Windows 8, disabled UEFI but there is more trouble

Question

I'm attempting to install Ubuntu 12.10 on a new dell inspiron 15z ultrabook, that shipped with windows 8. When I boot from disc (with verified checksums) it works ok, and the try ubuntu button works, but when I go to install it crashes upon trying to view the partitions on the disc.

Is this related to the newish nature of Windows 8? I'm trying to decide if I need a different computer instead.

Answer 1

A crash suggests a bug in libparted that's interacting with some sort of problem with the partition table. Try downloading and running the Boot Info Script and then post a link to the RESULTS.txt file that it produces. That will provide more information. You could also try running gdisk on the disk. (This will require installing the gdisk package -- but it's not readily installable from the Ubuntu live CD, so you might need to install manually or run a live CD like Parted Magic, which includes gdisk.) Type v at the gdisk main menu; this performs a verification operation that may return clues if there's something obvious wrong with the partition table.