[device enumeration] 1st Install problems

Could you use a wired connection during install and first boot after install ? So you could load wireless drivers.
I can't manage wireless issue, but perhaps pinkish screen.
When you boot on hard drive and see this pinkish screen with five dots, press <ESC> key and report last messages.
Do you reach a pinkish screen without five dots ? In this case, could you provide model of graphic processor, and try ctrl+alt+F1 to get a black screen with a prompt.

I find when I install from a usb key, the usb key is assigned a slot/number before the target media. The grub config files for the reboot are one device too high when the install media has been removed. To fix, at the reboot, enter "e" without the quotes to edit the grub info. Reduce the hd2 to hd1 (or hd1 to hd0 whatever you have). Reduce the sdc to sdb (or sdb to sda whatever you have). Then reboot with control X, and the first thing when you have a successful boot, start a terminal Controlo-Alt-T and run:
sudo update-grub
Reboots should now work.

It's a new issue with 10.10. The way devices are enumerated changes between BIOS and some software.
And it's a very poisonous bug.
Please, could you mark question "Solved".

I have now been up 29 hours trying to get this to work and so far I haven't seen anything that helps.

Ubfan: I understand everything except entering the "e" (no quotes). Where do I do that? Or should I say how?

Out of 22 tries so far, I've gotten my Internet connection to come up twice. The 2nd time, I thought all was going to work, but alas not to be. I will try one more time, using Ubfan's instruction, but if it doesn't work, I don't know what I can do but toss the whole computer in the garbage or bite the bullet and spend $200 to buy Windows 7. Everyone said, clean new hard drive, dump Windows and go with Linux. Can's say at this point that those who advised me to do this can be called friends. This is a nightmare. I've been loading OS since 1987 and never had I had so many problems.

Is it standard to not answer a plea for help by telling someone to mark the problem solved?

At the Grub boot screen, instead of entering <enter> to select the kernel to boot, enter "e" to edit the boot code. This should be displayed at the bottom of the grub screen too. once you do that, you will get all the code grub will use to boot that kernel, so you can edit this and fix problems. Change every reference of hd? to be one number less, and change every reference of sd? to be one letter less. e.g. sdc1 becomes sdb1, and hd1 becomes hd0. These edits may be performed directly to the /boot/grub/grub.cfg file if you have another linux machine to mount the disk, but it's easier to just fix the one boot, and then run update-grub after a succesful boot fix everything.

Okay i get what you want me to do Ubfan, except the only screen I ever get to when booting is the one that asks me to choose trying Ubuntu or installing it with the language list on the left and the two big blocks with the 2 choices in the center of the screen. I can go forward and reach the desktop with the try choice and twice I've even had wireless connection. Maybe I'm not understanding the terms, when you say "instead of <enter> to select the kernet to boot, enter "e" to edit." Forgive my ignorance at this point. It is a combo of being incredibly tired and maybe too stupid to do this right. I just don't get it.

What you are describing is the install startup screen from the "live" usb install media. I thought you had selected the install button at some point, installed to your hard disk, finished the install, removed the usb install media, and were having trouble booting from the hard disk. The hard disk boot should start with a vendor splash screen, then go to a grub boot screen with a list of choices, starting with two kernel lines, and some memory test lines. Also there should be some instructions at the bottom of the screen to type c for a command line, e to edit, etc. The first kernel line is the default, and is the one that gets edited when you type e. There is usually a 10 second countdown on the grub screen, and after 10 seconds, it boots, or tries to. If you've been up 30 hrs, maybe take a break.
good luck

Another thought -- I think an install choice used to be offered of "boot hard disk". This may still be available if you interrupt the install media startup with function key 6. you should get to a language choice screen, then the old list of options, starting with try out, then install, etc, ending with boot first disk. If you can try this, you may find you can get into linux to run the update-grub to fix the grub installation on the hard disk. If by chance you bring up Windows, you can consider doing a side by side installation, so you have both. I tend to leave the windows disks alone, and install Ubuntu to a 4G usb stick. Runs a little slower than a hard disk, but It's OK, much better than running from the install sticks. Once we get booting fixed, we can look at wireless.

Ubfan: Thank you for your time to try to help me.You are right, I had done the install, but I was never able to get it to boot from the hard drive. I'm not sure if being a brand new clean drive with no other OS on it is the problem or not. I had to replace the drive. This afternoon I found out that the husband of one of my daughter-in-law's co-worker is a Linux guru. She called him and he told me to bring the computer to him and he'd get me set up tonight. So I left the computer with him about an hour ago and I'll get it back tomorrow, so I am going to mark this problem solved and hope the guy really does know his stuff. Thank you very much again.

You're welcome. I just remembered that if you only have one kernel to boot, the grub screen does not show by default, you must hold down the shift key to make it show! I almost always have more than one kernel and I forgot the default for your situation. Your disk was probably OK, just jumping off into never-never land before you got a chance to edit it.
Good Luck