Toshiba Satellite P55-A5200 with Windows 8 Pro - how to install Linux??
 

I have received a Toshiba laptop as a gift after my old dell laptop running Ubuntu died.

The former owner of the Toshiba was a windows only person who absolutely loathed and detested Windows 8, (that "Pro" designation in the thread title is an error), The laptop is allegedly about 2 years old and seems to be in excellent condition.

The specifications/description appear to be:

Toshiba Satellite P55-A5200
Part NO PSPMEU-00G002
Intel Core i5-3337U CPU @1.80GHz

6.00 GB RAM (5.88 GB usable)

Windows 8
64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

The optical drive on it is a TSST Corp SU-208BB that is a read-write unit for both CD and DVDs

There is no evidence of touch screen capability (not to mention that I do not particularly care to have it). So if this Toshiba has it it is not currently operative.

My objective is to dual boot or simply get rid of windows 8 by installing Linux. I need a linux with a menu structure such as found in gnome if at all possible as that works well with my personal mental oddities.

The problem is further complicated in that the computer lacks a bios setup, as I know it, or I just don't know how to find it. It appears that Toshiba has some sort of interface that has bios set-up characteristics and it appears I can, for instance change the boot order to other drives. If in fact this is Toshiba's substitute for a bios interface, I can live with that so long as it does not get wiped out during installation of Linux.

I am writing this from the only running reliable computer left to me which is an old (paleolithic) desktop upgraded to Windows 2000 service pack 3 and Firefox 2.0.0.13 :rolleyes:

My Linux experience is mostly Ubuntu with a thin smattering of command line.

My only ability to burn a DVD resides in the Toshiba but I have not yet mastered that.

My old desktop can burn a CD but not a DVD on an external TDK drive.

Advice & suggestions on how to proceed will be appreciated.

And yes, I would consider other distributions but I really need user friendly and a menu structure interface.

Oh, and I sort of need the ability to encrypt those parts of the drive where certain sensitive files reside.

You might want to try MATE or LXDE, both of those are similar to the now depreciated GNOME 2. Personally I find GNOME 3 very nice, but I know a lot of people don't. Definitely give it a try! Unity's alright, but it seems a little overcomplicated for my taste.

If the Toshiba has an OS on it, even Windows 8, you can still burn a live DVD. IMGburn is one of the best burning apps for Windows.

You can also go another route, and that is to make a bootable USB flash drive. There are many utilities for Windows to do this, but just be wary that they may not work with all distros, even if they claim to be.

When I read that your Toshiba came with Windows 8, I kind of cringed...not because of Windows 8, that'll be no issue. The issue is a misfeature required by the Windows Logo Requirements called SecureBoot that you need to disable before you can boot Linux.
EDIT: Some distros can boot, but the boot process is extremely simplified and does not support things like booting to RAM.
This doesn't secure anything but Microsoft's marketshare. Don't be afraid to disable it!

http://toastytech.com/guis/win84.html

So with that in mind, follow this guide to disable it:
https://neosmart.net/wiki/disabling-secure-boot/

As far as a user friendly distro, Ubuntu and Fedora are great options. If you like GNOME 3, you'll like Fedora. Like I said, I think Unity is overcomplicated, but it won't hurt to try it. Both Fedora and Ubuntu have versions available that use different desktops, so explore both of those.

Hope I helped!

Disable_Secure Boot
 

IHateWindows522, That is good information, Thanks! Disabling another Microsoft whoppie feature will be very satisfying.

However I do not think this Toshiba works quite like it said at Neosmart. I am not getting any indication of how to get into the bios settings for modification as they describe. Instead what I get is shown in the attached image.
- The upper left is the splash screen that pops up when it boots. Clicking the screen brings up the
- password entry screen,(not shown), where after entering a proper password one gets the:
- Toshiba wall paper which has icons at the upper left one of which is:
- "Desktop Assist" Clicking that icon will open it with a menu which offers:
- Tools and Utilities which offers a menu starting with:
- System settings,which offers a menu containg:
- Boot Options which will bring up a:
- Boot Priority Options boxwhere by using the up and down screen buttons, the order of boot sources can be changed.

