I am attempting to install ubuntu 6 over windows xp on a dell...when i boot the cd (yes i have done the integrity check, my cd is fine) and go to install ubuntu, it does the spash screen a while, goes to the terminal and says

activating swap [ok]

function not implemented [ok]

then thats all fine, but then it goes to a nasty bios looking screen and says:

Failed to start the X server. it is likely that it is not set up correctly...

then you can view the report and after all that it will say

X server is now disabled. Restart GDM when it is set up correctly

then it goes back to the terminal and nothing else happens...


how can i get it to install correctly?

I am a complete noob and don't know what to do.

you could try the alternate install cd

I had this problem when I started by trying to install Linux on an Averatec laptop. I went through several distros before I figured out that all of them were installing the wrong driver for my video card. Do some research and figure which driver you need, then check the '/etc/X11/xorg.conf' file under the 'Device' section and make sure everything is correct.

Alternatively, you can run the command:
'sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg'

That will walk you through the driver selection for the video card, but will also re-configure the monitor, keyboard, and mouse. However, if the last three are working fine, the default options will more than likely be safe to choose. Best of luck.