install Ubuntu on a Hp computer with a crashed hard drive with windows OS
 

Need serious help here. C: is 0'ed and i can only boot to MSDOs with floppy msdos bootup on A:. I want to install ubuntu 10.10 and completely erase HDD but the ubuntu disc won't bootup even when bios is set for cd only. I have bought new rope to hang myself so any help is good.
This is older HP pavillion that I have retired but HDD scans out good so I thought i would run Ubuntu only and maybe put MS out of business but not having any luck with install. When booting from HDD error is system 32hal dll is missing or corrupt but HDD C: is 0 anyway. I just want to install so I can play with Ubuntu. Thanx Also I don't see this problem on the forums I've looked at

Hi brucek50 and welcome to LQ,

are you sure, the Ubuntu-CD is a CD and not a DVD? do you have a CD or DVD drive?
Which version of Windows is installed on the system?

If the computer has a floppydrive, I have slightly doubts that it has power enough to run Ubuntu 10.10, could you please provide some information about the hardware?

Markus

Markush, Amd Athelon xp processor 1.8 GHz
512 ddr
sdram mem
80 gig ultra dma HHD
32 mb ddr sd ram
cd rw
dvd rom

Try the other (optical) drive.

files are moved to external HDD and erased from C: drive when i formatted C drive

Do you have a CD and an additional DVD drive? or is it one drive with CD-rw/DVD-r?
Why did you format C:?
Which BIOS-options did you set in order to boot from the CD?

Markus

Markus, Figured since HDD was posting error system file missing that I could reformat to 0 and Ubuntu would then boot but?
I have seperate dvd and cd installs i just tried to boot the cd from dvd but not happening. Might help if I knew commands but?

At first try the other drive as a bootdevice, if this doesn't work, look at the screen directly after the system starts if there is any message about start- or bootoptions. On some systems it is necessary to hit ESC or another key in order to select the bootdevice while startup.

Markus

I downloaded fom Ubuntu 32 bit download sight for cd

Well, that sounds good.
Did you burn the image correctly in order to create a bootable CD?
Can you see the files of the Ubuntu-CD in the Windows-explorer when you insert it in your Windowscomputer?

Markus

disabled all but cd startup and Ubuntu is in the cd player and i have received message DISK BOOT FAILURE insert system disk and press enter. I took the MSDOS bootup out of the floppy and disabled floppy

Well, if there's no floppy in the drive and you get the messagethis means, that the CD is not bootable. Please insert the CD into your Windows-PC and look in the explorer which files you can see.

What do you see???

Markus

ubuntu-10.10-desktop-i386.iso 693 MB Can't open files as no program to open

Well, you didn't burn the isofile as bootable CD, thats the failure.

Which burningprogram are you using on your Windows computer?

You'll have to open the program, for example Nero or CDburnerXP and then select "burn isoimage". The program will ask for the isofile and you'll have to select the isofile. Burn as slow as possible.

Markus

will try reburn on iso and give it a try. thanks for your help if i don't see u soon havee a great day, nite or? Raining here in sunny central Kali-fornia. Have a good one