First off, I will dispel the common cultprits. Yes, my montior works, yes my video card works, and yes I have my CMOS options set with the DVD drive as the first boot option.

The problem here is not so much as getting the disc to boot as it is to get it to finish booting. PCLinuxOS, Ubuntu, and SLAX live CDs don't boot. The graphical portions start to display (in Ubuntu and PCLOS) but they freeze partially booted. This has been happening since Christmas when I got my new monitor. Could the display be the culprit?

I am not sure about that last comment, because some distros give me a picture. Fedora Core 6 will load into anaconda fine, but freezes before the menu options appear. The Live CDs listed about show me video as they boot but freeze when entering the desktop.

It is not a common problem for the system as I can boot and fully install Windows XP and Windows Vista. Why aren't these Linuxes (old and new) not booting correctly?

Thanks in advance!

Specs or model numbers please.

Sorry, I'm lame...

Video card: eVGA GeForce 7800GT 256MB PCI-Express
Monitor: Hanns-G HW191-D on DVI

Anything else pertinent?

I have the same monitor, sweet. The widescreen may be freaking the gui installer out. You can install in text mode and then set up xorg.conf for the widescreen. I use a nvidia 5200 with DVI and it works great.

I am having trouble with the partitioning. I am a gamer, so I really need to have XP sitting alongside it. I tried using the GParted Live CD to resize my NTFS partition, but it won't boot visually. I am going to check now for a text version of that application on a Live CD and then I could install a Linux into that freed space with a text mode installer.

I'll report back if I am to find a Live CD to resize that partition. If I can get FC6 back on my drive, I'll post back again and let you know. By the way... yes the monitor is SWEET!

OK, it is not the monitor. It is the video card.

I pulled out my Nvidia 7800GT and used my onboard Intel GMA900 (which uses the open source i810 driver... yay!) and I got a full boot with picture. However, it was VGA and using that output on this monitor looks sickening due to picture distrotian and lack of clarity. When, I put the 7800GT back in, I had the same old problem.

Should I go ahead and install the OS with the Intel card? Can I then switch over to using the Nvidia by putting it in after the fact? Or more importantly, can I install the Nvidia proprietary driver while using the Intel video, put the 7800GT in, and then use it normally?

Am I just asking to many friggn' questions!?

I look forward to a response, thanks everyone!

If you don't ask how will you find out. We have all been there. Many many trials and lots of errors, that is how I learn. Anyway, I would install 2 kernels one for the intel one for the nvidia. Sounds like the distro's you are trying to install are all gui installs. You can install your choice with the intel and then get the nvidia working. It is going to take some reading and asking but it can be done, no problem.

Just in case anyone was wondering, no, it didn't work. I installed FC6 with my integrated Intel controller and all was well until I threw in my Nvidia card. Then, X wouldn't start giving me the error that the controller was missing and it was running a broken screen (0).

So much for that one. Any other ideas? Or, am I just ruined?