[richard99uk]

Hi there,

Apologies if this question has been asked before. I Googled it but couldn't find a clear answer.

I'm trying to install the x64 version of 15.1 Isengard.

After booting from the USB flash drive (Sandisk Ultrafit USB3.0) I get the Kodi menu, but if I choose either the live cd or the install option, the HDD light flashes a few times and then it all just stops with a blinking cursor.

Unfortunately I don't have any logs to share because it doesn't get that far.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Gigabyte GA-97N-WIFI
i7 4790K
Samsung 850 EVO (500GB)
Zotac GeForce GTX 960
Crucial Ballistix Tactical 16GB

[Soli]

I'd try to disable (or physically remove) the gtx 960 card.
If Kodibuntu then installs propperly, I recommend doing a dist-upgrade, then remove the nvidia-304 driver and install a newer one (at least 346+) from here https://launchpad.net/~graphics-drivers/...ubuntu/ppa
Then enable your nvidia card. You might need a basic xorg.conf for Nvidia binary driver. In that case, this should get you going: http://kodi.wiki/view/Minimal_NVidia_xorg.conf

[richard99uk]

Thanks very much. That got me up and running!

[Soli]

Cool. For good measure you could also install the latest 4.1.x kernel from here. http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mai...-unstable/

Be sure to install the linux header -all and -amd64, and linux-image-amd64. Dkms should automatically rebuild the nvidia driver. You probably won't notice any difference, but if you ever were to remove the nvidia card and use the Intel GPU, then you're going to need the newer kernel to get the best performance out of kodi.

(Don't install the new 4.2 kernel, afaik the nvidia drivers are not compatible yet)

[richard99uk]

Thanks again for your help. I'm having a new problem now.

The install went fine, but Kodi is not loading. I'm trying to login to the desktop to do all the stuff you suggested, but the screen flashes black and then takes me back to the login. I can't login to the terminal because it says the login is incorrect. My guess is because KODI won't load it hasn't completed the installation.

I'm at a loss. Thanks again for any help.

[Soli]

Did you remove the nvidia-304 driver? Kodibuntu only comes with the legacy nvidia driver which isnt compatible with gtx 960. And try doing this over ssh instead.

[richard99uk]

Can I do that in the live cd? I can't get into the terminal when it's installed on the HDD.

Edit: I'm not a total Linux newb, but I wouldn't say I'm completely comfortable with it. I've used the terminal in OS X here and there for ten years and I've been using Ubuntu since Christmas last year.

[un1versal]

Cool. For good measure you could also install the latest 4.1.x kernel from here. http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mai...-unstable/

Be sure to install the linux header -all and -amd64, and linux-image-amd64. Dkms should automatically rebuild the nvidia driver. You probably won't notice any difference, but if you ever were to remove the nvidia card and use the Intel GPU, then you're going to need the newer kernel to get the best performance out of kodi.

(Don't install the new 4.2 kernel, afaik the nvidia drivers are not compatible yet)

No

All he needs are drivers that his card supports and as long as he can get a ssh or terminal he can add a ppa like https://launchpad.net/~graphics-drivers/...ubuntu/ppa and update the drivers and bingo.

[Soli]

No what? I already wrote what you wrote, and I was under the impression that everything was working fine. Upgrading the kernel itself was just for good measure, and assures everything will keep working fine in case the nvidia card is removed in the future.

[un1versal]

His problem is with nvidia drivers, simple, no point going into tangents until the main issue is solved. And hes clearly not getting that fixed at all, thus your suggestion wont work.

[Soli]

Christ... Reread the thread from the start, please. I already suggested that the nvidia drivers were the problem. His post (#3) suggested that everything was working fine. Since everything was working fine, I *then* told him to upgrade the kernel.

[Soli]

Can I do that in the live cd? I can't get into the terminal when it's installed on the HDD.

Edit: I'm not a total Linux newb, but I wouldn't say I'm completely comfortable with it. I've used the terminal in OS X here and there for ten years and I've been using Ubuntu since Christmas last year.

OK, let's backtrace. Assuming that you have completed the installation from USB to HDD. At the graphical login you can choose to either login to the desktop or kodi by choosing in the upper right corner. Remember that for the future in case you want to login to the desktop instead of Kodi, it is also persistent in that it remembers what you last chose, so you have to manually choose between desktop/Kodi when you logout/reboot. Since it defaults to Kodi after an installation, and you did not upgrade the Nvidia driver, it's no wonder that Kodi won't start and you end up back at the login.

Now, instead of trying to login. Either press Ctrl-Alt-F1 or ssh in. Either way you should get a black/white text console login. Login with your username you chose in the install. Then copy/paste these commands (answer yes to any questions):

sudo apt-get remove --purge nvidia-304
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nvidia-graphics-drivers-355 (actually it should be enough with just nvidia-355, but it doesn't hurt to install the whole meta-package)
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

This should be enough to get you running with the latest Kodi stable.

After you have verified that everything is working, you should upgrade the kernel too, since it's recommended for Haswell cpus:

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mai...30_all.deb
wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mai..._amd64.deb
wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mai..._amd64.deb

sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-4.1.6-040106_4.1.6-040106.201508170230_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-4.1.6-040106-generic_4.1.6-040106.201508170230_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-image-4.1.6-040106-generic_4.1.6-040106.201508170230_amd64.deb

[un1versal]

This is what I would do.

Install is complete to HDD blinking cursor > ctrl+alt+f1 or F2 or F3 to drop to terminal without login into any graphical interface, then run the commands soli suggested but adding

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nvidia-graphics-drivers-355 nvidia-settings libvdpau1
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

No purging required, in fact best not imo, once done you should justreboot for good measure and enjoy Kodibuntu.

Once that is working and your happy just leave it, adding non release kernels will mean you will have to upgrade them manually and you wont receive any security updates and sinccee your Linux skill are lacking just stick to system packages.

My advice varies from soli doesn't mean his advice is wrong, but Im of the opinion you need to fix whats broken, once thats done, fixing what isnt broken is just asking for trouble especially for inexperienced users. Also you get less of a positive experience with Linux and start to resent the OS...

Concentrate on the issue and then if you feel like it proceed fixing what isnt broken if thats what you really want to risk.

@Soli no offense, but my experiences is you have to let less experienced Linux users get comfortable with the OS before you ask them to do things they wont be able to get out of it themselves if things go wrong.
Relax and dont take this personally.

[Soli]

Uni: it's all good.. Good catch with nvidia-settings (i never install it since it's basically useless IMHO, and I don't use it plus has a ton of dependencies dependencies.. OK maybe not in Kodibuntu, but at least in Kodi standalone install) Libvdpau would be upgraded automatically with dist-upgrade anyways though, that's why I didn't include it.

And maybe you are right about sticking to the normal kernel. I wouldn't, because it only gave me trouble.. but I'll leave that up to the OP.

[richard99uk]

Soli, uNiversal,

Thanks so much for your first class help. I'm really grateful for your quick replies.

The confusion about being fixed and running was definitely my fault, because I said "up and running" but I meant it had gotten into the installer and was working fine. Sorry about the confusion.

I appreciate the commands, but I've run into another problem. I wanted to try them yesterday but when I pressed ctrl+alt+f1, it asked me for the username and password. Whatever I typed it just said, "invalid login". I'm sure the username and password are correct. I tried it multiple times but I got the same message every time. I had to give up at that point until I could get some more help because I just couldn't get into terminal. I also couldn't reset it via the recovery menu. When I selected recovery menu. When I tried, it just stopped at some point and never booted into the GUI.

I'm grateful for any help you can offer.

Thanks a million for all your support!