Linux Installation problems on a Compaq V3424AU

ashesh0326 · 08-21-2007, 12:55 AM

Hi friends,

I recently bought a new laptop, an AMD Turion 64 based Compaq Presario V3424AU. The laptop came preloaded with HP and Microsoft (Vista) goo, and was not very impressive to handle. But since the configuration was fair, I expected a better performance. (512 MB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150 graphics, and a 2.21 GHz processor)

So, what I did was that I formatted the hard drive (leaving behind the recovery partition as it was, just in case), and first installed XP. Had a hard time looking for and downloading the drivers (as HP does its best to make sure that its buyers are stuck with Vista), and things worked well. My windows installation was on a NTFS partition, and together with that, I made 3 more partitions, all NTFS.

Now that I try to boot from a Fedora 7 DVD and install linux, the installation never begins. I'm greeted with the options Boot from local hdd, install/upgrade ... and so on, but when I select one of these options, the anaconda installer never gets loaded in the first place. As soon as the message 'loading Anaconda' is displayed, the computer hangs and does not respond.

The same happened when I tried installing Suse 10.1, and also when I tried another Fedora 7 DVD.

Can anyone help me out here?

blackhole54 · 08-21-2007, 09:33 AM

I don't know what is going on and I have no magic potion to offer you. But you might try deleting those extra partitions and see if it helps. You also might see if you can boot from any live CD/DVD. Trying to boot from a live CD/DVD might give you a clue about whether Linux is having problems with your hardware.

ashesh0326 · 08-22-2007, 04:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackhole54

I don't know what is going on and I have no magic potion to offer you. But you might try deleting those extra partitions and see if it helps. You also might see if you can boot from any live CD/DVD. Trying to boot from a live CD/DVD might give you a clue about whether Linux is having problems with your hardware.

Sir, the problem has been solved, and it happened without the need of a magic potion. I tried installing with the acpi=off option and things went off perfectly. Thanks for the gesture, though.

balabaskaran · 08-27-2007, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashesh0326

Hello Sir I am having the same problem that you have faced and overcame. i.e., I have MS windows visa preloaded and and feel that the system is slugish on vista. I wanted to install XP. after installing I cannot find any suitable drivers. so I restored the Visa thru recovery.

So can you please tell me how should I go ahead with installing XP and suitable audio video and other drivers.??

Please...

ashesh0326 · 08-28-2007, 12:48 AM

Ah yes, its more than reasonable to be fed up with Vista. I've done exactly the same as you, and true, even I had a tough time looking for the drivers. It seems like HP is trying its best to make its users (who dare to betray its ally - Goosoft) suffer by having a hard time looking for the drivers. All they want you to do is go with Vista.

Anyways, fret no more, my friend. Use the drivers from another laptop which has the same components and XP will work fine on the machine. Try this link: http://www.driversdown.com/drivers/25069.shtml and also this one: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/g...ncodeUrl=true&

Before installing XP, ensure that you have partitioned the HD into as many partitions as you want.

Look for the Video drivers on the Video card website.

balabaskaran · 08-29-2007, 12:34 AM

Thank you sir,

I am now having the 102 GB Primary partition (Factory setup) and having VISTA in it. Please advise how should I partition them?
And what are the other drivers we need to have to support XP?

Please provide me steps to install XP right from the partition,
i.e.,
1. download all driver you want..
2. partition the HD.
3. install XP …
4. …
5. .,..

Thanks,
Bala