Ubuntu on USB or dual boot question

StoneRyno
StoneRyno Member Posts: 39 New User

I was looking at ubuntu the other day and it would appear they have a tablet version but I didn't see a download for it. i did however update my USB stick for the most recent version of the desktop ubuntu. But I ran into a little issue. When you boot from the USB stick you are presented with a selection menu that appears to require a physical KB to be plugged into the USB. The only problem with this is there is only one USB and unless the KB is plugged in at boot time the system doesn't recognize it's presence to be used on this menu. And for some reason having the dock connected neither USB port is recognised at boot up and so the system fails to boot from USB due to it not seeing anything connected by USB. I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong here or not so I figured I'd ask here. I am in the process of getting answers on backing up the system. Unfortunately I am in a scenario that requires going back to a factory state and hopefully all will be fine. If not then I'm afraid the problem is more seveer than I thought, but that is for that thread and what not. My question here is; can I somehow work the USB stick to work around that menu or something or would I be better off dual booting it with ubuntu once I have done the factory state reset to protect myself againt future windows normal mode failure?

Answers

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer

    It's going to help a lot to know which tablet and OS you are running. On some it's mearly a BIOS tweak, on others it's not yet recomended to run Linux since there not yet drivers for the chipset features that control cooling. Either way you'll find things a whole lot easier if you have a powered USB hub connected with everything else connected to the hub.

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • StoneRyno
    StoneRyno Member Posts: 39 New User
    Ah yes sorry about that it was late and I wasn't thinking about the model. It is a W700P.
  • xyzaid
    xyzaid Member Posts: 42 Troubleshooter

    i had several troubles either trying to install ubuntu on my Acer W4 from USB or even trying to install windows 8 from a USB key...finally i had to install windows 8 from a dvd and it worked !

    did you try installing from a CDROM/DVDROM ? my W4 propose me to boot either from USB or DVD so perhaps there's something different in the bios about that....

  • StoneRyno
    StoneRyno Member Posts: 39 New User
    Well I solved the USB port problem. Apparently the dock that the W700P comes with must have the power cable connected to it. I assumed that it drew it's power from the USB port of the tablet. It is the first time I have used the dock since I bought it. But anways so I should have no issue with installing ubuntu should that be the way to go. Which just leaves me with the question should I keep ubuntu as a run it from USB or install it as a dual boot setup as a fall back in case of future windows failure?
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer

    I think I'd stick with running Ubuntu live from the USB drive. You can always go to a full install if Windows ever dies, but trying dual boot on newer machines can be quite problematic.

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
This discussion has been closed.