I have not yet had a chance to try this as I do not yet have a bootable disk or USB drive at hand, But if anyone knows if what I have found on boot order will work after I click on apply button I would appreciate the verification.

I am still leery of just what I am looking at when I see things like the Toshiba tools approach:

"Desktop Assist / Tools and Utilities / System Settings / Boot Options/ Boot Priority Options"

At that point, am I communicating with the BIOS or some layer that Toshiba put in place that will "interpret" what I am trying to set in the BIOS, (i.e. alter my instruction according to context in which I issued it or some such abomination), -OR- Am I actually seeing a different format than previous BIOS setups that is friendlier but will really carry out my choices as commands?

BIOS...

Apparently this laptop opens the BIOS the way you found. There may be another way in to more settings using an F-key, F2 or F8 or F11 or F12 to open BIOS Setup.

Toshiba tried to make it easy; instead they made it strange.

BIOS again...

The Toshiba support site has information on getting into the BIOS setup. Press F2 when the Toshiba splash screen appears at boot. There is also a special procedure with shut-down and start-up plus F2.


http://support.toshiba.com/support/m...ext=1200005513

Click on BIOS version 1.80 and you'll find the BIOS Setup instructions and also information about Secure Boot that you will need.

There should be a manual installed for this machine; download the Quick Start Guide.

I've used a couple of these SecureBoot craptops in the past...it's hard to tell whether you're at the system UEFI startup screen or the Windows boot screen...and once you know what's happening, you're presented with the Windows login screen. You have to be pretty fast on the draw, I've missed more times than I've actually gotten it. On Dells this isn't so bad, but all the others follow lock step with M$ and make their UEFI screens look just like the Windows boot screen. :doh:

This may be of some help: https://www.google.com/search?q=disa...&client=ubuntu

Could easily run a virtual machine till you get a real install in there.

dgoddard,

Extract from:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answer...-boot-usb.html


“It is not simply enough to change your boot priority to 'USB'

The answer is you have to disable 'Fast Startup' within windows, and then 'Secure Boot' in the bios, and once you've changed Secure boot to disabled you can then change your Boot option to 'CSM' instead of 'UEFI'. THEN, you can change the boot order priority to 'USB' first and it will actually boot your bootable usb device.

Warning: When you change to 'CSM' boot option, your computer will no longer boot Windows until you go back and change the boot option back to 'UEFI'.

Instructions on how to disable Fast Startup (which then gives you the ability to boot into bios) :

Login to windows, hit the start key and 'Control Panel', then click on Control Panel. Type 'Power' and click on 'Power Options'. Then click 'Change what the power buttons do'. At the top you will see 'Change settings that are currently unavailable'. Click it, and then click Yes. At the bottom of your Power options (scroll down) you will see a 'Shutdown settings' with a 'Turn on fast startup (recommended)'. Uncheck that box and hit save changes.

Reboot and hold down F2 at boot to enter bios

Instructions on how to Disable Secure Boot and change to CSM boot within bios:

Once in bios go to the security tab and change 'Secure Boot' to disabled. Then go to the Advanced tab and press the down arrow key to System Configuration and hit enter. go to 'Boot Mode' and change it from UEFI Boot to CSM Boot.

Hit f10 to save and restart, plug in that bootable USB media and BAM, you've now got a computer working the way it should like almost every other single computer out there”.


Create a bootable USB drive using Unetbootin or similar.

See second answer down on:

http://askubuntu.com/questions/15429...rking-in-12-04


Alternatively, it may be simpler for you to buy a cheap, ready made Linux DVD using Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Xubuntu, or whatever from somewhere such as OSDisc.

https://www.osdisc.com/

In this case obviously set the laptop to boot from CD/DVD not USB.

