Error when installing: “unable to find a medium containing a live file system”

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Error message:



(initramfs) unable to find a live medium containing a live file system


I got this error while trying to install Ubuntu 10.10 from a bootable USB stick on to Asus X64J series laptop. After getting this error the installation fails to start.



I have used the same USB stick on some other laptops and the installation started as usual. Any help will be appreciated.










share|improve this question



























    up vote
    57
    down vote

    favorite
    11












    Error message:



    (initramfs) unable to find a live medium containing a live file system


    I got this error while trying to install Ubuntu 10.10 from a bootable USB stick on to Asus X64J series laptop. After getting this error the installation fails to start.



    I have used the same USB stick on some other laptops and the installation started as usual. Any help will be appreciated.










    share|improve this question

























      up vote
      57
      down vote

      favorite
      11









      up vote
      57
      down vote

      favorite
      11






      11





      Error message:



      (initramfs) unable to find a live medium containing a live file system


      I got this error while trying to install Ubuntu 10.10 from a bootable USB stick on to Asus X64J series laptop. After getting this error the installation fails to start.



      I have used the same USB stick on some other laptops and the installation started as usual. Any help will be appreciated.










      share|improve this question















      Error message:



      (initramfs) unable to find a live medium containing a live file system


      I got this error while trying to install Ubuntu 10.10 from a bootable USB stick on to Asus X64J series laptop. After getting this error the installation fails to start.



      I have used the same USB stick on some other laptops and the installation started as usual. Any help will be appreciated.







      system-installation initramfs live-environment






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited Jan 8 '15 at 11:10









      LiveWireBT

      20.8k1769149




      20.8k1769149










      asked Nov 30 '10 at 0:09









      dds

      388136




      388136




















          9 Answers
          9






          active

          oldest

          votes

















          up vote
          37
          down vote



          accepted










          For me changing from USB 3.0 socket to 2.0 helped. I'm using 10.04 Ubuntu on Asus 1015PEM.






          share|improve this answer
















          • 3




            Having no USB2.0 ports, disabling USB 3 in BIOS worked for me.
            – Alex
            Mar 31 '16 at 23:38






          • 2




            @Alex But I don't have that option in my BIOS! What should I do?
            – Mygod
            Jul 17 '16 at 14:32










          • @Mygod, really not sure sorry. Are you sure it's not in there somewhere?
            – Alex
            Jul 18 '16 at 7:35










          • @Alex I switched to a USB 2.0 device and started it (not in compatibility mode) and it worked. I have no idea why. :-P
            – Mygod
            Jul 18 '16 at 10:49










          • @Mygod, glad you got it going!
            – Alex
            Jul 18 '16 at 23:11

















          up vote
          12
          down vote













          Here is what I found looking around for this error message:



          Data integrity



          Check that the hash of the ISO you downloaded matches the official one. Also try different USB sticks or DVD burners, there may be data corruption on the stick or wear on the drive mechanics you want to rule out.



          Related:



          • Community Help Wiki: How To MD5SUM

          • How to download Ubuntu over an unreliable connection

          Hardware issues



          To rule out hardware issues you can try a different computer, if available. Remember that you can usually install Ubuntu by installing the target harddrive in another computer and complete the installation there, which may be the quickest workaround in such a situation.



          Cause analysis and general advice



          The cause of the issue seems to be that the USB or SATA device isn't available or detection is too slow at the time the kernel takes over during the boot process, so that it can't find the image of the live OS to load. Similar to the recommendation in the data integrity section above, try burning optical installation media when you are unable to boot from USB and vice versa. If that's not possible because your computer only has USB 3.0 ports and no internal optical drive, try booting from an integrated SD card reader. Also look out for available firmware updates for your computer that may fix the issue. If you are trying to install from an ISO of an older release, then please try the latest ISO.



          As a last resort you can try to use the minimal ISO, which doesn't seem to load another filesystem except initrd but requires a working Internet connection for installation. I would recommend this for Intel Macs from Apple that have this issue.



          Hardware issues on laptops and desktops



          There seem to be issues on laptops from Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, Sony and may be other manufacturers. Non-custom built desktops may also be affected and as far as I am aware this is specific to modern AMD processors.



          Try changing the firmware settings (BIOS/UEFI) for SATA (set to AHCI mode) when using optical media or use another (non 3.0) USB port when using USB, this seems to work in most cases.



          Hardware issues on Gigabyte mainboards



          There apparently was or still is an issue on some Gigabyte mainboards with the IOMMU on AMD platforms (Intel calls this VT-d).



          I found the following post on the forums (1, 2):




          Turns out the IOMMU needs to be enabled in the BIOS. This problems seems to be exclusive to Gigabyte boards.




