System restarts when attempting to boot

Boot to the CD in graphical mode, then open a terminal ( Applications --> Accessories --> Terminal).

Make a directory in which we can mount the hard disk by typing this command:-

$ mkdir ~/disk

Mount the disk:-

$ mount /dev/hda1 ~/disk

*OR*

$ mount /dev/sda1 ~/disk

Note: Use sda1 if you have a SCSI or SATA disk, hda1 if you have an IDE disk.

If that command succeeds then:-

Open the nautilus file browser and navigate to ~/disk/var/log/
Grab the file in there called dmesg and attach it to this support ticket.

I'm not entirely sure how to boot to the CD in graphical mode. I get the
following options when booting from the CD:
  - Install to the hard disk
  - Check CD ....
  - Rescue a broken system
  - Memory test
  - Boot from first hard disk

If I choose "Rescue ..." I eventually get a the option to open a command
prompt at /dev/hda1 (or hda2 / hda5). From here "cat /var/log/dmesg" gives
"(Nothing has been logged yet.)", ditto for /var/log/boot.

The only thing that I would like to mention is that the installer fails to
find my network card when installing or booting in to rescue mode. I'm not
sure how it could be relevant but I've now removed the card altogether just
in case it was causing a problem.

On 2/6/07, Alan Pope <email address hidden> wrote:
>
> Your support request #3506 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+ticket/3506
>
> Status: Open => Needs information
>
> Alan Pope requested for more information:
> Boot to the CD in graphical mode, then open a terminal ( Applications
> --> Accessories --> Terminal).
>
> Make a directory in which we can mount the hard disk by typing this
> command:-
>
> $ mkdir ~/disk
>
> Mount the disk:-
>
> $ mount /dev/hda1 ~/disk
>
> *OR*
>
> $ mount /dev/sda1 ~/disk
>
> Note: Use sda1 if you have a SCSI or SATA disk, hda1 if you have an IDE
> disk.
>
> If that command succeeds then:-
>
> Open the nautilus file browser and navigate to ~/disk/var/log/
> Grab the file in there called dmesg and attach it to this support ticket.
>
> _______________________________________________________________________
> To answer this request for more information, you can either reply to
> this email or enter your reply at the following page:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+ticket/3506
>

My apologies, I didn't twig that you were installing the server version which has no GUI.

What kind of computer are you installing on? Do you have any "odd" USB devices attached? A "strange" video card or anything else that might cause wierdness?

It's an old AMD 300Mhz, no USB ports and a I think a pretty standard video
card (I'm at work; can't check it right now). Last night I found some sites
that suggested that ubuntu 6.* probably wouldn't work on a computer this
old. I'm going to try slackware instead. I don't know who if you're the
right person for this, but I think that the installation guide /
documentation should make mention of what CPUs are likely to work (at the
moment it just gives minimum requirements for memory and hard disk size).

Thanks for your help

On 2/6/07, Alan Pope <email address hidden> wrote:
>
> Your support request #3506 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+ticket/3506
>
> Status: Open => Needs information
>
> Alan Pope requested for more information:
> My apologies, I didn't twig that you were installing the server version
> which has no GUI.
>
> What kind of computer are you installing on? Do you have any "odd" USB
> devices attached? A "strange" video card or anything else that might
> cause wierdness?
>
> _______________________________________________________________________
> To answer this request for more information, you can either reply to
> this email or enter your reply at the following page:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+ticket/3506
>

The CPU is actually less of an issue. It's the amount of RAM and disk space that are the stumbling blocks. If you have less than 256MB then it will be a sub-optimal experience with Ubuntu. Here are some suggestsions for what you might do with a low-memory machine:-

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/LowMemorySystems