[Discuss] Boot issues on Thjinkpad W520 with SSD -- resolved

[gaf at blu.org (Jerry Feldman)]

No. I removed Windows completely. I prefer Linux as my native OS, and if
I want to run Windows I do it in a VM.

On 05/09/2015 11:39 AM, A. Richard Miller wrote:
> Hi, Jerry and All:
>
> Went bad in March, you say?? Was it a Windows dual-boot installation,
> perhaps?
>
> If so, I have another possible theory. We have had a few client
> computers fail to boot Ubuntu, following a recent Windows update that
> disorganized their /GRUB/ boot order and more.
>
> While we use Ubuntu, I believe that this latest gift from Microsoft
> has affected other Linux versions, as well. Our solution was to
> install Red Smith's /rEFInd/:
> http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/index.html
>
> If you're using "Vivid" (Ubuntu 15.04, the Vivid Vervet, released on
> April 23rd), there's another Catch-22, and it's an interesting one.
> The install of /rEFInd/ (and of various other apps) advises that it
> failed to install some files. They are from within one repository
> directory, extras.ubuntu.com - which just went obsolete with Ubuntu
> 15.04! Okay, what's THAT about? Well, it was obsoleted because
> developers wanted its files moved into normal directories, instead.
> And that just happened - except, Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and 14.04 LTS have
> that long-term support commitment to stay viable for five years. So
> extras.ubuntu.com lingers on for them (and, or the time being, for
> 14.10) while confusing the hell out of other users and developers for
> a while to come.
>
> The solution to THAT vivid extras extra (until they straighten out and
> fly right) is to edit the /etc/apt/sources.list file on your Ubuntu
> 15.04 installation. In a Terminal window, enter sudo nautilus
> /etc/apt/sources.list and Delete or comment out any lines containing
> "extras.ubuntu.com" and then Save. Now enter sudo apt-get update and,
> when it's done, Reboot. NOW your /rEFIind/ install will work.
>
> I just explained this at our FOSS User Group meeting, Thursday
> afternoon. Congratulations, Jerry, on your good timing! :-)
>
> Cheers from
> --Dick Miller, Partner, MMS <TheMillers at millermicro.com
> <mailto:TheMillers at millermicro.com>>
>    	Co-Leader, FOSS User Group at Natick Community-Senior Center
> <http://millermicro.com/FOSSUserGroupNatick.html>
>
> -- 
> *| A. Richard & Jill A. Miller            | MILLER MICROCOMPUTER
> SERVICES |
> | Mailto:TheMillers at millermicro.com      | 61 Lake Shore Road            |
> | Web: http://www.millermicro.com/       | Natick, MA 01760-2099, USA    |
> | Voice: 508/653-6136, 9AM-9PM -0400(EDT)| NMEA N 42.29993?, W
> 71.36558? |*
>
>
> On 05/09/2015 10:34 AM, Jerry Feldman wrote:
>> Since this was well within the warranty period I sent the unit back.
>>
>> On 05/09/2015 10:19 AM, John Abreau wrote:
>>> I've seen similar intermittent behavior on four separate systems over
>>> the years. Two I just gave up on and replaced, and for the other two,
>>> I found that one had a cracked motherboard and the other had a cracked
>>> solder joint.
>>>
>>> I was able to fix the bad solder joint, but I replaced the laptop with
>>> the cracked motherboard. If it has still been within its warranty
>>> period, I would have had the motherboard replaced, but eBay purchases
>>> typically don't come with extended warranties.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sat, May 9, 2015 at 7:39 AM, Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org
>>> <mailto:gaf at blu.org>> wrote:
>>>
>>>     Back in March I bought a refurb Lenovo Thinkpad W520. After installing
>>>     Linux, I performed an update. Went to the installfest, worked
>>>     fine. But
>>>     at the following BLU meeting it would not boot. I repeated the
>>>     proceedure a few times, and over a short period of time, the kernel
>>>     would load but would not complete the boot. I had 1 additional issue
>>>     where there was a vertical green line on my display (that was
>>>     intermittent). So, I returned the unit. They sent me a new unit as a
>>>     replacement that works perfectly. So, it appears that the issue was a
>>>     hardware issue. The replacement unit is now running Fedora 21 with the
>>>     latest Fedora kernel. (3.19.5-200.fc21.x86_64.
>>>
>>>     --
>>>     Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org <mailto:gaf at blu.org>>
>>>     Boston Linux and Unix
>>>     PGP key id:B7F14F2F
>>>     PGP Key fingerprint: D937 A424 4836 E052 2E1B  8DC6 24D7 000F B7F1
>>>     4F2F
>>>
>>>
>>>     _______________________________________________
>>>     Discuss mailing list
>>>     Discuss at blu.org <mailto:Discuss at blu.org>
>>>     http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> John Abreau / Executive Director, Boston Linux & Unix
>>> Email jabr at blu.org <mailto:jabr at blu.org> / WWW http://www.abreau.net /
>>> PGP-Key-ID 0x920063C6
>>> PGP-Key-Fingerprint A5AD 6BE1 FEFE 8E4F 5C23  C2D0 E885 E17C 9200 63C6
>>>
>

-- 
Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org>
Boston Linux and Unix
PGP key id:B7F14F2F
PGP Key fingerprint: D937 A424 4836 E052 2E1B  8DC6 24D7 000F B7F1 4F2F