no installation hard drive

Are you able to boot into the graphic desktop from the LIveCD?

There should be no prompt before install, just a brown desktop with an install icon.

Make sure you're using the 32-bit Desktop version for 386 PC's. If not, download an burn a new LiveCD from Ubuntu website.

Hej Björn,

I downloaded the Live CD from this location:

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

I assume it's the 32-bit version I have downloaded. I downloaded it with the settings, as they appear on the location given above.

The CD boots in the setup menu, and if I exit it the boot prompt appears. If I press F1 the help menu provides different commands that needs to be typed to reboot the system, but none of that has worked.

I think the problem is that Ubuntu cannot detect my hard drive, and I need to type in the location of it. But I don't know how to do this.

Chris

You say "if I exit the boot prompt appears", but can you start the graphic desktop?

Or does the LiveCD exit into a prompt by itself?

It's possible to do diagnostics from the command prompt, but first I need to know if you're able to start the desktop at all.

If you prefer to continue this conversation in swedish, we can do that. However, that would prevent answers from most other people here in this forum. It's up to you. :)

No, let's just keep it in English. I am from Denmark by the way so my Swedish is not that good.

Anyway, I meant if I exit the setup menu, the boot promt will appear.

By graphic desktop you mean the installation setup menu of the Live CD?

When I turn on my laptop with the Live CD in the DVD drive, it opens the setup menu of the Ubuntu Live CD for installing Ubuntu onto the hard drive.

Pressing INSTALL, however, the computer reboots and nothing happens.

Chris

Hi Chris,

Here's an overview of the graphical install process: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/GraphicalInstall

I guess you never get so far as to see the second screen, the one with the desktop?

I also assume that when you say "pressing INSTALL" you mean selecting the first menu item in the first screen there - "Start or install Ubuntu"? (As you can see, there's also an "Install" icon on the desktop.)

Have you tried "Start Ubuntu in safe graphics mode"?

Also run the two next menu items; "Check CD for defects" and "Memory test". Just to be sure these are Ok.

Why do you think Linux doesn't detect your harddisk? Are there any error messages prior to getting the prompt?
Linux should be able to detect your HD as long as it's specified correctly by BIOS. If you're unsure about that, go into BIOS by pressing the Delete button during bootup. But I doubt this is a problem.

Hi Bjorn,

I have managed to get onto the desk top of Ubuntu so far now (only by using different combinations of prompt commands).

When the live CD boots the initial setup menu (the one before the desktop installer) keeps rebooting when I attempt to install Ubuntu from the CD as well as in Safe Graphics Mode...

The Check CD function does not work, and the mem test opens in BIOS mode (as I believe it is supposed to).

So, I am only able to get to the desktop of Ubuntu when I use the prompt commands.

The problems I then encounter are:

an error during the initial loading saying: intel_rng: not detected

Also, there seems to be a problem with the GNOME setting daemon when Ubuntu opens.

When I try to install Ubuntu on the HD from the desktop, I get about halfway and the installation stops due to an error reading the CD. I have tried to burn a new live CD in x2 speed as suggested by the help function, but I am still stuck here.

Does any of this make any sense to you?

I like the simple design and cannot wait to get the OS running and try it out!!!

Chris, I must say you're a patient guy! Many people would've given up by now. :)

It looks to me as if the CD is the problem, since you can't run the Check CD routine, can't start in safe mode, and read error on the CD during install. But since you've already tried to burn a new CD at lower speed, it's unlikely that it's the CD medium itself is the problem.

I suspect the download ISO image has got some faults during download. I suggest you dowload the "PC (Intel x86) desktop CD" again from here and burn a new CD (at 2x speed): http://mirror.tyroll.dk/ubuntu-releases/7.04/ - also verify the disk image after burn is complete.

But did Memtest report any errors or hang during execution?
Memtest is a text mode program, yes, and it takes a long time to finish, but you should definately run it through to exclude the possibility of memory error being the problem.

Actually, I was just about to have given up...

I tried running the memtest a couple of times but never finished it because - like you said - it takes a long time to finish.

I will try what you have suggested, especially running the memtest to the end.

I need to type in a command prompt no matter what to get to the desktop. I have tried several. Some work. Some don't. I don't know exactly what they do, so I am just sort of trying my way through. Do you have any suggestions which one(s) I should use? If you hit the F1 help button in the setup, several commands are suggested. Some of these work, especially in combination, but still I get the problem with GNOME setting daemon error and the hardware driver intel_rng when the OS is loading.

Tack, tack...

Chris

I don't think it's a solution at all to start the desktop via the command prompt. It won't do you any good, because installation from the desktop fails anyway.

But you may investigate the theory you had about the harddisk not supported, while you're there (you said in an earlier message that you were able to start the desktop through one of these commands). Go to the system menu and start System->Preferences->Control center->Harware information. This will show the Device manager, with all your recognized hardware. Also, you may view your harddisks through the Storage Device Manager (also in the Control center).

From the command prompt, issue the following command to see if your disk is recognized:

$ sudo sfdisk -uM -l

But I think the command prompt you get after an aborted "Start or install Ubuntu" may not have the complete information about your computer. Instead, you should try to use the command prompt from the desktop: Accessories->Terminal.

Don't give up, I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with your downloaded ISO image.
If not, and I can't help you anymore, others here may have the solution for you. :)

Im not sure that I should be answering this since im new here but we had kind of a similar problem. First of all working with windows all this time I wasn't exactly really keen on what an ISO image was. We went to several different sites. I think Linux.com was where we ended up getting the iso image.It said to choose your download mirror site so we choose the one in the US or one of those..We downloaded it and then thought, ok we have it now..Then I burned it to a cd and tried to boot with it.. I have to laugh at this point..What an dummy ? Ok back to the drawing board..I read a little further and found that you have to have a program called an iso burner.its like well a cd burner like roxio that works with your burner to burn an exact image of the iso file.I think the one we got was called ISO burner..If you need it im sure i can find it for you .You open the program and then you go to file and open the iso file and then say burn. Ok you put a cd in that is at least 700 mg and then select a slower burn speed something like 2 I think and then it starts buring a perfect image of the cd that the iso was made from .It will finalize and then you are fixed.

At this point you should put the cd in your computer.Reboot the computer and do whatever it takes to boot from cd..Mine you just press f12 and it says preparing a one time boot menu.>Thank God for that .I used to hate changing the boot order in the bios or setup..anyway moving right along .. it will come up and say boot to the cd or install that is the first selection.Well just take that one.At this point just select that and boom you are there.You can use Ubuntu in many ways to see if you want to make it permanent or never make it permanent. I loved it and never had any issues and finding "who needs windows?" anyway Im like Bjorn.. I would say you must have had a bad iso image you downloaded.Try another site or well could it be that you didn't know about the iso converter burner? Just a thought.Not trying to be smug.. im a newbie bigtime but just thought i would try to help.. Michael

Hi again,

Thanks to both of you.

I ran the memtest and left the computers for several hours without encountering any errors.

I am now back on XP again but are still intersted in Ubuntu, and are now trying to download and burn a newcopy of the Live CD as I believe this has to be the reason for the problem. I will make a dual boot system and have both OS running on my laptop.

Once again thank you so much for your help and hope to be part of the Ubuntu family soon.

Chris

Tried downloading a new Live CD as a BitTorrent and checked to make sure the download was intact.

Ubuntu still wont install when I boot from the CD. When I try to do so, it simply reboots again. Not even in safe graphics mode the install just freezes...

Looks like Ubuntu is not for me... I must search the web some more to find out if anyone has encounted a similar problem.

Thank you both of you.

Chris