Learned a bit more now
 

It seems that there was one more splash screen that I had not seen It also bears the Toshiba name and it is apparently the real Toshiba splash screen. HOWEVER! you only get to see this splash screen if you turned off the computer by holding down the on/off button long enough that the back light goes out and there is a click sound of some sort of relay. Then if you put your finger on the f2 key and turn it back on and at the first appearance of the "Real" Toshiba splash screen, press and hold the f2 key the screen will go black for a second or two and then come back on in the bios setup. WHAT A BLOODY PAIN. One ought not to look a gift computer in the screen ! I had been thinking about buying a Toshiba before getting this one, Had I known about this boot nonsense, I would never have considered it. Talk about failing the KISS principle! I bet they change this sort of nonsense every few models claiming that they are making things better too!


Now let's see about downloading an ISO file for a new distribution of Linux, or maybe several.

But you're in...

After you enter the BIOS, you may be able to disable the Toshiba splash screen. Since it appears first, it should be controled by the BIOS, and there might be a setting to disable it.

As suggested, you might increase the number of seconds the splash screen is displayed to make navigation easier.

Hedging my bets.
 

Since it seemsthat there is no way to get between windows and Linux without reconfiguring the bios, I am at the point of saying to hell with windows (isn't that the same as sending it home ?;)) and bite the bullet and just install Linux giving the whole machine over to Linux.

But I still want to hedge my bets. To that end I intend to have more than one burnt dvd distribution and I have decided that I will burn Mint. However mint has 2 64 bit versions of 17.1 One is called Cinnamon and the other is called MATE, and I cannot find what the difference is So could someone fill me in on that and which one I might wish to have and for what reason.

Should I be looking at only 64 bit operating systems.

dgoddard,

It is possible to have graphics problems with certain hardware using Cinnamon, so my advice would be to use MATE.

Look here for further details.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ly-4175538649/

Yes, use the 64 bit version.

Lack of specification.
 

I do not know what a product specification is in Linux speak but what I am looking for would tell me among other things if Ubunugnome 14.04.2 trusty tahr is a 64 bi operating system appropriate for my Toshiba Satellite P55A5200 computer (which is supposedly a 64 bit capable computer using an Intel CORE i5 CPU;

At least the folks over at Linuxmint were kind enough to denote 64bit versions by including that in the release title.

So that I might know where to find the information in the future, if there is some document name (e.g. OS specification) or some such that I should look in for this information I would like to know what it that document name is.

But right for now I need to know if "Ubunugnome 14.04.2 trusty tahr is a 64 bi operating system appropriate for my Toshiba Satellite P55A5200 computer"

Getting the computer up and running right the first time is all I really have time for and I would like to do it right with the right software the first time. And I am really frustrated that the people who make this software seem to think everybody knows this stuff or where to find it. It takes me hours to download and burn each new distribution.

Here endeth my rant, but somebody please tell me If I have the correct OS for my computer.
Just a tad frustrated here:banghead:

dgoddard,

The confusion arises because AMD originally developed the 64 bit system and the terminology has stuck:

http://askubuntu.com/questions/3378/...he-amd64-image

It does NOT mean that this 64 bit system is exclusively for use on AMD processors.

The various Ubuntu desktop editions are listed here:

http://askubuntu.com/questions/65083...le/65223#65223



In that case, are you sure that you really want the Gnome Shell edition?

The Ubuntu 14.04.2 MATE desktop edition would be more suitable in that case (see **Download at the bottom of this post).

Ubuntu 14.04-2 Gnome:
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-gno...14.04/release/

There are two images available, each for a different type of computer:
PC (Intel x86) desktop image (NO..this is 32 bit)
For almost all PCs. This includes most machines with Intel/AMD/etc type processors and almost all computers that run Microsoft Windows, as well as newer Apple Macintosh systems based on Intel processors. Choose this if you are at all unsure.

