Hi,
I'm as new as new can be to Linux, my only previous encounters with Linux having been accidentally booting up a Knoppix Livecd that was wrongly labelled Windows XP


However I have been increasingly drawn to opensource software and so i made up my mind to install Linux on my new computer. I have recently rigged up a Core 2 duo based PC, with a Intel DG965RY motherboard.

Well, my problem is that, I CAN"T INSTALL ANY VERSION OF LINUX on my new system.

I have tried UBuntu, Fedora, Suse, each one of them downloaded as recently as november 2006 from the official sites. I checked the CD/DVD's on my older system and they install fine. My older system is a measly 1.8 ghz P4 based system with an Intel 845 board.

I can't even run the knoppix live cd.

The install process or whatever it is, , begins with

Starting Caldera DR DOS..... then it says, after some more text,

oak technology 0T1-011 CdROM drevice driver

Device name: MSCD001

No drives found, aborting installation

Found USBhosts....

Intel corporation 2834 univ. host controller......
..........
..........

USB driver loaded successfully,

could not map OHCI registers.....

Firewire failed to initialize
USB: OK

Serial CD driver loaded

Caldera DR DOS 7.03.......
FAT 32 LFN driver for DR DOS version 1.200

Usage: FAT 32.exe - w....

Search for USB HDD devices

USB devices successfully loaded
No FAT 32 volumes found, exiting.....


NTFS file system found

Partition C D E F installed.....


USB support installed.....


NCWDEX. EXE version 2.81 CDROM filehandler

Driver not found: MSCDOO1......


Now there is a blank screen for a moment, and then,

It goes into command line

DR-DOS A:\>

AND IT STOPS THERE winking at me almost cruelly.

HAving been a windows user ever since i set my eyes on a computer, i'm totally a loss at command line optons.

well there it is, that's what happens with both Ubuntu and knoppix installations. exactly the same thiong..


Now what does this mean.. IS there a problem with my BIOS...? My HDD is not recognized..?

Someone please help.

It appears that your BIOS isn't preset to boot from CD-ROM first, but does a HD boot. There's DR-DOS installed on that system, no WinDoze (which is basically a good thing). I can't tell if you're going to be able to install a booted CD, however, but with a little help from the board it should be doable. But first set your BIOS to boot from CD first - you'll be told how to enter your BIOS on boot (DEL or F1 or some other key, maybe some combination - it'll be shown on the BIOS's welcome screen [right after your graphic adapter's BIOS has introduced itself...]).

Besides, a 1.8GHz P4 isn't a "measly" machine when it comes to running Linux... but that's a different story.

M.

And another story might be: Where did DR-DOS come from if the computer is a new build?

Anyhow, also try booting from some known good bootable CD.....Althought it seems very likely that the bios config is the issue.

thanks dear linux geeks,

I solved my problem. It seems i was making a hash of burning my dvd's and cd's with nero. i was using the bootable disk option, which adds dr dos to the disks by itself. it seems i have to use copy image to disk under the backup tab of nero streetsmart. thanks for trying to help.

[edit]irrelevant - posted after the issue was soved [/edit]

Because of lobbying efforts of certain operating system manufacturers and possibly monopolistic contracts with OEMs, it's often not possible (and even illegal) to sell a computers to evil pirating consumers without an OS pre-installed. Various OEMs have worked around this by selling machines pre-installed with very cheap or free OSes (e.g. freedos).