          As well as this answer here on AU:




          Gigabyte UEFI boot issues - The partition size of the created USB Installer device needs to be under that of 4GB. Others found UEFI/BIOS update solved issue of 4GB FAT limit.







          share|improve this answer





























            up vote
            5
            down vote













            I recieved the same error, “unable to find a medium containing a live file system”, when installing from a SATA DVD drive. Installing using USB 2.0 stick worked though.






            share|improve this answer




















            • I am installing Ubuntu 18.04 form the usb stick. I am still getting this error...
              – Salman Muhammad Ayub
              Aug 22 at 14:14






            • 1




              Hi Salman, this error means that either your PC tried to boot from another disk than your desired USB stick OR that the data read from the stick is somehow corrupted. 1. This is an old question, try to open your own. 2. Try to use your phone to take a photo of your screen when you select the boot device and upload that into your question. 3. Try to write your current ISO to another USB stick OR try to write another ISO to your current USB stick;; OR try to boot the same stick in another computer / another USB port ? 4. Try to verify the ISO written on the stick (dont know how)
              – BogdanBiv
              Aug 22 at 20:05











            • Thanks for the prompt response. I tried another usb stick and that worked fine, thanks :)
              – Salman Muhammad Ayub
              Aug 22 at 20:14

















            up vote
            1
            down vote













            The content of the USB may have been corrupted. I had this about some months ago. If you have a second PC with Ubuntu try to create a new bootable Live USB from System --> Administration --> StartUp Disk Creator.






            share|improve this answer



























              up vote
              1
              down vote













              ya you should first make the default booting device to usb drive. i think you have chosen unetbootin for burning which is not useful i myself faced same problem. use multi boot iso which is good...






              share|improve this answer


















              • 1




                I am not burning anything since I use an USB stick
                – dds
                Nov 30 '10 at 19:39

















              up vote
              1
              down vote













              Assuming that the data on your stick are o.k. (did you try to boot with this very stick on another machine?), check that BIOS is set for booting from "USB-HDD" or something like that as first boot device.



              Edit: I can see this was done. Maybe other BIOS settings for USB or HD access need to be corrected. Your error indicates mounting problems.



              From here we can only guess. Try switching from IDE to AHCI, deactivate BIOS support for any non-existent devices, check your BIOS is up to date etc. I do believe it is some BIOS issue we have here.






              share|improve this answer


















              • 2




                c'mooon... it should be already booted to able to display any error about live file system. otherwise it would continue to boot from HDD and if HDD doesnt have a OS it would say some error other than live file system
                – dds
                Nov 30 '10 at 19:38

















              up vote
              1
              down vote













              You need change your bios from IDE to ACHI.






              share|improve this answer




















              • It should have been a solution for me, but Acer Aspire All-in-One BIOS is short of configuration options. I solved the issue by setting "USB Emulation" to "HDD".
                – Dmitry Fedorkov
                Jun 22 '13 at 2:58

















              up vote
              1
              down vote













              Greetings. I just solved this. Packard Bell TK85. My boot sequence was USB, CD, HD. I changed it to USB, HD, CD and it worked.






              share|improve this answer




















              • I'm installing from a DVD and this advice worked for me too.
                – Mario S
                Dec 23 '15 at 0:48

















              up vote
              0
              down vote













              The thing that solved this problem for me was having the Optical drive plugged into the right socket on the motherboard.






              share|improve this answer



















                protected by Oli♦ Feb 26 '11 at 18:38



                Thank you for your interest in this question.
                Because it has attracted low-quality or spam answers that had to be removed, posting an answer now requires 10 reputation on this site (the association bonus does not count).



                Would you like to answer one of these unanswered questions instead?














                9 Answers
                9






                active

                oldest

                votes








                9 Answers
                9






                active

                oldest

                votes









                active

                oldest

                votes






                active

                oldest

                votes








                up vote
                37
                down vote



                accepted










                For me changing from USB 3.0 socket to 2.0 helped. I'm using 10.04 Ubuntu on Asus 1015PEM.






                share|improve this answer
















                • 3




                  Having no USB2.0 ports, disabling USB 3 in BIOS worked for me.
                  – Alex
                  Mar 31 '16 at 23:38






                • 2




                  @Alex But I don't have that option in my BIOS! What should I do?
                  – Mygod
                  Jul 17 '16 at 14:32










                • @Mygod, really not sure sorry. Are you sure it's not in there somewhere?
                  – Alex
                  Jul 18 '16 at 7:35










                • @Alex I switched to a USB 2.0 device and started it (not in compatibility mode) and it worked. I have no idea why. :-P
                  – Mygod
                  Jul 18 '16 at 10:49










                • @Mygod, glad you got it going!
                  – Alex
                  Jul 18 '16 at 23:11














                up vote
                37
                down vote



                accepted










                For me changing from USB 3.0 socket to 2.0 helped. I'm using 10.04 Ubuntu on Asus 1015PEM.






                share|improve this answer
















                • 3




                  Having no USB2.0 ports, disabling USB 3 in BIOS worked for me.
                  – Alex
                  Mar 31 '16 at 23:38






                • 2




                  @Alex But I don't have that option in my BIOS! What should I do?
                  – Mygod
                  Jul 17 '16 at 14:32










                • @Mygod, really not sure sorry. Are you sure it's not in there somewhere?
                  – Alex
                  Jul 18 '16 at 7:35










