All attempts to instal Linux have failed! Please help

Sakura_Fanelia · #1 September 16th, 2006, 12:59 AM

Hi, I'm an engineering student who's had some experience with programming in Java mostly and who will be studying Unix in a couple of months. I've already used Linux some for two of my programming classes.

I want to instal Linux on my laptop. I've installed Windows XP before many times.

My hard drive is already partitioned with one drive having Windows XP on it, the other having nothing on it, not even an OS.

I downloaded Kateos 3.0 Live and burnt it to a DVD as a boot up disk. And I made sure that my laptop boots up from my DVD drive first.

As far as I know, the DVD should start installing Linux as soon as I restart my computer. Instead, what I get is a black screen with a white "_" as a cursor that flashes on my computer at the top left. It definitely doesn't enter installation mode and even when I try typing something, nothing on the screen changes. The cursor just keeps on flashing.

Please, can anyone help me with this? I just want to instal Linux and it's becoming such a frustrating fruitless task.

jmtjet · #2 September 16th, 2006, 04:35 AM

I would change distros. I use and like Ubuntu. Very easy to install and is a full featured distro. Ubuntu comes with a nice set of drivers for most any hardware. The problem you're experienceing with Kateos(not familiar with this one)is most likely related to a missing driver or two.
http://www.ubuntu.com/

SirCave · #3 September 16th, 2006, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sakura_Fanelia

I downloaded Kateos 3.0 Live and burnt it to a DVD as a boot up disk. And I made sure that my laptop boots up from my DVD drive first.

Hi Sakura. (Love your name by the way.)

The first problem is that you can not install a "LIVE" anything. The purpose of a "LIVE" cd or dvd is to try the product without making any changes to your system. You must download and burn the .ISO for whichever distro you are going to use.

The second problem is that installing Linux after you already have a working copy of windows is going to be a chore but it is possible to do. It will just need more work on your behalf and some serious reading / research to accomplish the task. If you want to dual boot, it is easier to put linux on your free drive first, then install windows. But a lot of people have already installed linux after windows, so there should be plenty of documentation available if you use the right search tools / keywords. Google Linux is your friend.

Personally, for your use I would go with Mandriva or Suse. Both are user friendly and set up pretty quickly. You sound as if you don't have the time to troubleshoot major problems. Fedora is not bad either if you have a little time to tweak your system. Good Luck and post back with any other questions or concerns.