Restoring Your System
From Knowledge76
Contents |
Restoring Your System76 Computer
System76 computers use a standard Ubuntu installation disc and the System76 Driver to fully restore your system to factory settings. This action will reformat your hard drive and remove all data from the computer. Backup any personal files in your home directory before installing.
Important Note!
If you recently updated your system, and now it does not boot, you may not need to reinstall Ubuntu. If, when you start your computer, you see a flashing underscore on the screen ("_"), then it is likely that Ubuntu's bootloader, GRUB, was not updated properly. To restore it, see How to Restore Grub Bootloader.
Installing a fresh copy of Ubuntu
Download Ubuntu 11.010 from www.ubuntu.com. Create a LiveCD or LiveUSB according to the instructions on that page, then reboot your system. If you're using a CD, the system will automatically boot from the CD. If you have a Flash Drive, you'll need to tell the computer to boot it. From the System76 Splash Page:
- Press F1 if you're using a System76 Laptop less than two years old (PanP4 and up, LemU1 and up, BonP3 and up, Gazelle Ultra 1, Darter Ultra 3, SerP4 through SerP6, or Star3 and up)
- Press F7 if you're using a SerP7 or GazP6.
- Press F12 if you're using a Star1 Starling.
- Press F10 if you're using a System76 Desktop
Once you select the USB Flash Drive, Ubuntu should boot from there. Follow the on screen instructions to install Ubuntu 11.04.
Important information about Proprietary Graphics!
If you ordered a system with a discreet ATI or Nvidia graphics card, you will need to manually install the drivers for your card to get the optimum performance.
For systems with Nvidia graphics
Upon booting your system after installation, you may receive a notice that your hardware does not meet the minimum hardware requirements to run Unity. This is fine. To correct this, go to System > Administration > Additional Drivers. After the system scans for drivers, select the Version current Nvidia driver and click Activate. When the system has finished installing drivers, reboot your computer to finish the installation.
For systems with ATI graphics
The open source ATI driver is capable of running Unity, which will load by default. However, there are power management and performance issues with using these drivers, and we recommend using the Proprietary driver to correct these. To enable it, click on the Ubuntu button on the top left, then search for "additional drivers". The first result will be "Additional Drivers"; click on it. Let the system search for drivers, then select the Proprietary ATI driver and click Activate. Let the driver download and install, then reboot your system to start using it.
Install the System76 Driver
Once you have the Ubuntu installed, you will need to download and install the System76 Driver. Grab the latest version from here. Simply click on the link, find and click on the second link from the bottom on that page, then use the "Open With Ubuntu Software Center" option:
Once the download is finished, the Ubuntu Software Center will open automatically:
Click on the "Install" button to install the driver. Ubuntu may prompt you for your password; this is normal. Once the process is finished, the driver application is installed.
Run System76 Driver
After downloading the driver, click on the Ubuntu Button in the top left corner to open the Unity Dash:
Type "system76" into the search box. The driver will be the first result. Click it to open the driver:
Click on the Restore System tab:
Then click on the Restore button
When this process is finished, you will be notified to restart your system for all of the changes made to take effect. Go ahead and do so, then you will be all set up!
System76 Driver Information
For detailed information about the System76 Driver click here