                • @Alex I switched to a USB 2.0 device and started it (not in compatibility mode) and it worked. I have no idea why. :-P
                  – Mygod
                  Jul 18 '16 at 10:49










                • @Mygod, glad you got it going!
                  – Alex
                  Jul 18 '16 at 23:11












                up vote
                37
                down vote



                accepted







                up vote
                37
                down vote



                accepted






                For me changing from USB 3.0 socket to 2.0 helped. I'm using 10.04 Ubuntu on Asus 1015PEM.






                share|improve this answer












                For me changing from USB 3.0 socket to 2.0 helped. I'm using 10.04 Ubuntu on Asus 1015PEM.







                share|improve this answer












                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer










                answered Feb 17 '11 at 19:19









                Funbot

                38633




                38633







                • 3




                  Having no USB2.0 ports, disabling USB 3 in BIOS worked for me.
                  – Alex
                  Mar 31 '16 at 23:38






                • 2




                  @Alex But I don't have that option in my BIOS! What should I do?
                  – Mygod
                  Jul 17 '16 at 14:32










                • @Mygod, really not sure sorry. Are you sure it's not in there somewhere?
                  – Alex
                  Jul 18 '16 at 7:35










                • @Alex I switched to a USB 2.0 device and started it (not in compatibility mode) and it worked. I have no idea why. :-P
                  – Mygod
                  Jul 18 '16 at 10:49










                • @Mygod, glad you got it going!
                  – Alex
                  Jul 18 '16 at 23:11












                • 3




                  Having no USB2.0 ports, disabling USB 3 in BIOS worked for me.
                  – Alex
                  Mar 31 '16 at 23:38






                • 2




                  @Alex But I don't have that option in my BIOS! What should I do?
                  – Mygod
                  Jul 17 '16 at 14:32










                • @Mygod, really not sure sorry. Are you sure it's not in there somewhere?
                  – Alex
                  Jul 18 '16 at 7:35










                • @Alex I switched to a USB 2.0 device and started it (not in compatibility mode) and it worked. I have no idea why. :-P
                  – Mygod
                  Jul 18 '16 at 10:49










                • @Mygod, glad you got it going!
                  – Alex
                  Jul 18 '16 at 23:11







                3




                3




                Having no USB2.0 ports, disabling USB 3 in BIOS worked for me.
                – Alex
                Mar 31 '16 at 23:38




                Having no USB2.0 ports, disabling USB 3 in BIOS worked for me.
                – Alex
                Mar 31 '16 at 23:38




                2




                2




                @Alex But I don't have that option in my BIOS! What should I do?
                – Mygod
                Jul 17 '16 at 14:32




                @Alex But I don't have that option in my BIOS! What should I do?
                – Mygod
                Jul 17 '16 at 14:32












                @Mygod, really not sure sorry. Are you sure it's not in there somewhere?
                – Alex
                Jul 18 '16 at 7:35




                @Mygod, really not sure sorry. Are you sure it's not in there somewhere?
                – Alex
                Jul 18 '16 at 7:35












                @Alex I switched to a USB 2.0 device and started it (not in compatibility mode) and it worked. I have no idea why. :-P
                – Mygod
                Jul 18 '16 at 10:49




                @Alex I switched to a USB 2.0 device and started it (not in compatibility mode) and it worked. I have no idea why. :-P
                – Mygod
                Jul 18 '16 at 10:49












                @Mygod, glad you got it going!
                – Alex
                Jul 18 '16 at 23:11




                @Mygod, glad you got it going!
                – Alex
                Jul 18 '16 at 23:11












                up vote
                12
                down vote













                Here is what I found looking around for this error message:



                Data integrity



                Check that the hash of the ISO you downloaded matches the official one. Also try different USB sticks or DVD burners, there may be data corruption on the stick or wear on the drive mechanics you want to rule out.



                Related:



                • Community Help Wiki: How To MD5SUM

                • How to download Ubuntu over an unreliable connection

                Hardware issues



                To rule out hardware issues you can try a different computer, if available. Remember that you can usually install Ubuntu by installing the target harddrive in another computer and complete the installation there, which may be the quickest workaround in such a situation.



                Cause analysis and general advice



                The cause of the issue seems to be that the USB or SATA device isn't available or detection is too slow at the time the kernel takes over during the boot process, so that it can't find the image of the live OS to load. Similar to the recommendation in the data integrity section above, try burning optical installation media when you are unable to boot from USB and vice versa. If that's not possible because your computer only has USB 3.0 ports and no internal optical drive, try booting from an integrated SD card reader. Also look out for available firmware updates for your computer that may fix the issue. If you are trying to install from an ISO of an older release, then please try the latest ISO.



                As a last resort you can try to use the minimal ISO, which doesn't seem to load another filesystem except initrd but requires a working Internet connection for installation. I would recommend this for Intel Macs from Apple that have this issue.



                Hardware issues on laptops and desktops



                There seem to be issues on laptops from Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, Sony and may be other manufacturers. Non-custom built desktops may also be affected and as far as I am aware this is specific to modern AMD processors.



