The reason I am using Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin is my favorite distros would not boot. I first tried Blackbuntu a few months ago. When I would boot the OS I would get a frozen screen of static and it just stayed like that. I then decided I would just run Ubuntu 10.04 and after the splash screen I would get just a blank black screen. When I inquired at the Ubuntu Forums they told me 10.04 was not compatible with my motherboard because the BIOS on my motherboard is a UEFI BIOS v2.6. I was suggested to use Ubuntu 12.04 because UEFI support was standard with this OS version and it was a beautiful install it was! I love this motherboard! Its amazing, light weight, fast, 4xUSB 3.0 ports, 8xUSB 2.0 ports, dual-core processor, high definition audio, integrated Radeon graphics, it seems to almost have everything! In fact its so nice, its 'TOO NEW' for older operating systems!! Well, actually, its just that the type of BIOS that it is being UEFI means that unless a distro has signed up with the UEFI company (in this case I believe that this is Intel) then that OS cannot be supported by a UEFI BIOS !o.O! Uh-oh, well what does this mean if you want to dual-boot an OS that is signed up to this UEFI feature, but also an OS that hasn't? And what is UEFI anyway?
Well what they want to do is make a faster booting computer which UEFI can do. UEFI also has a feature that makes your system more secure against malicious programming. UEFI is in essence a safety measure which Linux is all for, but we are a little behind with so many thousands of distros. Cononical is up-to-date right now, as well as Fedora, although this is quite a recent turn of events. I guess the pioneers of the UEFI system is Microsoft for the creation of Windows 8, and even Windows systems using UEFI is limited such as Vista, and I think only 1 version of Win 7 (although that could be a miscalculation so please don't hold that to me). UEFI stands for Unified Extensible Firmware Interface and according to the wiki UEFI can support remote assistance on a system even without an OS present apparently.
My trouble is updating my UEFI BIOS. The reason is the updates on the disk were made for Windows and since I am not a native Windows girl I have to figure things out on a more manual basis- which is why we love Linux anyways isn't it?! And besides that *ahem* I seem to have misplaced my CD drive... by that I mean I bought a nice DVD burner a few years back which was in this computer I last remember, but its not there anymore and I'm still looking for it before I end up just buying a new one - external drive is what I am setting my sights on. It wouldn't make sense though that what the problem is for installing an OS on a UEFI BIOS has to do with updating the motherboard when the OS I'm using now is working great and I haven't run the disk. I do believe however this is something I need to invest some time researching. Linux has patched a workaround for dual-booting OS's that are not signed with UEFI with one that is. That has to do with something called disabling "secure boot".
And that's basically where I'm at now and has brought me back to you. I have been reading non-stop for 3 days now. I needed to install Back Track 5 to use a program there and I was never able to get to the BT5 desktop. Same as with my other OS's I reached the grub menu and then that would boot into a pitch black blank screen! Therefore I have learned so much about my motherboard yet still feel like I do not understand the lot of it. So thats why I am back here. Because writing it out helps me put what I have learned into perspective and as well I always imagine someone in my shoes who isn't up-to-date with all the catchy lingo, or hasn't really been able to understand all the advanced information that this type of documentation presents. I like to think of my blogs as very thoroughly descriptive and with a novices understanding that way others in my situation can feel like they are not alone, and that also there are no questions to feel ashamed to ask. With all the geniuses in computer technology its embarrassing to find out that alot of your problems come from not pressing the right button, or even that something wasn't plugged in, but that is a matter of experience, not intelligence... well not always, and that is where my blog focuses on. Because it helps me to help you and also documents an interesting path of a girl who decided to pick up a hobby that made her feel proud.
