Kubuntu - which version and how to get it - avoiding no such partition error
 

I have an old (Pentium M) laptop happily running XP and I have been going crazy trying to put on Kubuntu in a dual boot configuration. (I already did this some years ago on my desktop and it took many attempts also).
I downloaded Kubuntu 12.04 and found it would not work as my aging processor does not support pae.
I downloaded Kubumntu 11.10 and after guessing my way through the partitioning (I've tried 3 times now and it's devilishly slow with a 2x CD drive) I get the well known error: no such partition and a grub rescue prompt. This seems to have happened to umpteen people but none of the answers I've found on the forums explain exactly what the cause is and none give a clear route to fixing it. The easiest looking fix I've seen is to try Kubuntu 10.04 but I can't find the iso for that.
Any clues appreciated please,
Ross

IMO dont even try kubuntu on a Pentium M laptop. All the currely supported versions of kubuntu use KDE 4.X, and KDE 4.X does not run well on older, low spec systems.

If you really want to try kubuntu 10.04 there are .isos up here-

http://mirror.umd.edu/ubuntu-iso/kubuntu/10.04/

Thanks for the link, 10.04 just hangs up when I try to install it so that makes it even worse than 11.10. But if it was going to be slow then it doesn't matter.

What should I do and which version should I try to get a clean install alongside a running XP installation on my Pentium M machine (with 2GB memory)?

So I went back to Kubuntu 8.04 which is running (triple boot) on my desktop box. Now I get error 17 at the boot after the installation which is at least different from no such partition. On my windows install I have Paragon Hard Disk Manager which has a Boot Manager wizard. This does not find the Linux installation when I run it - I don't usually use that but I tried it when all else failed. It's also an alternative way to get Windows back as opposed to the repair console and FIXMBR.

I like Linux, I want to use Linux, I already have it on one machine, why does it have to be this difficult to put it on another? Why is it so difficult to find what the error means? Why do I need a black belt in the command line to understand most of the replies to other posts on this topic?

If I sound fed up it's because I've now done half a dozen installs (into pre formatted partitions and free space) at an hour or so each and none of them has even given me a clue how to get them working.

By contrast Windows 7 went onto my desktop first time (as the third OS in a triple boot setup with XP and Kubuntu).

If it makes any difference the laptop I'm trying to install on is an ACER 292LCi which I've upgraded with 160G hard drive and 2G RAM.

Please can anyone point me at a readable source of help,
Thanks,
Ross

8.04 for desktop use is end of life, out of support.

I'm not sure why you are getting so many errors with your laptop and *buntus.

Maybe try a different distro?