                Try changing the firmware settings (BIOS/UEFI) for SATA (set to AHCI mode) when using optical media or use another (non 3.0) USB port when using USB, this seems to work in most cases.



                Hardware issues on Gigabyte mainboards



                There apparently was or still is an issue on some Gigabyte mainboards with the IOMMU on AMD platforms (Intel calls this VT-d).



                I found the following post on the forums (1, 2):




                Turns out the IOMMU needs to be enabled in the BIOS. This problems seems to be exclusive to Gigabyte boards.




                As well as this answer here on AU:




                Gigabyte UEFI boot issues - The partition size of the created USB Installer device needs to be under that of 4GB. Others found UEFI/BIOS update solved issue of 4GB FAT limit.







                share|improve this answer


























                  up vote
                  12
                  down vote













                  Here is what I found looking around for this error message:



                  Data integrity



                  Check that the hash of the ISO you downloaded matches the official one. Also try different USB sticks or DVD burners, there may be data corruption on the stick or wear on the drive mechanics you want to rule out.



                  Related:



                  • Community Help Wiki: How To MD5SUM

                  • How to download Ubuntu over an unreliable connection

                  Hardware issues



                  To rule out hardware issues you can try a different computer, if available. Remember that you can usually install Ubuntu by installing the target harddrive in another computer and complete the installation there, which may be the quickest workaround in such a situation.



                  Cause analysis and general advice



                  The cause of the issue seems to be that the USB or SATA device isn't available or detection is too slow at the time the kernel takes over during the boot process, so that it can't find the image of the live OS to load. Similar to the recommendation in the data integrity section above, try burning optical installation media when you are unable to boot from USB and vice versa. If that's not possible because your computer only has USB 3.0 ports and no internal optical drive, try booting from an integrated SD card reader. Also look out for available firmware updates for your computer that may fix the issue. If you are trying to install from an ISO of an older release, then please try the latest ISO.



                  As a last resort you can try to use the minimal ISO, which doesn't seem to load another filesystem except initrd but requires a working Internet connection for installation. I would recommend this for Intel Macs from Apple that have this issue.



                  Hardware issues on laptops and desktops



                  There seem to be issues on laptops from Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, Sony and may be other manufacturers. Non-custom built desktops may also be affected and as far as I am aware this is specific to modern AMD processors.



                  Try changing the firmware settings (BIOS/UEFI) for SATA (set to AHCI mode) when using optical media or use another (non 3.0) USB port when using USB, this seems to work in most cases.



                  Hardware issues on Gigabyte mainboards



                  There apparently was or still is an issue on some Gigabyte mainboards with the IOMMU on AMD platforms (Intel calls this VT-d).



                  I found the following post on the forums (1, 2):




                  Turns out the IOMMU needs to be enabled in the BIOS. This problems seems to be exclusive to Gigabyte boards.




                  As well as this answer here on AU:




                  Gigabyte UEFI boot issues - The partition size of the created USB Installer device needs to be under that of 4GB. Others found UEFI/BIOS update solved issue of 4GB FAT limit.







                  share|improve this answer
























                    up vote
                    12
                    down vote










                    up vote
                    12
                    down vote









                    Here is what I found looking around for this error message:



                    Data integrity



                    Check that the hash of the ISO you downloaded matches the official one. Also try different USB sticks or DVD burners, there may be data corruption on the stick or wear on the drive mechanics you want to rule out.



                    Related:



                    • Community Help Wiki: How To MD5SUM

                    • How to download Ubuntu over an unreliable connection

                    Hardware issues



                    To rule out hardware issues you can try a different computer, if available. Remember that you can usually install Ubuntu by installing the target harddrive in another computer and complete the installation there, which may be the quickest workaround in such a situation.



                    Cause analysis and general advice



                    The cause of the issue seems to be that the USB or SATA device isn't available or detection is too slow at the time the kernel takes over during the boot process, so that it can't find the image of the live OS to load. Similar to the recommendation in the data integrity section above, try burning optical installation media when you are unable to boot from USB and vice versa. If that's not possible because your computer only has USB 3.0 ports and no internal optical drive, try booting from an integrated SD card reader. Also look out for available firmware updates for your computer that may fix the issue. If you are trying to install from an ISO of an older release, then please try the latest ISO.



                    As a last resort you can try to use the minimal ISO, which doesn't seem to load another filesystem except initrd but requires a working Internet connection for installation. I would recommend this for Intel Macs from Apple that have this issue.



                    Hardware issues on laptops and desktops



                    There seem to be issues on laptops from Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, Sony and may be other manufacturers. Non-custom built desktops may also be affected and as far as I am aware this is specific to modern AMD processors.



                    Try changing the firmware settings (BIOS/UEFI) for SATA (set to AHCI mode) when using optical media or use another (non 3.0) USB port when using USB, this seems to work in most cases.



                    Hardware issues on Gigabyte mainboards



                    There apparently was or still is an issue on some Gigabyte mainboards with the IOMMU on AMD platforms (Intel calls this VT-d).



                    I found the following post on the forums (1, 2):




                    Turns out the IOMMU needs to be enabled in the BIOS. This problems seems to be exclusive to Gigabyte boards.




