I recently faced a situation where my Windows installation got corrupted, which prompted me to consider switching to Linux. After some thought, I decided to try Ubuntu since it seems to have great support. However, I'm running into serious problems trying to install it. I've attempted to create a bootable USB using BalenaEtcher, but I'm greeted with a "ZSTD-compressed data is corrupt -- System halted" error. This same error pops up when I try to install PopOS, which a friend suggested.
Initially, I was using an old USB drive, but thinking it could be the culprit, I bought a new SanDisk USB, set it up with Ventoy for multiple ISO options, and attempted to boot again—only to encounter the same issue.
I suspect there might be hardware problems since I have a B550 Aorus Elite V2 motherboard with 64GB of DDR-3600 RAM, but when all four sticks are in, I had trouble. I tested each stick individually, and they passed. There was a mention online that this motherboard has issues recognizing more than 32GB of RAM and could behave weirdly above 2666MHz. I modified the settings in the BIOS to reduce the speed to 2600MHz and increased the RAM voltage slightly to 1.25V, and everything passed the Memtest. Still, I can't get the installation going.
Ironically, the first time I tried to install Ubuntu, it worked without the ZSTD error, but I had other connectivity issues, specifically my WiFi not connecting to my home network despite detecting it. Restarting the reinstall is where I've hit this error. I'm not very experienced with troubleshooting, so I'd appreciate any suggestions along with step-by-step instructions if possible!
2 Answers
First off, ensure that the ISO file you've downloaded is not corrupted. You can check this by verifying the checksum—use the `Get-FileHash` command in PowerShell if you still have access to a Windows machine. This will help confirm the file integrity.
Next, try using Rufus instead of BalenaEtcher to create the bootable USB. It might give you better results.
Once you’re ready to install, it’s a good idea to connect through an Ethernet cable initially. Wireless can be trickier to set up without a proper installation. If Ethernet isn’t available, see if you can use a docking station to connect your PC to a wired network.
To troubleshoot the WiFi, once you're in the installation, you can open a terminal and use `lspci` and `lsusb` to identify your WiFi hardware, which will help you find the right software packages to get your wireless running smoothly.
It's great that you’re diving into Linux! Sounds like you’ve already tried a lot of troubleshooting. Since you mentioned successfully installing Ubuntu at first, perhaps try a different version or re-download the ISO in case the file got corrupted during the download process. Also, it may help to stick with wired for now until you get everything running.
If you're stuck without any OS, you might want to look into a recovery drive or another computer for installing the OS or handling your USB setup. And remember, it’s okay to take your time with troubleshooting—everyone faces these hurdles when learning something new!
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