I am new to this forum. I hope my information is clear - if not let me know.

I have a 7 year old computer. Specifications are:
AMD 64x2 dualcore 4200 2210.31 MHZ
RAM: 4 G
Video card: Geforce 6100 nforce 405

i've recently upgraded my memory from 1 to 4 gigs. During this process I apparently unearthed a lot of dirt (computer not ever cleaned) and the connection to the new memory modules failed. The technician cleaned the beast and tested my memory and hard drives - all apparently passing with flying colours. Just prior to this I purchased a new internal hard drive and a new dvd drive.

Since the purchase i have not been able to successfully install anything. The technician did not test that drive since I told him I was able to burn iso files. I have tried to install xubuntu, mint xfce, mint cinnamon, vector linux (vlocity 64), windoe 7 and windows xp. In every case I get about 1/4 to 1/3 the way through the installations when either the it freezes or I get the message (ubuntu and mint installations) that I could either have a bad dvd, dvd drive or bad hard drive. I get further into the vector linux installation (54%).

I almost seems to me (with my very basic knowledge background) that the data is being fed exclusively to the memory as VL is leaner than other distributions. Anyway all these partial installations have somehow damaged the boot sector and now the only way I can use my system is through puppy linux which is basically a ram system. Thanks for any help. Let me know if you need more information.

Cheers

Richard

Sounds like hardware problems, which is unfortunate considering the expense you've put into upgrading it.
I'd say return your new HDD and get a refund.

Thanks for your comment. I, however, get the same results when I install to my external usb hard drive. My technician with whom I copied the original message suggests I try to install a old linux system. If that fails, he suggests I should update my bios.

Ah, I see. A BIOS update may be what you need.
If you want to try an older system, give DSL a whirl.

For an older computer like this
try first CentOS 5.9 64 bit ( the amd dual is 64 bit )
if that installs ,then try installing CentOS 6.4

that older nvidia card might cause some problems , but the good news is that it is NOT TO OLD

if it was a nvidia gforce 5 or older ( i have a gforce 2 card on an old machine)
there would be some issues

you will need to use the legacy 304 nvidia driver on CentOS 5.9
http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux-d...88-driver.html

on CentOS 5.9
there is NO opensource "nouveau" driver installed by default
just the 2d only "nv" and "vesa" driver