                    As well as this answer here on AU:




                    Gigabyte UEFI boot issues - The partition size of the created USB Installer device needs to be under that of 4GB. Others found UEFI/BIOS update solved issue of 4GB FAT limit.







                    share|improve this answer














                    Here is what I found looking around for this error message:



                    Data integrity



                    Check that the hash of the ISO you downloaded matches the official one. Also try different USB sticks or DVD burners, there may be data corruption on the stick or wear on the drive mechanics you want to rule out.



                    Related:



                    • Community Help Wiki: How To MD5SUM

                    • How to download Ubuntu over an unreliable connection

                    Hardware issues



                    To rule out hardware issues you can try a different computer, if available. Remember that you can usually install Ubuntu by installing the target harddrive in another computer and complete the installation there, which may be the quickest workaround in such a situation.



                    Cause analysis and general advice



                    The cause of the issue seems to be that the USB or SATA device isn't available or detection is too slow at the time the kernel takes over during the boot process, so that it can't find the image of the live OS to load. Similar to the recommendation in the data integrity section above, try burning optical installation media when you are unable to boot from USB and vice versa. If that's not possible because your computer only has USB 3.0 ports and no internal optical drive, try booting from an integrated SD card reader. Also look out for available firmware updates for your computer that may fix the issue. If you are trying to install from an ISO of an older release, then please try the latest ISO.



                    As a last resort you can try to use the minimal ISO, which doesn't seem to load another filesystem except initrd but requires a working Internet connection for installation. I would recommend this for Intel Macs from Apple that have this issue.



                    Hardware issues on laptops and desktops



                    There seem to be issues on laptops from Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, Sony and may be other manufacturers. Non-custom built desktops may also be affected and as far as I am aware this is specific to modern AMD processors.



                    Try changing the firmware settings (BIOS/UEFI) for SATA (set to AHCI mode) when using optical media or use another (non 3.0) USB port when using USB, this seems to work in most cases.



                    Hardware issues on Gigabyte mainboards



                    There apparently was or still is an issue on some Gigabyte mainboards with the IOMMU on AMD platforms (Intel calls this VT-d).



                    I found the following post on the forums (1, 2):




                    Turns out the IOMMU needs to be enabled in the BIOS. This problems seems to be exclusive to Gigabyte boards.




                    As well as this answer here on AU:




                    Gigabyte UEFI boot issues - The partition size of the created USB Installer device needs to be under that of 4GB. Others found UEFI/BIOS update solved issue of 4GB FAT limit.








                    share|improve this answer














                    share|improve this answer



                    share|improve this answer








                    edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:24









                    Community♦

                    1




                    1










                    answered Jan 8 '15 at 8:09









                    LiveWireBT

                    20.8k1769149




                    20.8k1769149




















                        up vote
                        5
                        down vote













                        I recieved the same error, “unable to find a medium containing a live file system”, when installing from a SATA DVD drive. Installing using USB 2.0 stick worked though.






                        share|improve this answer




















                        • I am installing Ubuntu 18.04 form the usb stick. I am still getting this error...
                          – Salman Muhammad Ayub
                          Aug 22 at 14:14






                        • 1




                          Hi Salman, this error means that either your PC tried to boot from another disk than your desired USB stick OR that the data read from the stick is somehow corrupted. 1. This is an old question, try to open your own. 2. Try to use your phone to take a photo of your screen when you select the boot device and upload that into your question. 3. Try to write your current ISO to another USB stick OR try to write another ISO to your current USB stick;; OR try to boot the same stick in another computer / another USB port ? 4. Try to verify the ISO written on the stick (dont know how)
                          – BogdanBiv
                          Aug 22 at 20:05











                        • Thanks for the prompt response. I tried another usb stick and that worked fine, thanks :)
                          – Salman Muhammad Ayub
                          Aug 22 at 20:14














                        up vote
                        5
                        down vote













                        I recieved the same error, “unable to find a medium containing a live file system”, when installing from a SATA DVD drive. Installing using USB 2.0 stick worked though.






                        share|improve this answer




















                        • I am installing Ubuntu 18.04 form the usb stick. I am still getting this error...
                          – Salman Muhammad Ayub
                          Aug 22 at 14:14






                        • 1




                          Hi Salman, this error means that either your PC tried to boot from another disk than your desired USB stick OR that the data read from the stick is somehow corrupted. 1. This is an old question, try to open your own. 2. Try to use your phone to take a photo of your screen when you select the boot device and upload that into your question. 3. Try to write your current ISO to another USB stick OR try to write another ISO to your current USB stick;; OR try to boot the same stick in another computer / another USB port ? 4. Try to verify the ISO written on the stick (dont know how)
                          – BogdanBiv
                          Aug 22 at 20:05











                        • Thanks for the prompt response. I tried another usb stick and that worked fine, thanks :)
                          – Salman Muhammad Ayub
                          Aug 22 at 20:14












                        up vote
                        5
                        down vote










                        up vote
                        5
                        down vote









                        I recieved the same error, “unable to find a medium containing a live file system”, when installing from a SATA DVD drive. Installing using USB 2.0 stick worked though.






