Ubuntu 8.04 missing Gnome?

Please press enter on the first row:

Ubuntu 8.04, kernel 2.6.24-16-generic

to start Ubuntu GNOME Desktop Manager

Hope this helps

thanks, now the system loads up the terminal and I see the following

BusyBox v1.1.3 (Debian 1:1.1.3-5ubuntu12) Built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.

(initramfs) _

i typed in 'help' but still not sure which command I should use...

additionally, all the common linux commands i'm use to like vi, locate, find etc... aren't available in the shell.

Did something in my installation go wrong (even though I didn't get any error messages)? Weren't all the common apps on the installer CD? Did my computer need to connect to internet while installing?

First. Be sure your Ubuntu install cd was fine

Here an how to:

Please make some common check using first boot menu Ubuntu live cd options...

- Please check the md5sum of your downloaded Ubuntu .iso image file, here the https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HowToMD5SUM howto, and compare with http://releases.ubuntu.com/8.04/MD5SUMS

Please also check the md5sum of your self burned cd. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HowToMD5SUM

- then to be sure your ram is ok, boot from Ubuntu live cd main menu and at first showed menu, select the item "Memory test" to test your pc ram memory

Thank you

Ok, I tried your tests and found no errors. Here are the results

1) md5sum of iso matches 8895167a794c5d8dedcc312fc62f1f1f found in http://releases.ubuntu.com/8.04/MD5SUMS.
2) Doing an md5sum on the cd

md5sum -c md5sum.txt | grep -v 'OK$'

gave me zero errors.

3) I did the memory test for 3 passes and there were no errors. Here's what my test screen looks like when i stopped it:

Memtest86 v1.70: Pass 2%
Athlon XP (0.18) 1541 MHz: Test 25%
L1 Cache: 128k 9455MB/s: Test #3 [Moving inversions, 8 bit pattern]
L2 Cache: 256k 3138MB/s: Testing: 120k - 1024M 1024M
Memory: 1025M 557MB/s : Pattern: f7f7f7f7
Chipset: AMD 761 (ECC : Disabled)

WallTime: 3:18:47
Cached: 1024M
RsvdMem: 84K
MemMap: e820-Std
Cache: on
ECC: off
Test: Std
Pass: 3
Errors: 0
ECC Errs:

Do you have any other suggestions?

I can run the DEMO on the install cd and get GNOME. Just not gettig it after the installation.

Thanks helping me out this far!

Please tell
Can you see the GRUB menu ..?
Can you go into rescue mode...?

Thank you

I went to the GRUB Menu, then i went into Rescue Mode.

It took a while, but it finally loaded. This is what I see

Check root = bootarg cat /proc/cmdline
or missing modules, devices: cat /proc/modules ls /dev
ALERT! /dev/disk/by-uuid/2da5b10c-e422-4a40-b122-0382fca778e3 does not exist. Dropping to a shell!

BusyBox v1.1.3 (Debian 1:1.1.3-5ubuntu12) Built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.

(initramfs) _

Is this the very first time you boot form a fresh Ubuntu 8.04 installation...?
Or do you have edited the /boot/grub/menu.lst or the bios setup or have you changed physically the hard disk order (moving the cable connection)...?

Thank you

Yes, this is first time I boot from a fresh Ubuntu 8.04 installation.

No, I have not editted any files.

Yes, prior to installation, I was moving hard disk order around, and trying different ide cable connections.

Hmm...thanks marcobra, you gave me some ideas. Let me put my hard disk order back to what it use to be, then do a fresh install again.

Finally I got it working! Thanks marcobra!

My issue is related to a previous question #30574 "unable to read partition table (IDE) under 8.0.4", and i followed the solution the original poster used.

After installing, I still couldn't get gnome to show up. So then i tried different IDE cable connection combinations and moved the HD jumper around. Everything worked when i connected my HD as primary slave.

I have no idea why this worked, im just glad it's done with.

Thanks for all your help marcobra!

Thanks marcobra, that solved my question.

mozzy,
i am brand new to linux as well, but i do recall reading somewhere that linux maps/mounts drives based on physical location instead of the set "boot sequence" like windows. I think i saw this info at www.linux.org in the documentaion or tutorial section. i am sure the veterans can explain this better than i did, but i wanted to throw in my 2 cents worth.

good luck and enjoy.