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 12.10 from www.ubuntu.com. Create a LiveCD or LiveUSB according to these instructions:
For Creating a Live DVD
For Creating a Live Flash Drive
- Instructions for using Ubuntu
- Instructions for using Windows
- Mac computers can't create a bootable USB drive for use with System76 computers.
Once you have the disk made, reboot your system. You'll need to tell the computer to boot form the Live Disk. When you see the System76 logo on the screen:
- If you're on a System76 Laptop, repeatedly press either F7 or F1.
- If you're on a System76 Desktop, repeatedly press F10.
(If the system attempts to boot normally, go ahead and reboot, and try a different key.
Once you select the CD or USB Flash Drive, Ubuntu should boot from there. Follow the on screen instructions to install Ubuntu.
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.
Notes for Gazelle Professional (model GazP8) owners
There is a bug in 13.04 in which wireless on your Gazelle may be disabled by hardware switch after reboot. To correct this, you can restore wireless by pressing Fn+F4 to suspend the system, resuming it, then installing the System76 Driver as below and running the system restore function. The restore function will correct the problem permanently, and remove the need to suspend first.
Install the System76 Driver
Once you have 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 Device Menu Gear Icon in the far upper right corner:
Click on "System Settings". You'll see the window below:
Click on System76 Driver.
Then click on the Restore System button:
The text at the bottom of the window indicates the current status:
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