                        share|improve this answer












                        I recieved the same error, “unable to find a medium containing a live file system”, when installing from a SATA DVD drive. Installing using USB 2.0 stick worked though.







                        share|improve this answer












                        share|improve this answer



                        share|improve this answer










                        answered Aug 26 '12 at 17:12









                        BogdanBiv

                        26629




                        26629











                        • I am installing Ubuntu 18.04 form the usb stick. I am still getting this error...
                          – Salman Muhammad Ayub
                          Aug 22 at 14:14






                        • 1




                          Hi Salman, this error means that either your PC tried to boot from another disk than your desired USB stick OR that the data read from the stick is somehow corrupted. 1. This is an old question, try to open your own. 2. Try to use your phone to take a photo of your screen when you select the boot device and upload that into your question. 3. Try to write your current ISO to another USB stick OR try to write another ISO to your current USB stick;; OR try to boot the same stick in another computer / another USB port ? 4. Try to verify the ISO written on the stick (dont know how)
                          – BogdanBiv
                          Aug 22 at 20:05











                        • Thanks for the prompt response. I tried another usb stick and that worked fine, thanks :)
                          – Salman Muhammad Ayub
                          Aug 22 at 20:14
















                        • I am installing Ubuntu 18.04 form the usb stick. I am still getting this error...
                          – Salman Muhammad Ayub
                          Aug 22 at 14:14






                        • 1




                          Hi Salman, this error means that either your PC tried to boot from another disk than your desired USB stick OR that the data read from the stick is somehow corrupted. 1. This is an old question, try to open your own. 2. Try to use your phone to take a photo of your screen when you select the boot device and upload that into your question. 3. Try to write your current ISO to another USB stick OR try to write another ISO to your current USB stick;; OR try to boot the same stick in another computer / another USB port ? 4. Try to verify the ISO written on the stick (dont know how)
                          – BogdanBiv
                          Aug 22 at 20:05











                        • Thanks for the prompt response. I tried another usb stick and that worked fine, thanks :)
                          – Salman Muhammad Ayub
                          Aug 22 at 20:14















                        I am installing Ubuntu 18.04 form the usb stick. I am still getting this error...
                        – Salman Muhammad Ayub
                        Aug 22 at 14:14




                        I am installing Ubuntu 18.04 form the usb stick. I am still getting this error...
                        – Salman Muhammad Ayub
                        Aug 22 at 14:14




                        1




                        1




                        Hi Salman, this error means that either your PC tried to boot from another disk than your desired USB stick OR that the data read from the stick is somehow corrupted. 1. This is an old question, try to open your own. 2. Try to use your phone to take a photo of your screen when you select the boot device and upload that into your question. 3. Try to write your current ISO to another USB stick OR try to write another ISO to your current USB stick;; OR try to boot the same stick in another computer / another USB port ? 4. Try to verify the ISO written on the stick (dont know how)
                        – BogdanBiv
                        Aug 22 at 20:05





                        Hi Salman, this error means that either your PC tried to boot from another disk than your desired USB stick OR that the data read from the stick is somehow corrupted. 1. This is an old question, try to open your own. 2. Try to use your phone to take a photo of your screen when you select the boot device and upload that into your question. 3. Try to write your current ISO to another USB stick OR try to write another ISO to your current USB stick;; OR try to boot the same stick in another computer / another USB port ? 4. Try to verify the ISO written on the stick (dont know how)
                        – BogdanBiv
                        Aug 22 at 20:05













                        Thanks for the prompt response. I tried another usb stick and that worked fine, thanks :)
                        – Salman Muhammad Ayub
                        Aug 22 at 20:14




                        Thanks for the prompt response. I tried another usb stick and that worked fine, thanks :)
                        – Salman Muhammad Ayub
                        Aug 22 at 20:14










                        up vote
                        1
                        down vote













                        The content of the USB may have been corrupted. I had this about some months ago. If you have a second PC with Ubuntu try to create a new bootable Live USB from System --> Administration --> StartUp Disk Creator.






                        share|improve this answer
























                          up vote
                          1
                          down vote













                          The content of the USB may have been corrupted. I had this about some months ago. If you have a second PC with Ubuntu try to create a new bootable Live USB from System --> Administration --> StartUp Disk Creator.






                          share|improve this answer






















                            up vote
                            1
                            down vote










                            up vote
                            1
                            down vote









                            The content of the USB may have been corrupted. I had this about some months ago. If you have a second PC with Ubuntu try to create a new bootable Live USB from System --> Administration --> StartUp Disk Creator.






                            share|improve this answer












                            The content of the USB may have been corrupted. I had this about some months ago. If you have a second PC with Ubuntu try to create a new bootable Live USB from System --> Administration --> StartUp Disk Creator.







                            share|improve this answer












                            share|improve this answer



                            share|improve this answer










                            answered Nov 30 '10 at 0:25









                            Salih Emin

                            2,3701119




                            2,3701119




















                                up vote
                                1
                                down vote













                                ya you should first make the default booting device to usb drive. i think you have chosen unetbootin for burning which is not useful i myself faced same problem. use multi boot iso which is good...






