Very problematic installation of Ubuntu on Asus VivoBook Pro N752VX
I was running Kali Linux for a while, but since that started to crash on me after every update, a student told me to switch to the more stable Ubuntu distro.
In the past I was very pleased with the ease of installation of this distro, but the installation process on my laptop is a joke.
I am not getting it to work as it should. I must launch the installer with the nomodeset kernel argument or I won't get the installer displayed. When ran without the kernel argument, it starts waiting for 'a start job is running for detect the available gpus and deal with any system changes' which goes on for an unlimited amount of time. After a minute or three it stops, does something and quits working.
When the installation is complete, the system reboots, with the nomodeset argument still in place on the new grub loader. The resolution is very bad (as expected) and when I try to install the NVIDIA graphics driver, it doesn't work. When I remove the nomodeset kernel argument from the grub entry, the system doesn't go to the desktop. It shows my desktop wallpaper and mouse that I can move.
After removing the NVIDIA graphic drivers and still boot without the nomodeset kernel argument, I am greeted with a resolution that fits the screen.
Everything looks good, but when I try to do any power related physical things (shutting down, rebooting, force rebooting) it doesn't do that. It freezes the screen. I can reboot the pc with the ALT + SYSRQ and REIB combination, but that doesn't solve the issue.
The strange thing is, that my Windows installation doesn't shutdown/reboot/sleep as well.
Windows was working! I've also defaulted my bios, didn't solve any problems.
When reinstalling Ubuntu without installing any NVIDIA graphic drivers and removing the nomodeset (and quiet splash) kernel argument, Ubuntu launches and I am able to login. The screen resolution is right, but when trying to shutdown or reboot, the system still freezes on the desktop. CTRL + ALT + F1~6 or CTRL + ALT + DEL is doing nothing. ALT + SYSRQ and REIB does work.
I removed the nomodeset and $vt_handoff (and quiet splash) kernel argument and the system boots up. Shutting down or rebooting freezes the computer on the desktop. Same as above goes for the 'system keyboard command'. Rebooting Ubuntu before logging in also freezes.
When booting into Windows with the new untouched version of the grub bootloader, after a full shutdown, boots up and shutsdown. When I reboot ubuntu and pick Windows at the grub menu, Windows doesn't start.
TL;DR
nomodeset removed:
- Ubuntu boots, logs in and does all it's things, but freezes on shutdown or reboot. When rebooting Ubuntu with the SYSRQ key combo's, Windows can't boot after ubuntu has booted and the system hasn't been fully off.
With nomodeset:
- Ubuntu boots, logs in and does all it things (in poor resolution), even shutsdown and reboots. Windows can boot after ubuntu has booted and the system hasn't been fully off.
Here are the specs of my Laptop:
- 1920x1080p
- NVIDIA GTX 950M
- i7 6700HQ
- 256 SSD A previously working
- Kali installation that didn't had all the issues Ubuntu now has.
I have reinstalled Ubuntu a total of 10 times now.
72 Answers
I've finally found my solution.
Reinstall Ubuntu, just to be sure.
Boot with the nomodeset parameter. Then the system should boot with the nouveau drivers at NATIVE resolution. Make sure to disable Secure Boot at installation, that was the only thing I did different the last installation. (I disabled it in the bios a long time ago) Then go to the Additional Drivers page, select the NVIDIA Graphics Drivers, install them AND DON'T REBOOT. When the installation completes, press CTRL + ALT + F1, login and run nvidia-xconfig as root to complete the installation.
The last line should say something like X11 configuration file created at /etc/X11/X11.conf
Then reboot (and make sure you boot without the nomodeset parameter) and your NVIDIA driver installation should work.
EDIT:
It broke again, no startup log or something.
TL;DR: try disabling secure boot and ACPI completely. It helped me to install the ubuntu on my ASUS N752VX.
First, invoke the BIOS setup menu and set Boot/Launch SCM to Enabled and Security/Secure Boot Control to Disabled.
Next, when you just boot from live image to pseudo-text menu where you are offered to run live version/perform the install/check memory/etc, press "F6 Other Options" and choose "acpi=off", then choose "Install Ubuntu" in menu and do whatever needed (BTW, I also use proprietary nVidia drivers you've mentioned).
After the install completes and you have your drivers installed, do sudo vi /etc/default/grub, change GRUB_CMDLINE_LIUX= from "acpi=off" to empty value and do sudo update-grub.
And one more thing. When you reboot, sometimes ubuntu may stuck on boot with a black screen without reaction even on REISUB. Sometimes this happens 2-3 times in a row. Be patient, and do another reboot.
That's my story with 17.04 on ASUS N752VX.
