sorry... you are dealing with a cherry here.

Results were:

grub> setup (hd0)
Checking if "/boot/grub/stage1" exists... yes
Checking if "/boot/grub/stage2" exists... yes
Checking if "/boot/grub/e2fs_stage1_5" exists... yes
Running "embed /boot/grub/e2fs_stage1_5 (hd0)"... 17 sectors are embedded.
succeeded
Running "install /boot/grub/stage1 (hd0) (hd0)1+17 p (hd0,0)/boot/grub/stage2
/boot/grub/menu.lst"... succeeded
Done.

However still change. When I boot without the CD.. goes straight to the blinking cursor. Someone mentioned on another forum, possible video...? Is it possible that there IS a hidden partition that Gparted could have missed... i know, i'm grabbing at straws here.

Thanks for sticking with it... on the bright side, i'm learning my way around Linux quicker than i would have otherwise.

OK, I'll just quote a previous poster since I'm too lazy too type this all over:
Now here is where we depart from the previous poster. Do not delete that line, just add these at the end of the line:
noacpi pci=noacpi all_generic_ide
Then press enter, then b (I think it is "b" for boot).
If that works, we'lll need to store those arguments permanently in /boot/grub/menu.lst.

I added noacpi pci=noacpi all_generic_ide to the end of the 'uuid' string, and then attempted a boot... still no joy.

Also i'm not sure if this helps, but earlier when I modified the kernel string as the previous posted sugested:the computer immediately restarts...

Aargh. This is what I should have posted:
noapic nolapic acpi=off pci=nomsi all_generic_ide
I seem to rememer that this is what it took to get earlier Ubuntu releases working.

But who can tell. Those optiplexes have unfortunately been problematic for at least three years. What used to work was using the LILO bootloader rather than GRUB - but I'm not sure whether it still does. If you feel like trying, you'll need to download the alternate install cd and make sure that you select LILO during set-up. The install process is much the same, only it all looks far less polished. But hey, you'll experience what linux looked like only a couple of years ago.

Thanks for all your help Jay. I'll give this a try and post results...

I tried the switches you suggest, but still no go. I downloaded the Ubuntu Alternate CD and did a reinstall (reminds me of the old Netware/DOS days). but it doesn't give an option to use lilo. Should I try an older version, or can i install lilo directly?

or should i throw my hands up with this Optiplex and concede defeat?

Didn't you get the screen you can see in the link I am posting here ?
http://members.iinet.net.au/~herman546/p6.html#If_you_choose_Go_Back__to_Install_LILO_Boot_Loader

romad:

if my old man's eyes didn't fail me, one last thing you should do is this--

a) boot from your cd; mount the /dev/sda1 to a point in /mnt
b) chroot to the installed system --this time mounted at /mnt
c) execute: --$ sudo grub-install /dev/sda

if your grub at /boot/grub was properly installed this should straighten everything down to the mbr

Reboot.

hope it helps.

good luck.

Yeee *&%$*&@ Haaaww! Installing LILO has EXORCISED THE DEMONS!! The alternate CD setup actually never prompts for the menu. But after creating the partitions, etc.... at the next screen I chose "Go Back" and there was the menu that you linked in your last post. WORKED THE FIRST TIME!

Thanks for everyone's help on this, I'm looking forward to a long loving relationship with Linux.

Cheers,

I would recommend that you do a little extra research on LILO because there is a hidden catch. GRUB is fully automated and will update itself each time a new kernel is installed - LILO requires some manual work.

Duly noted... thanks again for the help