When ever I try to install Mandrake Linux 9.1 I get this error:

Could not uncompress Second Stage ramdisk. This is probably an hardware error while reading the data. (This may be caused by a hardware failure or a Linux kernel bug).

I am running computer that has this hardware:

20GB (Non Partitioned)
AMD Processor (733 MHZ)
Not to sure on the ram.
And Running Windows 98.

I would also like to Dual boot my system with Windows 98 and Mandrake Linux 9.1. Please pm me or email me at: acid_breez@hotmail.com

Thnx. Signed: Total newbie to Linux.

Welcome to LQ

There's a think called a MD5SUM. What this boils down to is a check verification when you download things to ensure you got the entire thing. It's a string of numbers that is verified against the archive with a program. There's a windoze version called MD5Summer md5summer.org I believe is where you get it. Use that against the numbers on the place where you downloaded your iso's from to determine if you got the whole thing or not.

Now...
If you did... Try using disc 2 to boot with and see how that goes.

Mandrake does require the 700MB discs, if you are using older 650MB ones you'll need to grab 3 newer ones.

Cool

it still didn't work. the same error is still coming up. is there a different way of installing mandrake 9.1 without the cds?

and i am using the 700mb disks

perhaps a bad sector on your hdd?

or if u have a second cd/dvd drive, use that (for some reason that helped me install mandrake)

whats a hdd? and my other cd rom doesn't work any more. would a mandrake boot disk work?

Possibly since it has a kernel on it. HDD is your hard disk drive.

Cool

if this helps any i got the ISO from http://linuxiso.org

and how would i make a mandrake boot disk from windows 98

With a tool called rawrite which should be on your install CD's. Fire up 98, plug in your Mandy disc, go to the install directory? Anyway, locate rawrite on there, and also the install.README or similar file. It'll have info on creating a boot disk, and even on some occasions/releases a pop-up will be there when you plug in your Mandy CD with "create boot disk" as an option (it's usually just a link to rawrite, but hey, it helps).

Cool

thnx ill try it

ok i give up that didn't work and im not going to install mandrake 9.1 any more im going to install SuSE linux instead.

Ok, let me/us know how that goes. Good Luck!

Cool

suse linux worked fine but i kept forgetting to install a boot loader. then i got the boot loader installed my brothers friend came over and got me hooked on redhat linux 7.3. now im running redhat linux 9.0