Can't Install Ubuntu Server

[TheCookieGuru]

Hey folks,

 

I was just trying to install Ubuntu Server on my new home server (well, actually it's not completed yet, just installing the OS). I start with the bootable USB in the motherboard and I get the preliminary Gigabyte Ultra Durable Dual UEFI BIOS thing, and then straight to a black screen with this text on it:

 

                  GNU GRUB Version 2.02~ beta 2-9

   Minimal BASH-like line editing is supported. For the first word, TAB
   lists possible command completions. Anywhere else TAB lists possible
   device or file completions.

grub>_

 

I'm a Linux newbie, so could I please get some help? I'm planning to install it on a SanDisk USB flash drive that I'll just keep in the back of the machine. 

 

Specs:

 

Pentium G3240 with a stock cooler

8GB (2x4GB) of Crucial Ballistix Sports RAM

Corsair CX430

 

Currently the board is sitting on top of it's box now, and I'm putting it on by shorting out two pins with a screwdriver.

 

Currently in the board I have plugged in:

 

Ubuntu Server bootable USB

Formatted USB (Installing Ubuntu Server on it)

HDMI-Out

Wireless receiver for a wireless Logitech mouse and keyboard (http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Wireless-Combo-MK270-Keyboard/dp/B00BP5KOPA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1438090031&sr=8-2&keywords=wireless+logitech+keyboard)

8 pin CPU connector

24 pin ATX connector

 

Any help is appreciated, I'm more of a hardware guy, so I'm learning a lot by doing things like this.

 

Thanks! 

[Judahnator]

First off, if you are not getting to the installer then it is likely an issue with your bootable medium.

 

Do you have the correct version (eg. 32 vs 64-bit)? If so, what version of Ubuntu are you running?

Could there be a problem creating the bootable media? I prefer a program called YUMI.

[manikyath]

i see two possible issues here: either your bootable usb doesnt boot correctly, or your system doesnt detect the bootable usb correctly.

 

i'm putting my money on the first one.

[TheCookieGuru]

First off, if you are not getting to the installer then it is likely an issue with your bootable medium.

 

Do you have the correct version (eg. 32 vs 64-bit)? If so, what version of Ubuntu are you running?

Could there be a problem creating the bootable media? I prefer a program called YUMI.

Thanks for the rapid reply, mate, 'preciate it.

 

I believe that I do have the right version, the ISO file name is: ubuntu- 14.04.2-server-amd64

 

It might help to say that this is brand new, never had an OS on it.

 

The program I used is called pendrivelinux

[TheCookieGuru]

i see two possible issues here: either your bootable usb doesnt boot correctly, or your system doesnt detect the bootable usb correctly.

 

i'm putting my money on the first one.

I think I'll try again with YUMI, maybe that will work

 

It might help to say that there are actually no SATA drives connected yet, still waiting for some 2TB Seagate NAS drives.

[Judahnator]

I think I'll try again with YUMI, maybe that will work

 

It might help to say that there are actually no SATA drives connected yet, still waiting for some 2TB Seagate NAS drives.

 

Well that right there is your problem.

 

If you have no media to install to, you cannot install the OS. Last I checked Ubuntu Server did not have a live-install option for just testing stuff out. Id wait until you get your drives then try again

[TheCookieGuru]

Well that right there is your problem.

 

If you have no media to install to, you cannot install the OS. Last I checked Ubuntu Server did not have a live-install option for just testing stuff out. Id wait until you get your drives then try again

Thanks mate, but then where can I install it? I'm planning to run 6 drives in RAID 5, and my board only has 6 SATA ports. I actually have one of the drives with me, but should I create a partition, how do I create a partition, will the drive still work in the RAID array, with it's slightly decrease capacity? I'm seriously confused.   

[manikyath]

Well that right there is your problem.

 

If you have no media to install to, you cannot install the OS. Last I checked Ubuntu Server did not have a live-install option for just testing stuff out. Id wait until you get your drives then try again

Thanks mate, but then where can I install it? I'm planning to run 6 drives in RAID 5, and my board only has 6 SATA ports. I actually have one of the drives with me, but should I create a partition, how do I create a partition, will the drive still work in the RAID array, with it's slightly decrease capacity? I'm seriously confused.   

pretty sure the installer should load up either way, i'll go test that now.

 

EDIT: i tested, without any drives installed, the install disk should load flawlessly.

 

conclusion: re-do your USB drive.

[Judahnator]

Thanks mate, but then where can I install it? I'm planning to run 6 drives in RAID 5, and my board only has 6 SATA ports. I actually have one of the drives with me, but should I create a partition, how do I create a partition, will the drive still work in the RAID array, with it's slightly decrease capacity? I'm seriously confused.   

 

That depends on if you are installing the OS directly to the RAID array or not.

If not, then all you need is one drive that will not be in the array.

 

If you want to install the OS to the RAID array, then your best bet is either hardware RAID (if your motherboard supports it) or a ZFS pool (you have to set this up on install, see HERE). For a ZFS pool you want to use RAID-Z, this is basically the same as RAID 5.

Keep in mind this CANNOT be done without all the drives present. Although it is possible to add disks to an array after its creation, i would very strongly discourage it.

