I can't get past the command line on my new Acer Aspire. The resource DVD didn't boot, and a bootable CD of Jolicloud also didn't boot. Is there a command I need to give Linpus, to access the CDs? How do I get to the graphic interface in Linpus?

Update: I've set SATA to IDE mode and tried it with AHCI - no help. I've changed the boot priority order, so that the DVD boots first. I have gone to F12 to boot the DVD manually. Still, Linpus loads first, and the DVD stops. I just tried to boot GParted, but the same sequence occurred. Now, I just have this: "Kernel panic = not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block (0,0)"

I can't stop Linpus from installing. It's so fast I don't even have a chance to react.

Did you just buy this computer? Did it ever work properly?

Where did you buy this?----I can't find any references to the Aspire being currently sold with Linux----there are lots of articles that talk about replacing Linpus with a different version of Linux.

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I just got it today. The resource disk it came with did not work. I'm trying everything,

Your system is crashing (kernel panic) because the installation was not completed or it was not properly done. There are other distributions (aka Linux flavours) that you can try to install. If you want a newbie friendly system, Ubuntu may be a good candidate but all depends on your expectations. You can try other Debian based distributions or Debian itself but you need to do some introductory reading to first familiarize yourself.

Please note that if your hardware is very recent, you may find problems finding the correct drivers but this should be temporary.

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Right now I'm trying to install Ubuntu. Linpus just won't let Jolicloud on the resource DVD install at all. After failing with Jolicloud - after accessing the instructions screen and selecting install, the screen went blank twice and there was no activity in the CD drive for over 5 minutes - and installing Ubuntu by USB - after selecting the USB drive to install, Linpus just ran itself and turned off the USB port - I tried to install Ubuntu by CD and got "authentication failure" after an hour or so of waiting. I am starting over now.

I don't understand why I can't do this.

Try debian you only need to download cd-1 & the rest is downloaded from mirriors during install. It appears you're using windows xp CdBurnerxp is a good burning software.

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I don't know to what failure "authentication" is referring. All I can tell you, is with Debian, because I use Debian, you can start by installing the base system which is the kernel plus the basic set of CLI tools, then you can work your way up installing a desktop or window manager after which you can install other software that you may need. If you decide the desktop or window manager does not meet your liking you can uninstall it and replace it with another one. To connect with a mirror automatically you have to accept the suggestion that you obviously want to use one. The website from which you can install Debian is debian.org. Please note that you have to decide what hardware family you are using because Debian can be used on many different hardware families.

If you want a very concise overview of what happens during the booting sequence, this is how a Linux computer boots:
GRUB ---->> kernel + initrd ---->> init ---->> desktop

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OK, so at 3 am I finally succeeded with Debian. Now I'm going to install the drivers that were included in the DVD, and maybe take another crack at Jolicloud - which is what Acer provided in its resource DVD.

Thank you!

I suggest you to examine jolicloud to determine which packages (software, programs) you are interested in. Then navigate to debian.org/packages to search for the same software because it may already be included in the Debian repositories. If you are not stringent about having a particular graphical interface rather than a more mature one, then you should be ok with Debian.

Debian has a graphical package manager (synaptic). To install it run: (as root)
There is also aptitude which uses a TUI which tries to mimic a GUI and you can still use apt-get to install and remove packages. If you want to install from thirdparties (not recommended) you have to use dpkg if they don't mirror their packages in which case you can include their links in /etc/apt/sources.list. And lastly, try to avoid mixing Debian Stable with Testing because that is asking for breakages.

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Debian is running, but it tales at least 10 seconds to load and from the code whizzing by as it loads, there are small errors somewhere. I still can't install any other program or driver, etc., either by USB or CD-ROM. So, again the drivers that come with the computer are not installed. I tweak the boot priority settings and the SARA driver mode, but still the laptop just goes through its routine, ignores the CD, and boots Debian. What am I doing wrong?

If you're installing items from cd you would add cd to /etc/apt/sources.list & you wouldn't boot from it you would boot OS.

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Thank you all for the education and help. After talking to my father who works at Dell in the States, I decided to send the laptop back for a diagnostic, and maybe a refund. I hope either way - computer or no - not to need any more help to install an OS. I'm ending this thread.

Thank you again!

Keep in mind that everyone needs help.
I myself have threads open requesting help.
Stick with it.