Specifically, it's a Dell Dimension 2400, and I believe the Xubuntu version I have is 14.04.

Tricky, I know. It's my little brother's defunct desktop computer, and it's only two years younger than he is (released 2004).* As such, it has 1.5 GB of RAM and booting from USB is not an option.

Right now, it's running Windows XP. Badly. It's really buggy and that's why my brother won't use it even in the absence of other immediately available computers. So we do know the hardware works for the most part--it'll boot to something.

I have a Xubuntu DVD, and the computer has a DVD drive. I can insert the DVD, press F12, and select the drive. Xubuntu boots up just enough to show the boot options/accessibility icon (the keyboard and the circled figure). If I hit enter then, it goes to a simple text menu.

I've tried "Try Xubuntu", "Install Xubuntu", and "Check disk for errors". No matter which option I choose, it black-screens on me then. The computer stays on and the screen is backlit, it's just blank.

The DVD boots up okay on my laptop, and I've run this image on VMs with about the same resources as this desktop box. I'm inclined to think it's some Dell BIOS issue or something. I've taken a peek around the BIOS; I disabled the diskette from the boot sequence (pretty sure this thing doesn't even have a floppy drive) and I think it loads a little faster now, but that's about all I thought worth changing.

In short: A computer that can boot Windows XP and can load a known functional Xubuntu live DVD can't seem to load the operating system part of the disk. I'm posting in the hardware section because I think it's the hardware causing the problem and I'm sure someone here probably knows if old Dells have fritzy issues with this or something.

Here's a three-years-old thread describing basically what's been happening (although I've only tried Xubuntu so far).
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2008880
It got left unresolved in the end. Argh!

I'm down to my last blank DVD and they aren't erasable. Should be able to get more tomorrow though. I might use it to try the alternative text-based install .iso it mentions next, unless someone here says Xubuntu just isn't going to work on this thing and I need a different distro... maybe Lubuntu, or Puppy, or an older LTS Mint or Debian. If this is the way to go, keep in mind the limited hardware (no Unity, probably no GNOME 3) and my level of patience (no Arch or Gentoo).

I got this to work on my dad's computer a few months ago, and it's just a little younger than this one...

Any takers?

-----

*I'm trying to encourage him to learn programming, but his old laptop finally fried (the motherboard went out a few months ago and his new laptop doesn't come until a few weeks from now). I have him learning using a Mint VM on my mom's laptop, which he borrows, but it's not a perfect solution because she uses it a lot too.

Besides, programming is far easier done on your own, in an environment you have control over and know well, not in the living room with people around. It'd be great for this old toaster to turn into a workable programming box that he can mess around with.

this one,
enough to run some sort of linux.
this is good!
try hitting some sort of extra options in that menu, and load it in failsafe, or fallback graphic driver or something. use your imagination and detection skills, i'm sure you'll find something.
maybe you have to reboot a few times before you find the right mode.

so, my suspicion is that it's actually the graphics that don't take.

try that, if you still can't get it to work, there's still plenty of other things, and other distros you can try.

(personally i think xubuntu might run a tad sluggishly on that machine)

PS: if you get it working, maybe you first want to boot the live session, and post some terminal output here:

I can run Win 7 on an old Thinkpad Pentium M with 1.5G ram, so a lightweight linux should be no problem. I also think your most likely issue is a video driver. Pity it won't boot from a usb drive -- I'd try several different live distros if it would.

When you boot the Xubuntu DVD and the Xubuntu line is highlighted, hit the e key on your keyboard. The menu will change and use your keyboard down arrow to go to the line beginning with the word linux then use the right arrow key and go to the end of the line and type in: nomodeset
You should see an option at the bottom of the screen telling you which key to use to continue booting, F10?

Not too long ago, I ran Lubuntu with GUI on a PC from 1999 with 750MB of memory. The trick was setting the video mode; there was an option for it at boot time. I don't remember the details, but perhaps googling for it will reveal the solution.

To experiment, you could try setting up Xubuntu or Lubuntu on a small VM rather than torturing your PC (and yourself).

+1

This was my idea as well. Let us know how this works...

Regards...

Thanks for your responses!

That's the one. I'd buy the graphics argument. Xubuntu should be fine though... it runs perfectly on a similar old PC I did this to.

The only graphics-related flag I see in the documentation on the disk is a fix for laptops. I could try it, but I don't think it would translate.

I've /been/ hacking around on this thing. That's why I'm asking; I wouldn't ask a human until I'd poked around and done some serious Googling for at least a few hours. I respect your time--I'm no hardware gal ("programmer not to be handed a soldering iron" would be a better description), but I'm not a noob either.

Video mode sounds promising, but I can't find the option.

It's some issue with the hardware or BIOS on the old computer. I know Xubuntu can run well on limited RAM like this--it'll be something like the display mode or graphics card, or some setting in the BIOS, or some old Dell thing that prevents unrecognized operating systems loading or whatever. A VM running on my computer wouldn't be able to detect issues there.

Or are you suggesting I should attempt to put virtualization software on an 11-year-old Windows XP box? Somehow I don't think that's going to work. I could be wrong though; maybe you know some special virtualization software designed for XP.

And yes, the ISO works fine on little VMs on my MacBook; that's why I originally downloaded it.

However, installing it would be tricky even if you did. The computer doesn't have a functional internet connection. (It did once. Doesn't any more.) Before you jump on me about whether my DVD is the kind that needs an Internet connection--it isn't. It's the full-size one, about a gig, matching the ones available for download from the web site.

I'm not sure what you mean by the "Xubuntu line" that's supposed to be highlighted. I tried hitting e in different places in the boot process and different places in the menu. The closest I can find is F6 and the "More Options" stuff, or hitting Esc when the install menu comes up. The latter provides a prompt that says

boot:

and expects the name of the kernel image.

I'd really like to know where you think I can enter this command, because a post on another forum backs you up. I just can't find the prompt.


I've got a Lubuntu ISO lying around. Do you think LXDE would be easier on the graphics card/video drivers/whatever it is that's acting up? Could try it. I also have a Puppy ISO handy, but I never really got it to function well on my VMs; I'd rather not be responsible for troubleshooting something I don't understand well.

I remembered just now that I have a recent Mint disk sitting around. I'll try that next, on the off chance that it does something arcane slightly differently or has a compatibility mode or something. I'll also triple-check the BIOS for graphics settings. Then I'm going to try burning Lubuntu to a DVD...

...unless someone else has a better suggestion? I'd really like to know where to specify nomodeset.

Thanks for your time!

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1613132

Aha! I think I found some lovely documentation to answer my question. Will report back.

Found the nomodeset option! It's installing now. Thanks for your help!

Cool, glad you were able to find the solution.

If you feel this has been resolved, please mark this thread as "SOLVED" by clicking on "Thread Tools" directly above your initial post. Thanks!

Regards...