64-bit PC (AMD64) desktop image (YES...this is 64 bit and fine with your Intel i5)
Choose this to take full advantage of computers based on the AMD64 or EM64T architecture (e.g., Athlon64, Opteron, EM64T Xeon, Core 2). If you have a non-64-bit processor made by AMD, or if you need full support for 32-bit code, use the Intel x86 images instead.


**Download Ubuntu MATE 14.04.2

https://ubuntu-mate.org/trusty/index.html

Scroll down to HTTP direct download and select the amd64.iso for your part of the world.

About to Install
 

Special thanks to beachboy2,
Once again, you have provided the clueing in that I needed and I have been working with the 64bit UbuntuGnome. I am finding it quite comfortable after a few hours of sampling it.

To All:

FIRST, I see that Ubuntu Gnome comes with a photomanipulation program called Shotwell. I do a lot of photo work. Back in my windows days I used photoshop but moving to linux I discovered GIMP. Because its command structure was differenty especially in terms of its nomenclature, my previous Photoshop experience was an impediment to learning GIMP, but now I am far more adept with GIMP's powerful capabilities. My previous Ubuntu came with a photoeditor of its own which I could have ignored except that every time I plugged my camera in, the blasted thing started downloading my camera to some directory on the computer that I never actually found. and I had to go through a whole series of steps shutting that application down before I could get GIMP up and running.

So as I am about to install UbuntuGnome. I am hoping there is some way that I can interdict the installation of Shotwell. GIMP does everything I want and I do not wish to waste time trying to learn some other photo editor. Failing that I would like to find some way to obliterate Shotwell so it does not interrupt me like the previous photoeditor that I did not want.

The SECOND thing is that I need to get smarter about what HDD encryption I might be offered during installation or what I might be able to add later. I would like to have secure encryption of all my data files and downloads. As an educator I need to work with student files from time to time and those must be protected as a matter of ethics and law. Plus I do forensic engineering and client data must be protected, Plus I keep personal financial and other such sensitive data on the computer and would like to lock that up so that should my computer falls into some nefarious hands that my data will be secure. If I can install such a system right from the start I would prefer to do that. Perhaps a good site that I can go to would be the answer but I find that user opinions and experience are often superior. So both approaches should be considered. Hopefully I will get a successful install tomorrow or the next day.

dgoddard,

Once you have installed and updated Ubuntu 14.04, you can open a Terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and type:

Further details here:

http://askubuntu.com/questions/10417...emove-shotwell


I have no personal experience of full disk encryption, so I will let others advise you.

However, I did discover this guide which should help you:

http://thesimplecomputer.info/full-d...on-with-ubuntu


At the bottom of every post is this:

Did you find this post helpful? Yes

If you wish to thank a LQ member for their input then click on Yes

Grief
 

So early this morning I bit the bullet and told the install disk to proceed for:
Ubuntu Gnome 14.04.2 desktop amd 64bit
And did an install that overwrote the win 8 files to make the entire machine owned by Linux.

Actually I have now done 5 installs.
-- The first install called for disk encryption and the problem was the first time it asked me for a password it insisted I had the wrong one in spite of how meticulously careful I had been in entering it and getting confirmation.

-- The second install was same as the first being super extra careful entering the passwords. Alas the results were identical.

-- Then two more installations without disk encryption produced the same sort of failure except it occurred when asking for the user password as there had been no disk encryption.

-- The 5th installation I gave:
-- -- my name,
-- -- computer name and
-- -- user password and
-- -- verification of user password
as and also I did not give it permission to use the wifi to install the latest updates. This time it became bootable from the hard drive. ... I should also note that when I entered aaa for the couputer name it insisted on displaying the aaa and tacking on Toshiba, + model name +model number similar to how it had done in all previous attempts but this time I let their addition to the computer name remain...

So with such a numbskull but bootable installation I proceeded to see how things worked and promptly discovered that the system could not find a flash disk pluged into a usb port, even though the little indicator light went through its brief blinky thing of handshaking with the computer (usb drive is formatted FAT) So I still have a pretty useless computer that cannot be encrypted and cannot load backup files from a flash drive.

