Cannot install ubuntu. bcm43xx_microcode5.fw
 

I'm completely frustrated at ubuntu right now. I've always been a windows user and i decided to give ubuntu a try. I partitioned 10 gig for it with partition manager, and then burnt a cd with the latest ubuntu on it. I booted from the disc and choose to boot/install. It goes through its whole process and finally gives me this error ->

"Failed the start the X server(your graphical interface). It is likely that it is not setup correctly. Would you like the view the X server output to diagnose the problem?"


I've also noticed that if I let the screen sit there for a second another error fills my screen, it reads ->


I've tried this with 4 different times, redownloading ubuntu, burning it to a new cd, trying again. I tried ubuntu ultimate as well, just to check. I also tried changing the F4 settings from VGA to 600x480x16 and 800x600x32, as well as booting into graphics safe mode. EVERYTIME i got the same error.

I've even skipped the disc all together by using a windows auto-installer. It worked, completely installed linux and after i rebooted and chose to boot into ubuntu, it starts to load and gives me the same exact error screen.


My system specs ->
Dell Inspiron 9400
2 Gig RAM
Intel Duo Core, 1.8ghz
ATI Mobility Radeon X1400




At this point i've got no idea how to get this up and running, ideas?

Also, screenshot of the error ->

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/8596/3800yq1.jpg

Boot into the 'single' (administrative) mode; you will have to provide an extra parameter if the Ubuntu bootloader doesn't already give you an admin option. Do:

dpkg-reconfigure xserver

For the driver, select a generic vesa driver or 'vesafb'. Set up the Grub bootloader to add "video=795" to the line with the 'kernel=' parameters; do this by editing /boot/grub/menu.lst

Edit /etc/modules and add 'vesafb' to a line.

You can edit files using 'nano'; it has built in help and stuff. An instruction like "^P" means [ctrl]P. If nano isn't installed, try 'pico'. So to edit menu.lst:
nano /boot/grub/menu.lst

Hopefully that gets you a bootable system with a GUI.

You will need to install the 'fglrx' driver from ATI to get full use of your video hardware.
Let's get you past booting into a GUI first, then we can work on that bcm4xx thing.

Don't give up; any machine with an ATI or NVidia card takes some extra effort to set up. One day we're hoping for free drivers; then all distributions will be able to set up the video hardware without any hassles.

To be honest with you i'm too noob to understand anything you just said, and i've been working on this for weeks now. I've tried to nano edit the xorg.conf file and i've had no luck, I don't know exactly how it should be formatted. I'm at a complete loss right now and I wish there was a version out there with ati drivers pre-installed. ... or some way to install them into the disc before burning it. I also don't quite understand how to navigate the live cd or properly use the terminal yet, as I have JUST started to use linux.


So, by not giving me a blunt step-by-step, i'm lost.... I'm sorry, thanks for trying, I'm going to continue to try myself.




On a side note, you said "boot into 'single'(administrative) mode", when I said i can't boot anything...i have not been able to see a ubuntu screen at all besides the main menu when i boot from the bootable disc and the error screen...

Look for a bcm43-fwcutter or b43-fwcutter package. It might be installed. This will cut out the firmware from a driver written for windows. Which one you want depends on which kernel you have.

For comparison from my SuSE package; your package may be the same and with luck may be installed.
Note the program "install_bcm43xx_firmware" program. It is a script. Running it as root with a configured wired NIC connection will download the driver you need, cut out the firmware and save it where it needs to be. You will need networking without wireless configured first, but once you do, if you have this script, running it will automate the process and only take a few seconds.

---

The section of the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file where you can edit the video driver will look something like this:
The vender and BoardName will look different because you use a different video card.
You want to change the entry on the right hand side of the Driver entry. The plan the previous poster has is to get you going with working video using a generic driver before going further. If you can boot up to the graphic mode then, you could make a backup copy of the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file before making changes. Then if you can't boot up into graphics mode, you can simply copy it back:
sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bu

Good Luck!

I thought you already installed Ubuntu and got the error when you were attempting to boot from the hard drive?

Perhaps Ubuntu would just be too difficult to install for a number of reasons; that's unfortunate because it just works on most machines. Try something else - like Suse - you might have some luck with that. The different distributions differ most in their install programs and what proprietary drivers may be available during the install.