I’ve been trying to install Ubuntu 13.04 64-bit edition on an ASUS (K53Z) laptop. I have Windows 8 64-bit installed in a non UEFI mode (I think since it starts-up with the Windows logo and I don’t have the UEFI settings). This laptop had installed Windows 7 and when I upgraded it I didn’t knew about the UEFI advantages. I tried several times to install Ubuntu from a USB device and it loads the logo and then I can’t go further in the installation. I thought it was the version of Ubuntu and tried to install Fedora (even if I personally prefer Ubuntu). I had the same problem: Fedora’s logo appears and it gets stuck. I tried also to boot from different USB devices and didn’t work either. My Bios has EFI options to boot but they were not enabled. So I tried to enable them to boot the USB in UEFI mode. A menu shows up with the options of install Ubuntu and try Ubuntu. If I click the Install or try option, I get a black screen and I can’t go further with the install (which I think is normal since I don’t have Windows 8 in EFI mode).

My hypothesis is that the Bios isn’t letting Ubuntu write or read from my SSD, because the activity LED in the USB memory is on when it’s loading the installation files. Once the files are ready and the Ubuntu logo is loaded I don’t see a LED activity on neither the SSD or the USB.

Thanks If I missed data you can ask me.