                                share|improve this answer


















                                • 1




                                  I am not burning anything since I use an USB stick
                                  – dds
                                  Nov 30 '10 at 19:39














                                up vote
                                1
                                down vote













                                ya you should first make the default booting device to usb drive. i think you have chosen unetbootin for burning which is not useful i myself faced same problem. use multi boot iso which is good...






                                share|improve this answer


















                                • 1




                                  I am not burning anything since I use an USB stick
                                  – dds
                                  Nov 30 '10 at 19:39












                                up vote
                                1
                                down vote










                                up vote
                                1
                                down vote









                                ya you should first make the default booting device to usb drive. i think you have chosen unetbootin for burning which is not useful i myself faced same problem. use multi boot iso which is good...






                                share|improve this answer














                                ya you should first make the default booting device to usb drive. i think you have chosen unetbootin for burning which is not useful i myself faced same problem. use multi boot iso which is good...







                                share|improve this answer














                                share|improve this answer



                                share|improve this answer








                                answered Nov 30 '10 at 14:11


























                                community wiki





                                FOSS DIVERSER








                                • 1




                                  I am not burning anything since I use an USB stick
                                  – dds
                                  Nov 30 '10 at 19:39












                                • 1




                                  I am not burning anything since I use an USB stick
                                  – dds
                                  Nov 30 '10 at 19:39







                                1




                                1




                                I am not burning anything since I use an USB stick
                                – dds
                                Nov 30 '10 at 19:39




                                I am not burning anything since I use an USB stick
                                – dds
                                Nov 30 '10 at 19:39










                                up vote
                                1
                                down vote













                                Assuming that the data on your stick are o.k. (did you try to boot with this very stick on another machine?), check that BIOS is set for booting from "USB-HDD" or something like that as first boot device.



                                Edit: I can see this was done. Maybe other BIOS settings for USB or HD access need to be corrected. Your error indicates mounting problems.



                                From here we can only guess. Try switching from IDE to AHCI, deactivate BIOS support for any non-existent devices, check your BIOS is up to date etc. I do believe it is some BIOS issue we have here.






                                share|improve this answer


















                                • 2




                                  c'mooon... it should be already booted to able to display any error about live file system. otherwise it would continue to boot from HDD and if HDD doesnt have a OS it would say some error other than live file system
                                  – dds
                                  Nov 30 '10 at 19:38














                                up vote
                                1
                                down vote













                                Assuming that the data on your stick are o.k. (did you try to boot with this very stick on another machine?), check that BIOS is set for booting from "USB-HDD" or something like that as first boot device.



                                Edit: I can see this was done. Maybe other BIOS settings for USB or HD access need to be corrected. Your error indicates mounting problems.



                                From here we can only guess. Try switching from IDE to AHCI, deactivate BIOS support for any non-existent devices, check your BIOS is up to date etc. I do believe it is some BIOS issue we have here.






                                share|improve this answer


















                                • 2




                                  c'mooon... it should be already booted to able to display any error about live file system. otherwise it would continue to boot from HDD and if HDD doesnt have a OS it would say some error other than live file system
                                  – dds
                                  Nov 30 '10 at 19:38












                                up vote
                                1
                                down vote










                                up vote
                                1
                                down vote









                                Assuming that the data on your stick are o.k. (did you try to boot with this very stick on another machine?), check that BIOS is set for booting from "USB-HDD" or something like that as first boot device.



                                Edit: I can see this was done. Maybe other BIOS settings for USB or HD access need to be corrected. Your error indicates mounting problems.



                                From here we can only guess. Try switching from IDE to AHCI, deactivate BIOS support for any non-existent devices, check your BIOS is up to date etc. I do believe it is some BIOS issue we have here.






                                share|improve this answer














                                Assuming that the data on your stick are o.k. (did you try to boot with this very stick on another machine?), check that BIOS is set for booting from "USB-HDD" or something like that as first boot device.



                                Edit: I can see this was done. Maybe other BIOS settings for USB or HD access need to be corrected. Your error indicates mounting problems.



                                From here we can only guess. Try switching from IDE to AHCI, deactivate BIOS support for any non-existent devices, check your BIOS is up to date etc. I do believe it is some BIOS issue we have here.







                                share|improve this answer














                                share|improve this answer



                                share|improve this answer








                                edited Nov 30 '10 at 21:09

























                                answered Nov 30 '10 at 8:01









                                Takkat

                                103k35244370




                                103k35244370







                                • 2




                                  c'mooon... it should be already booted to able to display any error about live file system. otherwise it would continue to boot from HDD and if HDD doesnt have a OS it would say some error other than live file system
                                  – dds
                                  Nov 30 '10 at 19:38












                                • 2




                                  c'mooon... it should be already booted to able to display any error about live file system. otherwise it would continue to boot from HDD and if HDD doesnt have a OS it would say some error other than live file system
                                  – dds
                                  Nov 30 '10 at 19:38







                                2




                                2




                                c'mooon... it should be already booted to able to display any error about live file system. otherwise it would continue to boot from HDD and if HDD doesnt have a OS it would say some error other than live file system
                                – dds
                                Nov 30 '10 at 19:38




                                c'mooon... it should be already booted to able to display any error about live file system. otherwise it would continue to boot from HDD and if HDD doesnt have a OS it would say some error other than live file system
                                – dds
                                Nov 30 '10 at 19:38










                                up vote
                                1
                                down vote













                                You need change your bios from IDE to ACHI.






