My CD of Ubuntu does not boot even though I have tried all methods suggested in the documentation. I have been advised that I will need to change my boot order. When I enter BIOS I am not sure how to interpret the options on the boot sequence line. (This is in WinXP). It is as follows:

1.Drive C (enable/disable)
2.CD Drive (enable/disable)

These are the only drives and they are both enabled. Do I simply uncheck "enable" on drive C to change the boot order? Am I correct in assuming that since I am working on the boot sequence line in BIOS, this action will only affect the boot order and not the functionality of drive C?

That will, kinda, effect the functionality of drive C. Disabling it would take it off the boot menu entirely. A better option would be to look for a command (usually u/d) that would let you change the order. If you put the CD about Drive C, then it'll look to boot from your CD first, then--if it doesn't find anything, it'll go to the hard drive. Just look around the screen and see if there are any buttons you can press to change the boot order.

Disabling a drive will not change the boot order; it will simply instruct the BIOS to ignore that drive entirely, which is not what you want. Look again, specifically for an option to change what may be variously referred to as boot sequence, boot priority, or simply enumerated as First Drive, Second Drive, etc. What you need is for that "First Drive" to reference your CD/DVD-ROM drive (the one you have the Ubuntu boot CD in).

You need not be a genius to run a Linux desktop OS, but you are going to have to learn to think critically. The BIOS in your computer is on a particular motherboard, perhaps the whole computer was sold as a single unit. In any case, there is a manual for that BIOS; find the manufacturer's web site or google it. Read the manual. Almost everything you need to know about your computer and about the software you'll be putting on it has been documented in one fashion or another, and the vast majority of that info is on the 'Net.

Hi

you have to change the order of booting and not change settings for enable/disable. CD must be set to "enable" and be before hard drive.
In all BIOS systems I had I could change the order by Page Up/ Page Down or +/-. You can try this.

If you have Lenovo, check BIOS simulators here:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/si...TPAD-SIMS.html

You can learn how to change boot order using these simulators.

regards
Rafal
Linux (SuSE), SAP systems and other stuff