Alright, this may sound stupid, and I'm kinda new to linux but I have done everything i could possibly think of to install linux on a 500mhz compaq windows computer i have. I really dont care about the windows xp os on the computer itself and i really only need this computer for linux. I was trying fedora c 4, and had all the iso files 1,2,3, and 4. I've verified them with md5summer, i've burned them onto cds a hundred different times in a million different ways, everything from nero burning software to roxio easy cd creator, but everytime i try to boot from the cds the computer says there is no operating system on the cd. I got a multiboot utility for the computer so i can boot from any hard drive or cd drive. I'm using the intel x86 32 bit compatible architecture ISO, but i dont know if that's right or not because i don't know how to check system architecture. The computer itself works fine, and i can boot to windows xp consistently and i can boot to other cds (such as the windows cd) but I am utterly stumped. I've checked every website I possibly could and tried every out to this problem as i have listed. No idea what to do, looking for suggestions, help, anything would be greatly appreciated...

Did you try burn the iso file as a disc image or did you just burn the file to a disk as a data cd project? If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to nero and find an option entitled "Burn image to disk". If you do know what I'm talking about, forgive for stating the obvious.

jrtayloriv

you most likely have the correct architecture, x86 intel, so i dont think thats the problem.

i didnt even know you could burn a cd a million ways! well, the correct way is to burn the iso as an image/bootable cd. this way it can be read by a computer at boot time, and is a special disc, not just a 'data' or 'media' cd. you MUST burn it this way, try again, burning at the lowest possible speed, if necessary.
then be sure of course to insert the first fc cd so the installer is loaded.
if necessary, edit the BIOS setting so that the first boot device is the cd drive with the FC cd in it.

thats about all i can suggest.

Usually computers only complain about a missing OS if there's
none on the HDD. Are you sure it's set to boot of CD in the
BIOS of the machine?


Cheers,
Tink

alright so i've checked the bios multiple times and it can boot from the cd, im gonna try burnin the cd again but i dont know which program to use exactly, could anyone give me a program to use for burning the iso's outside of nero or roxio, something that works, cuz i have done this soo many times. any help, once again, greatly appreciated... and thanks for postin guys

Nero does work for burning ISOs. As jrtayloriv said, look for an option that says, "Burn image to disk". If you burn it as a regular file, it isn't going to work.

alright, ive heard many people say that nero works for burning iso's but for some reason it doesnt work for me (or maybe im just doing it wrong). I've done what you said by burning the image to disk and it doesnt work, I've tried making a boot cd, and I even tried putting in the windows cd so the comp will recognize a boot cd and switchin it with the fedora 4 one at the last second( I know, stupid, but i was desperate) and that didnt work. Anyone know maybe an exact procedure for burning iso's in the nero 6 demo cause all the other tutorials are for older versions of nero, would really appreciate it.

I have Nero 6, although mine's the full version. It should be no different though, cos their site says that the demo version has all the features. Open Nero Express, click "Disk Image or Saved Project" and then navigate to the folder where your ISOs are. Also, select "Image Files (*.nrg, *.iso, *.cue)" in the drop down menu for "Files of type:". After that, press "Open" and then you should be able to figure out the rest.

well, heres how I did with my 450mhz pc: got nero-burner...I followed the Wizard -> Compile a new CD after that Other CD-Formats after that Create a CD from a Image...then another screen will eventually pop-up and all you need to do is select your iso and your good to go :P hope it helped

i also use nero 6 (.6.0.16) demo.
its very easy to burn the cd image. after the program loads, and the 'new compilation' window automatically appears, just click 'New', with the default selections (cd-rom ISO). in the far right section of this new window, select the iso and drag it to the box on the left. it should then ask you '...close the current compilation and burn the image instead?' click yes, of course. select any other options you want (ie speed, again, just do the slowest speed if possible, for now till it works). burn away.

thanks for the help everyone, couldn't really figure out why it wasnt burning right but i went out and bought a book that had the fedora cds on the back cover and the boot worked fine from those. Thanks your help was really appreciated

Sorry you had to make so many coasters!

Next time (or for others with this problem), I recommend getting "BurnCDcc" from http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/utilities.html . It's about half-way down the page.

It is a utility *specifically* created to burn ISO CDs from a Windows system. Since it's specific to this purpose, there's less hassle figuring out what to do right. The only real option it has is speed, and I always select the slowest 4MB speed. I'll wait the extra time, vs. the frustration of toasting a frisbee! This utility has never failed me.

Your disclosure of Terabyte's BurnCDCC was exactly what I needed.

I was trying to burn Fedora Core 4 CDs using the Windows XP default cd burner with no luck (WindowsXP default CD burner will not make image CDs), and I don't have access to Nero or Roxio or other advanced burners. Your suggestion fits the bill.

Thanks again.

Moxieman99