cant install live cd, wont boot on my computer

dieseltech · 02-24-2008, 07:25 PM

i have an older aptiva with amd k6 500mhz and 4-256mb ram=1gig. i have mandrake 9.1 that i installed from cd's i got from a magazine. it works no problem, now i have tried mint linux, pclinux, debian, vixta and dsl linux, and they all boot to the splash screen asking what linux to run, i hit enter, screen says loading kernal then goes blank and reboots to same screen again over and over. ???

am i doing something wrong?
thanks
chris

Emerson · 02-24-2008, 07:44 PM

By Intel specifications K6 is a i686 CPU. However, gcc compiler used in Linux world assumes an i686 has cmov instruction set. K6 does not have it and (for Linux) falls into i586 class as a result. New distros come built for i686 as minimum.

dieseltech · 02-24-2008, 08:13 PM

so the latest distros should run? i just downloaded most of the above within the last 2 months, and i am in the prosses of d/l knoppix as i hear it has the best hardware support, BTW the cd drive is a magispin cd writer/reader, couple people said it might not be a supported drive, but im not home to swap in another to try.

thanks
chris

Emerson · 02-24-2008, 08:21 PM

Quote:

so the latest distros should run?

Only if they are built for i386, i486 or i586. i686 will not boot on this machine.

dieseltech · 02-26-2008, 08:09 AM

i got knoppix to run but mouse does not work on this machine, and i dug around and found a ubuntu install cd that was givin out at a computer show many years ago, so im going to try that too, as my german is a lil rusty and and i could not get the setup to change to english in knoppix.

thanks for the info

chris