Hi,
I'm as new as new can be to Linux, my only previous encounters with Linux having been accidentally booting up a Knoppix Livecd that was wrongly labelled Windows XP


However I have been increasingly drawn to opensource software and so i made up my mind to install Linux on my new computer. I have recently rigged up a Core 2 duo based PC, with a Intel DG965RY motherboard.

Well, my problem is that, I CAN"T INSTALL ANY VERSION OF LINUX on my new system.

I have tried UBuntu, Fedora, Suse, each one of them downloaded as recently as november 2006 from the official sites. I checked the CD/DVD's on my older system and they install fine. My older system is a measly 1.8 ghz P4 based system with an Intel 845 board.

I can't even run the knoppix live cd.

The install process or whatever it is, , begins with

Starting Caldera DR DOS..... then it says, after some more text,

oak technology 0T1-011 CdROM drevice driver

Device name: MSCD001

No drives found, aborting installation

Found USBhosts....

Intel corporation 2834 univ. host controller......
..........
..........

USB driver loaded successfully,

could not map OHCI registers.....

Firewire failed to initialize
USB: OK

Serial CD driver loaded

Caldera DR DOS 7.03.......
FAT 32 LFN driver for DR DOS version 1.200

Usage: FAT 32.exe - w....

Search for USB HDD devices

USB devices successfully loaded
No FAT 32 volumes found, exiting.....


NTFS file system found

Partition C D E F installed.....


USB support installed.....


NCWDEX. EXE version 2.81 CDROM filehandler

Driver not found: MSCDOO1......


Now there is a blank screen for a moment, and then,

It goes into command line

DR-DOS A:\>

AND IT STOPS THERE winking at me almost cruelly.

HAving been a windows user ever since i set my eyes on a computer, i'm totally a loss at command line optons.

well there it is, that's what happens with both Ubuntu and knoppix installations. exactly the same thing..


Now what does this mean.. IS there a problem with my BIOS...? My HDD is not recognized..?

Someone please help.
I badly want to move away from the windows hegemony to OSS.
And, I'm posting this message from the same new computer of mine after installing windows XP with no probs whatsoever.

Is that the same output you get from trying to install Fedora Core?

Have you tried windows, just to see if its your hardware? You might want to check your boot settings in BIOS, Hmm.. I dunno, tell me what happens, keep me updated. EDIT: oh I just read the bottom, I think theres a problem with hardware compatibility.

Give Ubuntu Live a try. Instead of downloading maybe order one. I have only had Ubuntu fail to load on a older machine. It can't hurt. I think some of your hardware might be the problem if it is a new higher powered machine. Tim

Jaydoc,
You are definitely not booting from CD or DVD. Your machine is booting DRDOS possibly put on your harddisk by the vendor.
Solution: check the BIOS to make sure you boot from CD. It could also be the case that your CD drive is somehow not running (cables attached?) and the sytem is reverting to booting from HD.
Oh, and don't bother with life CDs on a dedicated machine - just install a proper SUSE/Mandriva/KUBUNTU or whatever permanently onto your harddisk.

Thanks all.


the problem was, i wasn't burning my install cd's the right way. I was using the create boot cd option in nero. and it creates a dr-dos automatically on the cd, and then boots from it instead of linux. That known, i was able to burn the cd's the right way and get the knoppix cd to boot.


But my linux blues did not end there. Still knoppix did not boot.

I have been told that there is currently no version of linux that supports my motherboard, INtel DG 965 RY. i just don't know what to do, except wait.