Redmond Linux will not install
 

I chose Redmond Linux because of it supposed ease but so far I am baffled. I tried to follow the install manual to the best of my ability but partition magic cannot make a "native" linux partition only a Linux Ext2.
I made a 1.8M primary partition (Ext2) and a 300M swap partition at the end of my #2 40gig drive so it would be on its own HD away from windows. I booted from the CD and got a different window than the one in the manual. It checked my hardware said it was preparing to install "Lizard" and then it goes dead. A "no input" warning flashes on my monitor and the screen goes blank. That's it. I want to continue to try so I would greatly appreciate any suggestions.
Is it having trouble finding the partition?

1Ghz PIII
ASUS Culc2
30gig windows drive
40gig secondary drive with a Ext2 Linux partition and a Linux
swap partition
Geraldo:newbie:

a linux native drive is Ext.2 or Ext.3. but i dont lknow what went wrong wit hredmond linux as i have never used it. You might want to think about trying Linux-Mandrake or if you are wishing to dish out a little money try Linux SuSe, they are both extremely user friendly.

Ext2 is linux native, although red hat are trialing an initiative to make ext3 the new linux native (it's the same as ext2 but with a journalling system involved)

i think (dimly) that some of yr hardware is not being recognised. perhaps you have a video card from the dreaded Silicon Integrated Systems. They make hardware that seems to fox linux totally, until people get round to writing drivers.

It's possible that you need to put linux closer to the start of yr hard drive, or change some settings in your BIOS, but i wouldn't go doing that unless you write down all the settings you changed so you can put it back again afterwards.

I recommend getting red hat 7.2 or mandrake 8.2 instead of redmond linux (which i never heard of, but the name sounds a little suspicious to begin with!) mandrake will be at least as easy as windows after a few days, and to be fair, so will red hat (although it is a little more 'cutting edge'). Both the newest versions of those two have built in drivers for the SiS video cards anyway.

Thanks Calum,
I will try your suggestions. Further reading turned up a bit I missed about installing in safe mode if the install hangs during hardware detection. I will persevere.
I checked your music link. Very cool. My partner and I are going to Fraserburgh in August to visit his family and I will visit some aunts in Kent. How's the weather?
Thanks again,
Geraldo

Red HAt 7.2 and Mandrake 8.2 do not support the latest SiS video or sound drivers (sis 650, and sis 7012).

If your BIOS is pretty old, then you might want to either create a small (20mb) boot partition at the beginning of your hard drive, or put linux closer to the beginning of your hard drive.

i happen to have just freed 2 gigs on my hard drive, so maybe i will try to install redmond linux to see what your talking about.

Well, the safe mode left me without a mouse driver so I could not install that way either. This just isn't working...Oh well, nice try. Maybe in a few years I will learn to compile my own drivers into the kernel myself. Until then I guess I'm stuck with Microsoft.

Nope, you're not stuck with Microsoft. There are always different distros to try - give Mandrake a go. Personally I think that Mandrake is more user friendly than Lycoris/Redmond. Redmond is idiot friendly, but doesn't really allow you to be a user, so it ain't user friendly.

Perhaps you could detail us a bit more on your hardware. What peripherals are you using (USB keyboards can sometimes be an arsehole - you might need a standard keyboard to install and make the changes to that you can use the USB keyboard)?

My keyboard and mouse are PS2 type, not usb.
My audio card is Maudio Delta 66
my video card is Radeon VE
my cdrw is Creative
my NIC id Netgear fa311
i don't know what my foppy is
I don't really want to buy new hardware.
I kind of expected that Linux would be problematic, at least I tried. Perhaps when I have learned more about Unix I will be able to master Linux some day.
I just don't think I'm up to speed yet. I'm a musician, not a programer.

geraldo, weather is lovely at last!

Druaga, i am genuinely astonished, after so many problems with my SiS630 video card and linux, i have finally got Mandrake 8.2 and it installed the video card perfectly, i also heard from a few people on the http://ms-eradication.org forums that red hat 7.2 also supports that card. Are you certain? if your SiS card is a 650 or something, maybe that's one that isn't supported while my 630 is? i am really confused as i say, it installed my video card fine, but not my SiS630 modem, which i will have to find a fix for... Also my sound card is a 7018 or whatever you said, and it worked with red hat 7.0, haven't actually tried it in mandrake 8.2 yet, but if it worked with the older version of red hat, how could it not be supported now?

Geraldo, honestly, try mandrake or red hat, or SuSE, or even CorelLinux. I read a review of Redmond linux just yesterday and it seems a little flaky. There's a reason that those big names are big names....

Try something else!
 

Just try another distro! Mandrake's hardware detection is unmatched, excpet for SUSEs' but you can download Mandrake... I tried Lycoris on a pretty ordinary box that has had SUSE, Mandrake, and Redhat installed on it and no dice. I don't dare install it on my laptop. I would recommend that you stop wasting your time w/ Redmond Linux and get Linux up and running w/ another distribution. The important thing is to get Linux running so you learn. Mnadrake 8.2 or SUSE or even the Redhat 7.93 beta are all quality distros

Aaaghhh! ok, ok, I'll try another distro. What are some good sites to download distros from? I have a broadband connection so I should be able to download large files. Any recomendations?

Calum(with one L) Do people often tell you you sound like Sid Barret from Pink Floyd? In a good way of course, I hope I have not offended you?!

Try these!
 

ftp://ftp-linux.cc.gatech.edu/pub/Linux/distributions/
ftp://ftp.sunet.se/pub/Linux/distributions/

http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/ftp.php3
that's the one i use, these poor buggers are going to go bust, their OS is free, but they do ask for a donation.

http://www.redhat.com/download/howto_download.html
that one seems to be the most popular, a bit cutting edge, so you will get all the latest tryout versions of stuff

http://www.linuxiso.org/
that site is the mother of all linux download sites. it collects downloads of as many free UNIX based systems as possible, all on one page! Remember to search out documentation using Google as well, since they don't give you the manuals as such on that site (although they do have some helpful docs about linux in general, and downloading and installing in particular)


No, nobody has said i sound like Syd Barrett! i am well chuffed though that you think so! Quite a few people said i sound like Nick Drake, which i am also very pleased with...