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I am having trouble installing Ubuntu 13.04 on my laptop (HP ENVY 17t j000). I have tried burning the .iso file to a blank DVD and have also used Universal USB Installer for the USB stick installation option as described on the Ubuntu website. The problem I am having is that no matter what changes I make to my BIOS settings (boot order, secure boot, legacy boot, etc.), I can't seem to get my machine to recognize that I want to run the Ubuntu installation through the live DVD or the USB.

I first tried the DVD approach and couldn't get my machine to recognize that there was an installation of Ubuntu available. Therefore, I bought a USB stick and tried this installation approach (this is what is exemplified in many youtube video tutorials on this subject). I followed the instructions that included directions involving the Universal USB Installer mentioned above and I finally got the machine to recognize that booting from the USB stick was an option, but I get a message along the lines of "the image file was unable to be authenticated" and it just boots Windows.

I would really like to be able to dual boot Windows and Linux to enjoy Windows as I have thus far, but learn an operating system that is easier to deal with in the web-development realm at the same time. Would someone be able to help me get Ubuntu installed on my machine so that when I plan on working on my sites, I can boot up Ubuntu, but when I wanna use my computer for anything else, I can boot Windows?

Please understand that I anticipate comments that will suggest I just do away with Windows. Thanks for the advice ahead of time, but I'd rather not.

Update:

I was able to get my machine to recognize my bootable usb drive. I turned off secure boot, turned on legacy boot, then I reformatted my USB drive through Windows rather than through Universal USB Installer, then downloaded a new version of the ISO image file, and used Universal USB Installer to, again, reformat the USB drive and mount the ISO to the USB drive. Then I restarted my computer and, after figuring out that a black screen was actually just the Ubuntu installation screen on a really low brightness setting, installed Ubuntu. I ran EasyBCD and iReboot, and now I have successfully got the Windows boot manager asking me if I want to boot Windows 8 or Ubuntu 13.04.

However, when I select to boot Ubuntu 13.04, I get an error message saying that Windows didn't boot properly. I am very confused by this. If I select Windows, it boots Windows just fine. But somehow selecting Ubuntu makes it think I'm still trying to boot Windows and it errors out. Anybody have any clue what is going on here?

Resolution:

After having professionals try to install Ubuntu as an operating system so that I can dual boot with Windows 8, an issue was exposed with the hardware that had apparently been there in the first place. The motherboard was replaced, and after getting the pc back that I purchased a very long time ago, I have decided to try using VirtualBox Ubuntu VMs to do what I can. This is not my preference, but I have grown tired of trying to get this to work. Maybe some day I will be willing to just have Ubuntu. But right now, I want both and this is the only way I can get it to work.

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2 Answers 2

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I had the same problem with my hp envy15 to dual boot Windows 8.1 and Ubuntu 13.10. This is what worked for me. Windows 8.1 was preinstalled.

  1. Disable Secure Boot and fast-power-up from Windows.
  2. Install Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.

Then I had the problem that it always booted directly to Windows 8.1

  1. Boot Ubuntu live USB, then run boot-repair, then reboot.
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Actually Windows Boot Manager sucks.

I prefer to use the GRUB Menu, that is let Ubuntu to allow you to chose which OS you want to boot (Windows or Ubuntu).

First, be sure that you have properly shut down Windows 8.

Boot from your Ubuntu LiveCD/DVD or Ubuntu bootable USB and select Try Ubuntu (not Install Ubuntu). When Ubuntu starts open terminal (CTRL+ALT+T) and execute following commands to install boot-repair:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install boot-repair
boot-repair

Then select the option Recommended Repair

Follow the onscreen instructions and it will build/fix your GRUB menu.

Restarting your system should list all the Operating Systems installed in your HDD.

You can get more help on - Using Boot-Repair

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  • I was finally able to install Ubuntu. But now I can't boot it. If I select to boot Windows, Windows boots up fine. If I select Ubuntu, I get an error message that WINDOWS had a problem booting.
    – Jake Smith
    Aug 29, 2013 at 22:44
  • That is why I am recommending you to follow this step. Just follow it once, I am sure that you will be able to recover your problem. I am attaching the link for boot-repair. But no need to go for that site. I have illustrated very well. Aug 30, 2013 at 0:18
  • my understanding is that if I can't boot into Ubuntu, I won't be able to run the boot-repair in Ubuntu...am I incorrect?
    – Jake Smith
    Sep 3, 2013 at 23:01
  • I've mentioned above also, You have to boot Ubuntu using Bootable CD/DVD/USB and you have to select the option Try Ubuntu. This process is also called as using Ubuntu without Installing it using Live CD/DVD/USB. When Ubuntu boots, follow my answer to install Boot-Repair. Be sure that you have properly Shut Down Windows 8 before try these steps. Reply what happens.. Sep 4, 2013 at 6:01

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