                                share|improve this answer




















                                • It should have been a solution for me, but Acer Aspire All-in-One BIOS is short of configuration options. I solved the issue by setting "USB Emulation" to "HDD".
                                  – Dmitry Fedorkov
                                  Jun 22 '13 at 2:58














                                up vote
                                1
                                down vote













                                You need change your bios from IDE to ACHI.






                                share|improve this answer




















                                • It should have been a solution for me, but Acer Aspire All-in-One BIOS is short of configuration options. I solved the issue by setting "USB Emulation" to "HDD".
                                  – Dmitry Fedorkov
                                  Jun 22 '13 at 2:58












                                up vote
                                1
                                down vote










                                up vote
                                1
                                down vote









                                You need change your bios from IDE to ACHI.






                                share|improve this answer












                                You need change your bios from IDE to ACHI.







                                share|improve this answer












                                share|improve this answer



                                share|improve this answer










                                answered Feb 5 '11 at 16:21







                                user10279


















                                • It should have been a solution for me, but Acer Aspire All-in-One BIOS is short of configuration options. I solved the issue by setting "USB Emulation" to "HDD".
                                  – Dmitry Fedorkov
                                  Jun 22 '13 at 2:58
















                                • It should have been a solution for me, but Acer Aspire All-in-One BIOS is short of configuration options. I solved the issue by setting "USB Emulation" to "HDD".
                                  – Dmitry Fedorkov
                                  Jun 22 '13 at 2:58















                                It should have been a solution for me, but Acer Aspire All-in-One BIOS is short of configuration options. I solved the issue by setting "USB Emulation" to "HDD".
                                – Dmitry Fedorkov
                                Jun 22 '13 at 2:58




                                It should have been a solution for me, but Acer Aspire All-in-One BIOS is short of configuration options. I solved the issue by setting "USB Emulation" to "HDD".
                                – Dmitry Fedorkov
                                Jun 22 '13 at 2:58










                                up vote
                                1
                                down vote













                                Greetings. I just solved this. Packard Bell TK85. My boot sequence was USB, CD, HD. I changed it to USB, HD, CD and it worked.






                                share|improve this answer




















                                • I'm installing from a DVD and this advice worked for me too.
                                  – Mario S
                                  Dec 23 '15 at 0:48














                                up vote
                                1
                                down vote













                                Greetings. I just solved this. Packard Bell TK85. My boot sequence was USB, CD, HD. I changed it to USB, HD, CD and it worked.






                                share|improve this answer




















                                • I'm installing from a DVD and this advice worked for me too.
                                  – Mario S
                                  Dec 23 '15 at 0:48












                                up vote
                                1
                                down vote










                                up vote
                                1
                                down vote









                                Greetings. I just solved this. Packard Bell TK85. My boot sequence was USB, CD, HD. I changed it to USB, HD, CD and it worked.






                                share|improve this answer












                                Greetings. I just solved this. Packard Bell TK85. My boot sequence was USB, CD, HD. I changed it to USB, HD, CD and it worked.







                                share|improve this answer












                                share|improve this answer



                                share|improve this answer










                                answered Feb 14 '11 at 0:10







                                user10789


















                                • I'm installing from a DVD and this advice worked for me too.
                                  – Mario S
                                  Dec 23 '15 at 0:48
















                                • I'm installing from a DVD and this advice worked for me too.
                                  – Mario S
                                  Dec 23 '15 at 0:48















                                I'm installing from a DVD and this advice worked for me too.
                                – Mario S
                                Dec 23 '15 at 0:48




                                I'm installing from a DVD and this advice worked for me too.
                                – Mario S
                                Dec 23 '15 at 0:48










                                up vote
                                0
                                down vote













                                The thing that solved this problem for me was having the Optical drive plugged into the right socket on the motherboard.






                                share|improve this answer
























                                  up vote
                                  0
                                  down vote













                                  The thing that solved this problem for me was having the Optical drive plugged into the right socket on the motherboard.






                                  share|improve this answer






















                                    up vote
                                    0
                                    down vote










                                    up vote
                                    0
                                    down vote









                                    The thing that solved this problem for me was having the Optical drive plugged into the right socket on the motherboard.






                                    share|improve this answer












                                    The thing that solved this problem for me was having the Optical drive plugged into the right socket on the motherboard.







                                    share|improve this answer












                                    share|improve this answer



                                    share|improve this answer










                                    answered Feb 24 '16 at 22:35









                                    Phillip Moxley

                                    3071314




                                    3071314















                                        protected by Oli♦ Feb 26 '11 at 18:38



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