I wanna get Ubuntu

teammatt3's picture

He has: 2,102 posts

Joined: Sep 2003

I tried for the forth time to get Ubuntu installed on my computer I use as a test server. I have installed SuSE, Mandrake, and FreeBSD without a hitch. But for some reason when I download ubuntu, and burn the image, somehow it is getting corrupted. When I try to install it says I am missing a file or some part is corrupt or some other error. Maybe I am downloading the wrong image. The PC has an AMD Sempron 64 2800+ so I would download the 64 bit version right? Can you give me a link to the mirror you downloaded from? Maybe the mirrors I am downloading from have bad files. I just don't know what the problem is.

Abhishek Reddy's picture

He has: 3,348 posts

Joined: Jul 2001

64-bit build should be right.

Could you gather more details about the error you're getting? It might be easier to resolve that problem than to keep trying more mirrors since you've already tried a few.

And have you tried the "alternate" disc?

teammatt3's picture

He has: 2,102 posts

Joined: Sep 2003

Just tried it again to get the exact error, and I guess it's not an error, it just stops when it comes up to the screen that says "Booting Kernel." I let it sit there for 20 minutes and nothing happened. I can type stuff on that screen put nothing can be executed.

Quote: And have you tried the "alternate" disc?

I have 3 discs with three downloads from different mirrors, is that what you mean?

Abhishek Reddy's picture

He has: 3,348 posts

Joined: Jul 2001

teammatt3;208260 wrote: Just tried it again to get the exact error, and I guess it's not an error, it just stops when it comes up to the screen that says "Booting Kernel." I let it sit there for 20 minutes and nothing happened. I can type stuff on that screen put nothing can be executed.

Looks like a common issue: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=187318

There are several suggested solutions posted in that 10-page long thread, some of which work for some people. It seems to be caused by any of a few problems, ranging from distro-specific (mount paths, X11), to kernel and hardware (legacy USB support, DMA, ACPI, SATA/IDE/CD-ROM drives).

So I suggest you read the thread and try everything offered, if you really want to get Ubuntu going. For the most part, the recommendations are to set various boot parameters to turn on or off some features, or to pass path strings. Swapping out drives seemed to help for a few people.

Otherwise just stick with a working distro.

teammatt3;208260 wrote:
I have 3 discs with three downloads from different mirrors, is that what you mean?

If you look at a download page, you'll find three sets of images provided: desktop, server, and alternate. It might be worth trying just to see if you can get the install started.

JeevesBond's picture

He has: 3,956 posts

Joined: Jun 2002

This is conjecture but it seems like that's the behaviour whenever Ubuntu doesn't understand a persons hardware configuration. One person solved it by turning off legacy USB for instance, on others machines it seems to be the hard drive, graphics card etc. Really, what Abhi said. Smiling

This annoys me, I can see people being turned-off Ubuntu and GNU+Linux because of these problems. Sad

Anyway Matt, I'm mad enough to be using the next version of Ubuntu already on my production machine: Edgy Eft. There's a shiny new kernel included that might just work on your hardware. It's called Edgy for a reason though: The Edgy repositories are full of bleeding-edge software, that are supposedly unstable and might have bugs. To be honest, I'm running it and it's a pretty solid product, certainly not seen any random crashes or lost any data yet! Most people on the Ubuntu forums who run it have said that it's pretty stable: http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=271617

My waffling aside, it would probably be a good idea to give Edgy a try, especially if this isn't going to be a 'production machine'. Download from: http://releases.ubuntu.com/6.10/

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teammatt3's picture

He has: 2,102 posts

Joined: Sep 2003

Hmm, just downloaded Edgy (100k a second, it took forever) and tried to install it. This time, it froze up on a blank black screen with the cursor blinking. I ran the diagnostic test and it said 1 checksum failed. Is that enough to halt the install? Would I need to redownload it? Or burn it again? Thanks for the help so far guys! If it fails again, Red Hat is going on next...Smiling

Abhishek Reddy's picture

He has: 3,348 posts

Joined: Jul 2001

teammatt3;208332 wrote: Is that enough to halt the install? Would I need to redownload it?

Yes.

teammatt3's picture

He has: 2,102 posts

Joined: Sep 2003

That's it!!!!!! I can't take it any longer. I downloaded it again, and still got the 1 checksum failed. Maybe I'll have them ship a copy to me and see if that works. But I have wasted too many CD's and time on it.

I need to get a *nix os on that computer because I am taking a Unix class and I need to practice using the shell some more. I think I'll put BSD on again because I know it works, and try a version of Red Hat once the class is over.

Thanks again for the help Reddy and Jeeves Laughing out loud

JeevesBond's picture

He has: 3,956 posts

Joined: Jun 2002

teammatt3 wrote: That's it!!!!!! I can't take it any longer. I downloaded it again, and still got the 1 checksum failed.

Oh my, what is wrong with your Internet connection?! I thought this one was bad for corrupting downloads! Sad

BSD, wow. I've always wanted to try that out. It's a bit less forgiving isn't it? Although I've heard that once you learn it, it's actually easier to administer than Linux. Let us know what it's like!

teammatt3 wrote: Thanks again for the help Reddy and Jeeves

No worries! Smiling

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