Ubuntu Linux fans--Help Me!

Fam got me new parts for Christmas.  AMD Ryzen 5 new generation.  Gigabyte Aorus B450(?) motherboard, 16 GB RAM.  I've got Win 10 on it.  It works well.

I want to run a dual boot like this box, but I've run into trouble.  I can't get the live DVD to work.  Or any other Live CD.  I get massive errors.  SQUASHFS errors and many others.  I'm convinced that I need to fiddle with something in the BIOS to fix it, but I've had no luck there.

Anybody install Ubuntu 18.04LTS on newer hardware?  What am I doing wrong?

couple possibilities, though I haven't run into this error myself:
some suggestions were to try the acpi=off switch if the installation disc loads at all.

if you don't get that far, it's also suggested to make sure you are set for UEFI boot instead of Legacy mode (regarding BIOS)

worth a try perhaps ! good luck 

now, whether or not this will cause your Windows 10 install (as a dual boot) to break, I am not sure

my source:  https://askubuntu.com/questions/1030514/ubuntu-server-18-04-installation-not-loading

I assume you've read this? It suggests it's a hardware problem. Have you tried to boot off a USB stick?

02Pilot said:

I assume you've read this? It suggests it's a hardware problem. Have you tried to boot off a USB stick?

Yes.  Could be bad cable or bad drive, I suppose.  I will go the USB stick route, if I can put my hands on one....

Make sure you have the latest BIOS - there were some issues with the random number generator on gen 3 Ryzens when they came out, and you need a fairly new BIOS to fix that. Those issue IIRC can cause boot errors.

Also, you may need a newer kernel than what you get with the 18.04 installer. I'd try to see if 19.10 boots.

FWIW I run a dual boot Linux on my 3rd gen Ryzen, but I use a rolling release distro (Manjaro) with a 5.3 or 5.4 kernel.

In reply to BoxheadTim :

Yeah, I really try to stick to the LTS distros, but in this case, I should prolly try the 19.10.  No time to mess with it tonight.  I gots stuff to do.

Okay, feeling like an idiot.  I can burn an .iso file to a DVD and it's bootable.  What the %%XF$? do I need to do to make one of these newfangled USB drives bootable??  Searches keep referring me to third party software?  Surely, MS has this capability within win 10?

This is what we use at work:  Rufus.  Works really well.

I think it's going to require third-party software. I've always used Pendrive Linux.

Huh.  Well, I plugged up the old box to a mouse, monitor, keyboard and created a USB startup disk in Ubuntu no problem. 

Apparently, I installed Win10 with CSM (compatibility support mode) enabled.  Translated from the Greek, this means "secure boot".  When I boot from the USB, Ubuntu does not see Win10 and presumably cannot arrange a dual boot.  If I change the BIOS setting to disable CSM, then it can't find windows.  I figure I'll leave it disabled and re-install win10.  Booting to CD like I did on the initial install, it fails to boot from CD.  So I'm kind of back to square one, except my windows install media doesn't work.   Not happy.  I think it might be time for lunch.

Stuff like this reminds me why I'm still on Win 7, and am running a full 18.04 Gnome install in parallel on my Chromebook.

CSM is old school BIOS support. For most newer machines, you'd want to install in UEFI mode (disable CSM) and you have to make sure that both OSs are installed in the same mode.

Ubuntu works with Secure Boot, so you don't need to turn that part off and it should be able to see the Windows installation.

In reply to BoxheadTim :

I thought this was a very new board.  I'm mildly familiar with UEFI, but the BIOS options didn't use that term.  It's almost as if they want it to be confusing.

I don't know if it's just a fairy tale, but there is talk on the interwebs of using windows boot loader to choose to boot into Ubuntu.  I wonder how many days it would take me to figure that out.

Just one more silly question:  If I have a bootable windows 10 CD rom, burned here with the downloaded .iso from the windows website, can that be installed using UEFI?

Yup.  It appears that I have managed to install Win10 in BIOS Mode: Legacy by default.  I would have guessed the MB would have defaulted to UEFI.

1988RedT2 said:

I don't know if it's just a fairy tale, but there is talk on the interwebs of using windows boot loader to choose to boot into Ubuntu.  I wonder how many days it would take me to figure that out.

I've heard the same fairy tale, but haven't been able to find a thorough description of it yet. My understanding is that for it to work, you have to install Linux first, then save the boot loader and chain it from the Windows 10 boot loader. One of these days when I'm out of project cars I'll try to figure it out.

1988RedT2 said:

Just one more silly question:  If I have a bootable windows 10 CD rom, burned here with the downloaded .iso from the windows website, can that be installed using UEFI?

Yes, you just have to make sure that you boot it in UEFI mode - both it and the Linux ISO should boot in either mode.

1988RedT2 said:

Yup.  It appears that I have managed to install Win10 in BIOS Mode: Legacy by default.  I would have guessed the MB would have defaulted to UEFI.

Pretty much all of them still default to CSM or legacy mode. I've been bit by this before.

Okay, seems to be installing ubuntu alongside win10 now.  Once I understood that win10 was installed in legacy mode, it made sense.  The BIOS was giving me the option to boot to the USB stick both ways, and I had been selecting UEFI, which didn't work.

If I was getting paid to do this, I'd be fired!

Hey, that was quick.  Boots up to GRUB menu.  Selected win10.  It still works!  Now to see about Ubuntu...

Edit:  Yup.  The Bionic Beaver is up and running!  

Edit:  Edit:  Thanks guys!!!