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I have a Dell Inspiron 14R. It does not support uEFI...can I install Ubuntu 18.04 on this machine? If so, what steps are necessary? If 18.04 is unsupported on this laptop, can you tell me which version is?

I've created a "liveCD" from the .iso and it will boot. The install routine starts and at the end i get this error:

Installation failed

Many thanks.

Smokey_Joe
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  • BTW...the "Desktop Session" does load and runs just fine... – Smokey_Joe Jan 02 '19 at 17:24
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    Possible duplicate of [Will my device work with Ubuntu?](https://askubuntu.com/questions/986878/will-my-device-work-with-ubuntu) and [In a dual boot system, how does the BIOS choose which bootloader to run?](https://askubuntu.com/questions/981382/) – karel Jan 02 '19 at 17:27
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    Have you updated UEFI from Dell? It might be very early UEFI, but if you have 4GB of RAM, Ubuntu should install just fine. If less RAM, you may want a lighterweight flavor like Lubuntu, Bungie, or Mate. – oldfred Jan 02 '19 at 17:51
  • Possible duplicate of [Error when atempting to install Ubuntu 12.04](https://askubuntu.com/questions/168330/error-when-atempting-to-install-ubuntu-12-04) – Melebius Jan 03 '19 at 13:15

2 Answers2

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It's Dell. It has UEFI, but the firmware doesn't allow the user access. I'll venture a guess that you're not using a "Guided" option during the partitioning stage, or if you are Ubuntu is not seeing the UEFI requirement.

In either case, try making a 100MB EFI/GPT/FAT32 partition at the very beginning of the drive. Ubuntu gives this option in the for of "Do Something Else..." Then continue the installation.

Sturge
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You can boot either in BIOS mode or UEFI mode. As it's more modern there's loads more benefits to UEFI booting where it is an option but as in your case where you can't you can do without.

When I've had that error before it's usually been due to corrupted install media. I'd suggest you re-create your install media following the Ubuntu instructions here.

You don't need to do anything special for Ubuntu to be installed in BIOS mode instead of UEFI mode, just progress through the installer as instructed and everything should work!

Jamie Scott
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