered creating an EFI-only image ?

cadesalaberry
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I am up and running in 'vanilla' Ubuntu now. Thanks for all the help.

I tried everyone's suggestions without much success. I am sure now the USB stick was the problem. I don't really understand why I was able to install Elementary OS from it and not Ubuntu.

Adam Cerico
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