Need help partitioning when reinstalling Ubuntu 14.04
- by Chris M.
I upgraded to 14.04 about a month ago on my HP Mini netbook (about 16 GB hard disk). A few days ago the system crashed (I don't know why but I was using internet at the time). When I restarted the computer, Ubuntu would not load. Instead, I got a message from the BIOS saying
Reboot and Select proper Boot device or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device and press a key
I took this to mean that I needed to reinstall 14.04.
When I try to reinstall Ubuntu from the USB stick, I choose "Erase disk and install Ubuntu" but then I get a message:
Some of the partitions you created are too small. Please make the
following partitions at least this large:
/ 3.3 GB
If you do not go back to the partitioner and increase the size of
these partitions, the installation may fail.
At first I hit Continue to see if it would install anyway, and it gave the message:
The attempt to mount a file system with type ext4 in SCSI1 (0,0,0),
partition # 1 (sda) at / failed.
You may resume partitioning from the partitioning menu.
The second time I hit Go Back, and it took me to the following partitioning table:
Device Type Mount Point Format Size Used System
/dev/sda
/dev/sda1 ext4 (checked) 3228 MB Unknown
/dev/sda5 swap (not checked) 1063 MB Unknown
+ - Change New Partition Table... Revert
Device for boot loader installation:
/dev/sda ATA JM Loader 001 (4.3 GB)
At this point I'm not sure what to do. I've never partitioned my hard drive before and I don't want to screw things up. (I'm not particularly tech savvy.) Can you instruct me what I should do.
(P.S. I'm afraid the table might not appear as I typed it in.)
Results from fdisk:
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sda: 4294 MB, 4294967296 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 522 cylinders, total 8388608 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000
Disk /dev/sda doesn't contain a valid partition table
Disk /dev/sdb: 7860 MB, 7860125696 bytes
155 heads, 31 sectors/track, 3194 cylinders, total 15351808 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0009a565
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 2768 15351807 7674520 b W95 FAT32
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$
Here is what it displays when I open the Disks utility (I tried the screenshot terminal command you suggested but it didn't seem to do anything):
4.3 GB Hard Disk
/dev/sda
Model: JM Loader 001 (01000001)
Size: 4.3 GB (4,294,967,296 bytes)
Serial Number: 01234123412341234
Assessment: SMART is not supported
Volumes
Size: 4.3 GB (4,294,967,296 bytes)
Device: /dev/sda
Contents: Unknown
(There is a button in the utility that when you click it gives the following options:
Format...
Create Disk Image...
Restore Disk Image...
Benchmark
but SMART Data & Self-Tests... is dimmed out)
When I hit F9 Change Boot Device Order, it shows the hard drive as:
SATA:PM-JM Loader 001
When I hit F10 to get me into the BIOS Setup Utility, under Diagnostic it shows:
Primary Hard Disk Self Test Not Support
NetworkManager Tool
State: disconnected
Device: eth0
Type: Wired
Driver: atl1c
State: unavailable
Default: no
HW Address: 00:26:55:B0:7F:0C
Capabilities:
Carrier Detect: yes
Wired Properties Carrier: off
When I run command lshw -C network, I get:
WARNING: you should run this program as super-user.
*-network
description: Network controller
product: BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:01:00.0
version: 01
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=b43-pci-bridge latency=0
resources: irq:16 memory:feafc000-feafffff
*-network
description: Ethernet interface
product: AR8132 Fast Ethernet
vendor: Qualcomm Atheros
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
logical name: eth0
version: c0
serial: 00:26:55:b0:7f:0c
capacity: 100Mbit/s
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation
configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=atl1c driverversion=1.0.1.1-NAPI latency=0 link=no multicast=yes port=twisted pair
resources: irq:43 memory:febc0000-febfffff ioport:ec80(size=128)
WARNING: output may be incomplete or inaccurate, you should run this program as super-user.