BUMMER :banghead: BUMMER :banghead: BUMMER :banghead:

So now I do not know if
-- this problem is some Toshiba security crap that thinks I stole the computer
or
-- some after market security crap that thinks I stole the computer, As received, there was some sort of norton stuff on it that kept pestering me to accept a free trial. But I would assume that since I told Linux Gnome to erase/reformat the entire hard disk drive, (5 times now!:rolleyes:)it would have to have been wiped along with Win 8, would it not?

Resources on hand are the same as previously except
-- I no longer have windows8 8 and its disk burning capability.
But I now have burned disks for:
-- two Mint variants (mate and cinnamon),
-- what I think is a 32 bit variant of Ubuntu 14.04.2, and
-- the Linux Gnome install DVD which still works as previously within the limitations of running from a DVD

Anyone care to offer any suggestions

P.S. The BIOS is still set to
Secure boot disabled
Boot mode CSM
Boot drive Priority sequence ODD - HDD - USB - LAN

..... and with the absence of any DVD it boots from the HDD (for what pitiful good that does me)

More info.
 

I have just booted Ubuntu Gnome from the DVD and it did successfully get me here via a wifi connection so I can browse the web. I just cannot find a plugged in flash drive.

Next attempt will be aboot ofthis OS installed on the HDD

More info.
 

I have just booted Ubuntu Gnome from the HDD and it did successfully get me here via a wifi connection so I can browse the web. I just cannot find a plugged in flash drive.

Next attempt will be a boot of LinuxmintOS from a DVD To See if Mint and Ubuntu have the same problem

Oh by the way when I click on "Files" it just shows me the hard drive. Surely it should offer me the FAT formatted flash drive too, shouldn't it?

I have just Booted LinuxMint 17.1 MATE 64Bit from a Live CD. It not only works to get me here. It actually seems to work! . I can actually get to see a flash drive plugged into a USB port and view and open the files on it.

Hmmmm What does Mint know about Toshibas that Ubuntu does not ???.

Next step will be to install this version to the hard drive and see what happens.

The interface seems to be one that I would be comfortable with.

If Windows...

You may remove Windows as you like, but since the laptop was sold with Windows as an OEM installation, the license is still valid for that machine and you can re-install the same version of Windows again at any time if you need it.

If you want to keep Windows, the ability to re-install may make it easier to recover from any installation mistake that might befall you.

Adieu to Ubuntu
 

After All my efforts to get Ubuntu up and running, I could still not get it to see any flash drives. In an effort to see if that was a Ubuntu Unique Problem, I installed Mint 17.1 Mate 64 bit, and there was no problem accessing flash drives. So I am now moving on with Mint. a few things it does differently but the same was true of the newer Ubuntu. So it is now just a matter of getting used to the latest fads in what an interface should look like.

dgoddard,

Glad to hear that you got things sorted by using Linux Mint.

If you are happy with this solution, please mark this thread as SOLVED (click on Thread Tools at top of your original post > Mark this thread as solved)

Yeah I guess it is solved. Good Advice Guys
 

I have been thinking that I should do that. I am not the superstitious type but it is almost as if I am afraid that to make such a declaration will Jinx things. After all the way an unfamilliar operating system and new and revised software works that is a little spooky. The updated versions of software look a lot like the old but some things are different. and it can really throw a monkey wrench in the works when one needs to get a job finished. And sometimes the changes appear to be utterly unnecessary. There is a slogan that says"If it is not necessary to change,... It is necessary to not change!". For that to be honored I am going to have to find the automatic updater and drive a wooden stake through its heart before sunrise. It bugs the hell out of me when I go to use an effective piece of software one day and find out that the updater has screwed it up and I have to learn how my favorite feature has been sabotaged.

But, Ok I guess it really is time to say that the original stated problem has been solved, and I owe a lot of thanks to yoiu and others.

D.Goddard