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Last active January 20, 2016 01:41
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Upgrading to Ubuntu 15.04 on an Dell XPS 13 Laptop

I figured out why you might be having issues upgraded the operating system. I spoke to our engineers, and unfortunately, with our Dell image there are proprietary drivers and repositories. This will cause an issue and prevent you from upgrading to 15.04/15.10.

If you want to see how the system will operate in 15.10 without installing it first, you can run the ‘live cd’ on the system and see how it works with the touch pad. That way you can decide whether or not you would like to upgrade.

Here is the link for the download: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop

In order to use this, you will need to boot from a flash drive.

  1. Power on the system and press F12
  2. Select the USB device
  3. Select ‘Try Ubuntu without any change to your computer’ it should be at the top.

If you need the steps to create a bootable flash drive: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/create-a-usb-stick-on-ubuntu

If you need steps to burn the Ubuntu image on to a drive:

  1. Insert a USB stick with at least 2GB of free space.
  2. Open the dash and search for Startup Disk Creator.
  3. Select the Startup Disk Creator to launch the app.
  4. Click 'Other' to choose the downloaded ISO file.
  5. Select the file and click 'Open'.
  6. Select the USB stick in the bottom box and click 'Make Startup Disk'.

When the process is complete, you can reboot the system and Press F12 to select the flash drive to boot from.

If the system seems to run better in 15.10, you can do the full install if you would like. I can also send you the image for the Dell Factory Install that came with your system.

If you do decide to install Ubuntu, You will need to make sure certain things are checked in order for the install to work properly with your specific system.

**The wireless driver link is very important and needs to be looked at before starting the Ubuntu install to make sure the third party option is checked.

How to install Ubuntu on a Dell PC http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/SLN297060/en

How to install the Broadcom wireless driver on the XPS 13 http://www.dell.com/support/article/uk/en/ukbsdt1/HOW10806/en

Installing Ubuntu:

  1. Boot from CD
  2. Select Install Ubuntu
  3. Select option: Install third-party software
  4. Select Continue
  5. At installation type: Erase disk and Install Ubuntu
  6. Select Continue
  7. After you have selected how you want the partitions to be, when you get to the end select Install now.
  8. After the install finishes, select your time zone for the clock.
  9. Select continue
  10. Select language and then continue
  11. Who Are you? Input your personal information for the system then select continue
  12. The installation will complete and will ask you to reboot at that time.

If it reboots and does not find the operating system to boot to, please refer to the Installing Ubuntu on a Dell PC.

If any of these commands do not work, please capture the logs and input and send it to me.

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