Ubuntu – Unable to install/boot 11.04 on a ThinkPad L520

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I have just got a ThinkPad L520 and my first step, naturally, is to install Ubuntu.
I've got the 11.04 amd64 Alternate CD, but every time I run anything from the first menu I just get a blank screen.

The weird thing is, I tried the i386 live disk and it loads fine, but I have 6GB RAM and would rather use it all 🙂

There are no error messages or anything of the kind displayed, it simply freezes on a blank screen and I have to do a hard-reset.

I have tried an Oneiric amd64 Desktop Daily, but it suffers from the same problem.

I also tried 10.04.02 LTS amd64, which installed and appeared to work (although it didn't support the widescreen or wireless card). After an upgrade to 10.10, it stopped working. Booting into the newer Kernel resulted in a blank screen, while booting into the older Kernel only gives me a console.
BLANK SCREEN – 2.6.35-30-generic
CONSOLE ONLY – 2.6.32-28-generic

Does anyone have any ideas what I can do to get this working?

I originally thought my problem was similar to the one mentioned in this question, but I have tried this under my console-only install of 10.10 with no luck.

  • Trying to boot with nomodeset from the installer just shows a black screen still.
  • Any of these options get the installer to work: acpi=off, noapic & nolapic

Best Answer

Using any of these Boot Options allows the installer to work: acpi=off, noapic & nolapic.

I have posted another question asking about what they do and problems associated with them.

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