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I want to replace Windows 8.1 that came with my laptop with Ubuntu 14.04. I keep getting a black screen with this line: SYSLINUX 4.07 EDD 2013-07-25 Copyright (C) 1994-2013 H. Peter Anvin et al

Things I did before:

  • turned off fast boot
  • disabled secure boot
  • switched to Legacy instead of UEFI (even though a tutorial I found said this isn't really needed anymore, I still did anyway because I read it from the laptop's user guide: "If you need to install a legacy operating system, such as Windows (that is, any operating system before Windows 8), Linux or Dos, etc on your computer, you must change the boot mode to Legacy support."
  • I chose to load from USB.
  • and then that SYSLINUX 4.77 EDD.... appears

I tried to install using the same USB on an old Lenovo S10-3. It worked. Though that S10-3 runs Lubuntu. Still it's probably safe to say that it's not the USB that has problems, right?

Thanks for any help. I can't wait to have Ubuntu :)

edit: This might be useful info. The USB is 16GB X-Stor Fat32. I used YUMI.

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  • The "fast boot" you turned off was the one under Windows Power Options, right? Not something in BIOS/UREI SEttings like "boot speed". Try going back to UEFI mode and boot.
    – ubfan1
    May 31, 2014 at 18:57
  • @ubfan1 No, it's the one under Power Options in the Control Panel. Should it be the "boot speed in the BIOS?
    – nainai
    May 31, 2014 at 22:37
  • No, but setting the BIOS/Settings boot speed to other than fast or 0 will give you a chance to type a function key at power-on to select setup or the EFI boot menu. The syslinux boot indicates a non-UEFI boot, but it should work. I'd recommend dual booting until you have a good Ubuntu install.
    – ubfan1
    Jun 1, 2014 at 0:27
  • I can go to the boot menu. UEFI boot can't see my USB; only Windows is in the list. I can only change order of boot and put USB on top if I switch to Legacy. So then, I reboot and I get the syslinux error. If it helps, I used YUMI on a Fat32 16GB USB. It worked fine on an old Lenovo S10-3 running Lubuntu.
    – nainai
    Jun 1, 2014 at 3:02
  • What is your machine model? Search here and the forums for answers for your machine type. Possibly some machines can only boot usb in legacy mode, and after installtaion, use boot-repair to switch modes of the installation to UEFI (Just copying the boot files into /EFI/ubunti and adding a nvram entry with efibootmgr.
    – ubfan1
    Jun 1, 2014 at 4:57

1 Answer 1

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I've installed Ubuntu on my laptop. YUMI might have been the problem. The USB is only seen when the laptop is in Legacy mode. When I boot from it, it gives me the Syslinux error. To fix this, I used Rufus and changed the partition scheme to GPT partition scheme for UEFI computer. This time, the USB can be seen in UEFI. Change the order so the USB boots first, and done. Ubuntu can now be installed.

I found the solution here: http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/15458-uefi-bootable-usb-flash-drive-create-windows.html. But of course, instead of a Windows ISO, I used Ubuntu. :)

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