FC5 Install wont get passed grub prompt
 

I have just installed (well to be honest 3 times) Fedora Core 5, using the "Remove all partitions on selected frives and create default layout" option and when all is said and done the comp reboots and just sits at the grub prompt. I have tried a number of things with relation to the /root and such. It just seems to act like it cannot see the drive i have installed FC5 on.

HELP!!!!!!:newbie:

Have you tried reinstalling but setting the partitions yourself? I always have trouble with the default Fedora partition setup.

I had the same problem with Linspire. I wasn't happy about spending $100 only to find it simply didn't work on my machine.

Be aware that there are incompatibilities between GRUB and some BIOSes. There is no easy workaround since you must go through GRUB to boot. Try the disk on another PC and see if you have better luck. Try a LILO install, try another distro on that PC and see if you have better luck. There is unfortunately no master list that I have found that states what BIOSes do/don't work, so you'll just have to experiment.

It may be something else altogether, but there is a chance this is the problem as well.

Hi evanfitz,
I had the same problem that you are describing, after several reinstallations of FC5 computer never made further from GRUB screen, although CD-ROM was first to boot from and CD no.1 was in the CD tray etc...
To be honest, I did couple of more reinstallations of different Fedora versions before the dark GRUB screen appeared, not just FC5...
Get a CD-ROM/CD RW that was tested to work on another machine. I relied on the CD drive from my Windows machine and went straight through a breeze of OS installation. Although it was a bit of a hassle (opening the PC case, screwdrivers, wires etc., like a 5th grade science project), it worked. This appears to be a hardware failure.
If your CD-ROM is first to boot from (arrange it in BIOS) and CD no. 1 is in the tray but you are stuck at the GRUB screen, your CD drive is gone. Keep playing with Linux but don't throw your Windows machine and keep away from Linux advocates... no typos in Windows source of any final release version reported... yet...