I think I should just let go of trying to use linux
 

I must be the worst pathetic newbie ever. I can't even install it... at least most install it and get something wrong from there I can't get to the point where I can even attempt a boot of a linux distro. I am at the point where if in like a day I can't get this working I am just going to give up. I have been trying for days now to get linux installed. Now I mean days like 12 hours a day download different distros burning the iso's trying to install them and failing countless times with each distro. I have wasted about 50 CD-R disks on these distro's. I am starting to think I will never be able to install linux on my comp. Weird thing is my specs aren't that bad. I need a prayer or something.

That's pretty strange...usually if you boot up off of the install cd, take the default partitioning, default boot loader config. and default install, everything goes smooth.

Where exactly is everything going bad?

The installation

I can never get past it, can't even boot up. In SuSe 9.1 once I get to creating intird it goes right to 62% and stops. In Mandrake I get to the install sometimes, and then at a random point it freezes. In all the others I have tried I don't know those are the 2 that stick out. Put it this way I have tried more Distro's then I can count on one hand.

Something to watch out for is the 650 mbyte limit on some older cdrom/cdrw drives. Most distos have iso's larger than that and you wind up with the sort of problems you describe. Corrupt downloads are also a problem. You should always verify the checksums.

Have you tried a live cd on the computer? Just to make sure it isn't a hardware problem...

My CDrw drive I got in Sept 03 so it isn't old :) but this sum checker thing everyone keeps talking about where do I find one?

yeah I used umm knoppix or something like that

Could be a bad hard drive...do you have a spare you could throw in there?

not at the moment, I lent my 15GB Spare drive to my friend, because his HD failed and he has no money for a new one. I doubt it is my HD though, I can install Windows and the such fine on it, just not Linux. My friend said something about a bad boot driver?

Slipknot,

Try this site.

http://www.edmunds-enterprises.com/l...tl/product/274

For $2.49 you get a set of SuSE 9.1 CDs that are "proofread" and easy to load as Windows.

And you can stop making all those "coasters".

do they accept paypal? actually I started to glue them together today, going to make a coaster that extends and rotates :p

Slipknot,

And in case you want to try Mandrake.

http://www.edmunds-enterprises.com/l...lst/category/2

Thats strange, i managed to install mandrake 10 with no issues at all.....it seems strange that things are randomly locking like this. It almost seems like some kind of hardware issue. I know this probably wont be the issue but make sure your fans arent clogged with dust as this can be the cause for random lockups like that. Otherwise that really sucks :(. Maybe try going into your bios and setting the settings to the failsafe defaults or to system defaults.....maybe there is an issue there? The fact that it does it on different distros makes me lean towards hardware more. I dunno might help.

I thought I had paypal, but my only credit card, which my mother lets me use has expired. ... now what :'(

Yeah, I dont know it's getting to a point where I have almost tried everything, but I build custom computers as a side job, I would know almost immediatly if hardware failed or was bad, and I don't notice anything. Also I clean out my fans and heatsinks once a month. As for them being compatiable got me there.

Yeah still try the bios settings if you have previously tweaked your bios, i have seen it happen on systems before even with default bios settings....a ram chip doesnt like some settings of some sort etc.....but yeah i still feel hardware because of the fact tahts its random and happens on all distros....Have you tried scanning the hard disk for bad sectors??? That may be effecting it as well. I'm sure you're probably done all this but it doesn thurt to ask.