Locked out of laptop. Maybe Ubuntu, maybe Red Hat

Support and Help
1

Ubuntu Version

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

Desktop Environment (if applicable)

Other

Problem Description

Greetings all. I am new to the community. Day 1. I am a student at Daytona State. I have some level of programming but I have not programmed in Decades (LOL). I have a problem and wanted to ask the community at large.

My spouse bought me an Unbuntu laptop and I attempted to install RedHat on it and now I am locked out of my laptop. What did I do wrong? How can I fix this? How can I contribute to the team?

2

The support here is for Ubuntu. If you want to replace it with RedHat then it makes more sense to look for RedHat support, I think.

2 Likes
4

The question, as currently written, as too vague to be answerable.

It’s unclear what leads you to believe that Ubuntu is responsible for locking you out, or how you might be locked out. There are many possibilities.

Please keep in mind that we are not in the room with you. We didn’t see what steps you took. We cannot see what’s on your screen.

You will need to provide quite a bit more detail for us to be able to help you
if it’s an Ubuntu problem at all.

5 Likes
6

I would first like to start this in a different approach. I would like to simultaneously run Ubuntu & RedHat. I clearly made some mistakes try to install RedHat onto Ubuntu Laptop. I was given the impression that “ 
all a user needs to do is download RedHat onto a Ubuntu laptop and the world would be full of rainbows and sunshine”. LOL on me!

7

We are still missing essential information needed to help

What are the laptop specifications and make and model?

How exactly did you try and install Redhat? Please be as specific as possible.

Do you have access to a Ubuntu live medium, USB or DVD?

2 Likes
8

The most essential information is what “locked out of laptop” means. So far it was not explained.

1 Like
9

I received my laptop as a present for my Incarnation Day / Birthday present. I set up root and one user. Next I went to RedHat. At the time I was working for the U S Navy and they wanted me to take the admin 1 & 2 course. On the RedHat web site I downloaded the TLS version and then I stepped away from my laptop. Upon return I was asked to log on and from that point on I have not been able to access my laptop.
Now I did make it to the bios but again I am coming from a Microsoft government environment which is extremely secure to an un-secure environement. I am used to DHCP, IAM, etc. I am almost positive 111 111 111 means everyone can read, write, and execute. This is as far as I can go with Unix/Linix/Ubuntu.

Make Asus
Model# E410KA-PM464

Does this help at all?

10

The information you are posting is not useful for anyone to help so let’s start at the beginning. You say you got a laptop with Ubuntu preinstalled so did you ever successfully boot it? Did you create a primary user which would have root/sudo permissions? Have you ever used any Linux OS? Do you know what the purpose of root/sudo are? Did you read anything regarding using Ubuntu?

Many users run different Linux OS’s on the same machine so that is not difficult. If you have Ubuntu or any Linux OS already installed, you need to create free space on which to install another OS, did you do that? The general process is to download an iso file (of Red Hat in your case) then write it to a DVD/USB and boot the DVD/USB and proceed with the installation. You cannot simply download an iso file as that will do nothing.

You indicate that when you first got the laptop you set up root and one user. That is not recommended with Ubuntu as the root user is disabled by default and the primary user has root/sudo permissions.

Have you read the Ubuntu Desktop Guide at the lin below which would be a good starting point.

https://help.ubuntu.com/stable/ubuntu-help/

You also indicate you were downloading Red Hat and stepped away from the laptop and when you returned you were asked to log on. Log on to what, the Red Hat site? There would be no reason to log on to Ubuntu as if you were already booted into Ubuntu you would have been logged on and simply downloading a Linux iso is not going to do what you say happened

.

Since you cannot boot Ubuntu on your machine, do you have an Ubuntu or other Linux Live/Install DVD/USB to use as that would be a good starting point.

If you are planning to use Red Hat, are you aware that it offers not support without a paid subscription?

I would suggest you start by reading the Ubuntu documentation at the link below to get a basic grasp of how it works and then find a way to get an Ubunntu live installer on a usb to work with.

1 Like
11

I initially booted Ubuntu successfully. I was able to do little things like create a file, parse directories, delete files. To answer your first question. So I will have to respond to each question individually since my old ifone 13 does not allow me to scroll up to answer all of your questions in one post.

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Yes I thought I created a primary user. That was the first thing that I did but I am not sure if I did it correctly.

13

Hardware can run only a single OS at a time. Are you sure you mean ‘simultaneous’? You want both to operate at the same time? It’s possible using virtualization, but it’s not basic new-user stuff.

This brings us back to what you were trying to do and how exactly you did it, which remains as yet unexplained. One assumes you followed instructions. Please link to them.

Pre-installed Ubuntu does not offer to “set up root” when booted by the first user. That’s curious extra step you took. Why?

Great. Please show us a very clear, readable photo of whatever “log on” screen or prompt that you are stuck at.

I cannot locate vendor selling preinstalled Ubuntu on that model. Your spouse should check with her vendor if the Ubuntu install is somehow custom, or if it’s plain stock Ubuntu. Most Asus hardware uses stock Ubuntu, and Linux bare-metal installs on most Asus hardware are quite trivial.

2 Likes