 

You will see a slight decrease in capacity in RAID 5. You will lose 1 drive's worth of space, but that allows one drive to fail. For example, if you had 3x2TB drives, you would lose 1 drive of space leaving you with 4TB of usable space.

 

RAID 5 needs a minimum of 3 drives, and you have 6 free ports. So in regards to having enough ports or not, you should be fine

[TheCookieGuru]

pretty sure the installer should load up either way, i'll go test that now.

 

EDIT: i tested, without any drives installed, the install disk should load flawlessly.

 

conclusion: re-do your USB drive.

Thanks mate,

 

Did you use YUMI or pendrivelinux? If you used YUMI, could I please have the link to it?

[manikyath]

Thanks mate,

 

Did you use YUMI or pendrivelinux? If you used YUMI, could I please have the link to it?

i'm a noob and i use lili... http://www.linuxliveusb.com/

 

theres a manual way to do it, but i cant remember how anymore

[TheCookieGuru]

That depends on if you are installing the OS directly to the RAID array or not.

If not, then all you need is one drive that will not be in the array.

 

If you want to install the OS to the RAID array, then your best bet is either hardware RAID (if your motherboard supports it) or a ZFS pool (you have to set this up on install, see HERE). For a ZFS pool you want to use RAID-Z, this is basically the same as RAID 5.

Keep in mind this CANNOT be done without all the drives present. Although it is possible to add disks to an array after its creation, i would very strongly discourage it.

 

You will see a slight decrease in capacity in RAID 5. You will lose 1 drive's worth of space, but that allows one drive to fail. For example, if you had 3x2TB drives, you would lose 1 drive of space leaving you with 4TB of usable space.

 

RAID 5 needs a minimum of 3 drives, and you have 6 free ports. So in regards to having enough ports or not, you should be fine

Thanks for you answer,

 

I wanted to install the OS on a USB flash drive so if I changed any hardware it would technically just be plug and play. Could I do that? 

[TheCookieGuru]

i'm a noob and i use lili... http://www.linuxliveusb.com/

 

theres a manual way to do it, but i cant remember how anymore

Thanks, I'll give it a try. 

[manikyath]

Thanks, I'll give it a try. 

should mention i generally use disks, because most of the systems i use linux on do odd things when booting off usb.

[TheCookieGuru]

should mention i generally use disks, because most of the systems i use linux on do odd things when booting off usb.

What do you mean by that? You use disks... for what?

[manikyath]

What do you mean by that? You use disks... for what?

whenever i install linux i try using an usb first, and in 90% of cases i realise the system i'm doing it on doesnt do it that way, and i go back to burning a disk

[TheCookieGuru]

whenever i install linux i try using an usb first, and in 90% of cases i realise the system i'm doing it on doesnt do it that way, and i go back to burning a disk

 

Anyway thanks mate, you have been a big help to me. I appreciate it. 

[Judahnator]

Thanks for you answer,

 

I wanted to install the OS on a USB flash drive so if I changed any hardware it would technically just be plug and play. Could I do that? 

 

 

Possible? Yes. Recommend? No.

 

Although it is possible, most consumer-grade thumb-drives are not meant for extended or prolonged use. It may just be an artifact of myself using sub-$50 drives, but they generally dont last long with lots of reads and writes.

 

Running in a server environment, even if the drive is not active it will slow over time. Eventually, it may even fail all together will your data on it.

[TheCookieGuru]

Possible? Yes. Recommend? No.

 

Although it is possible, most consumer-grade thumb-drives are not meant for extended or prolonged use. It may just be an artifact of myself using sub-$50 drives, but they generally dont last long with lots of reads and writes.

 

Running in a server environment, even if the drive is not active it will slow over time. Eventually, it may even fail all together will your data on it.

Alright. Thanks mate. You have also been a huge help to me.

 

I'm starting with 3 HDDs, and I think I'll get a cheap 32GB ADATA SSD for the OS. That's 4 SATA connectors used. Then, in the near future, I'll only expand to get 2 more drives, instead of 3, as I originally planned. It should be enough. Thanks again mate, can't express my thanks enough.

[Neil]

Alright. Thanks mate. You have also been a huge help to me.

I'm starting with 3 HDDs, and I think I'll get a cheap 32GB ADATA SSD for the OS. That's 4 SATA connectors used. Then, in the near future, I'll only expand to get 2 more drives, instead of 3, as I originally planned. It should be enough. Thanks again mate, can't express my thanks enough.

RAID 5 probably isn't necessary for you. I'd do raid 1 with a hot spare. At a previous job, we used raid 6 with 6 drives in our cloud servers... And that was for enterprise storage. You don't need raid 5.

[TheCookieGuru]

RAID 5 probably isn't necessary for you. I'd do raid 1 with a hot spare. At a previous job, we used raid 6 with 6 drives in our cloud servers... And that was for enterprise storage. You don't need raid 5.

I want to do RAID 5 for the extra space it provides. I'm an avid photographer and Lightroom user, and can easily burn through a 64GB SD card in one day, especially at school sports events. If I go with a RAID 1 with the total of three drives I ordered, I'd have only 2TB of usable space and a hot spare. In comparison, with a RAID 5 and no hot spare, I'd have double the storage, and the same amount of reliability, save for the hot swap.