HP2000 laptop linux install
 

I purchased an HP2000 laptop 2 weeks ago for the purpose of learning linux...BUT...nothing I download or purchase will boot and run on it. Is there any thing that will???? Must I buy a pre-installed hardware/software set? I heard someone say it was the EFI firmware.

I have never had to deal with EFI myself but this link should help
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UEFI

Quickly scanning through that I note that the computer's BIOS must be setup to boot CD in EFI mode

You may wish to refer to your laptops manual for details on how to do that.

If you are really stuck I can probably get hold of a manual and skim it for you.

PS , it may also be the case that your BIOS is not set to boot from CD at all
You could try pressing F12 shortly after switching on for the 'one time boot menu'.
This feature is not supported by all BIOS firmwares and the Key may be differ, again your manual should help.

Have a look here http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/ & see if its mentioned.

Fast boot will also sometime prevent you from booting anything other than the onboard hard drive.