I've been trying, unsuccessfully to install Kubuntu for about 2 or 3 weeks now and would really appreciate some help. Here's my situation.

Athlon 64 3500+ (AMD 64) Processor
1 GB PC3200 DDR RAM
MSI RS480M2-IL Motherboard
250 GB IDE Hard Drive (split into 2 partitions, the Windows Partition and the System Recovery Partition)

I downloaded the AMD64 specific iso from the Kubuntu website and eventually made both a DVD and a CD without any errors on it (although it definitely took a while to get a CD without any errors.

All the errors that I've received I've gotten when attempting to do anything with either the CD or DVD. For simplicity's sake, I will henceforward refer to just the CD but actually meaning either one.

I have two CD-ROM drives, the primary one is a LightScribe drive (meaning it can etch images into the face of a CD) and a second "normal" drive. The CD doesn't work in the primary drive. Whenever I try to boot the LiveCD from there it brings up several errors. Booting the LiveCD from the second drive, however, presents no problem.

So, once I boot from the LiveCD I try to install. I'm attempting to install onto my 20 GB external USB hard drive. First I format it to be Linux ext 3 using PartitionMagic in Windows. Then, when I'm in Kubuntu off the LiveCD I go through all the steps (language, keyboard setup, information, and Timezone). When I get to choosing where to install Kubuntu I've tried telling it to erase the entire drive (as there's nothing on there) and I've tried making my own partitions. When I make my own partitions I've tried making various combinations:
/, 512 MB swap
/, 512 MB swap, 100 MB /Boot
/, 100 MB Boot

All eventually give the same errors.

I'm able to choose any of those options get to the next screen. The default for where to install GRUB is (hd0) but I believe that's my IDE hard drive and (hd1) is actually my external hard drive. I don't know for sure as using fdisk simply lists sdX, hd#.

Anyways, I successfully install and it tells me to restart. I do. When it gets to the point where it says to take the CD out and close the tray (if any), I do. Then I press enter but nothing happens. I can wait a while and still nothing will happen. Thus, I'm forced to just shut off my computer.

When I first try to boot from the external hard drive I get a GRUB error 15. Then, I'll change the BIOS settings so that the external hard drive is first in the hard drive priority list over the IDE drive. Then I'll get either an error 18 or an error 2 depending on if I set up a /Boot partition.

I'm not sure what's wrong. I don't even get a command screen for GRUB, it just takes me right to the error screen. Something must be weird since this is just the standard Kubuntu installer.

I would love some help as I really want to have a portable Kubuntu but I'm having a lot of difficulties with it.

Thanks.

First, you can find the explanation for your grub error code here. Though, I do not know that they will really tell you that much.

You are probably correct about the drive numbering, assuming you only have the two drives (one internal and one external). A few quick questions: 1) Does grub give you the boot menu or do the errors occur before the menu appears? 2) If they do appear after you select your OS and attempt to boot, can you provide the current setup for grub? (Use the 'edit' option, 'e' I think, in grub to show you the booting info for the partition.) 3) If you have a grub menu, does it offer a 'Failsafe' option, and if so, does that fail to boot as well?

I only have the two drives and I'm confident that the external is hd1 because when I boot from it that's when I get the GRUB errors.

I looked at that site and you're right, it didn't really help.

Unfortunately, I don't even get the boot menu, the errors occur before that.

The main reason that I'm confused is because I'm just doing a standard install, the only abnormal thing is that it's a USB drive. But that obviously shouldn't matter.

Again, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Another place to check is the Grub Legacy FAQ. The errors from the previous link (in particular 18) seem to indicate a possible problem that is discussed in item 3 of the FAQ. It seems odd that this would be the problem, but it could be showing up because it is a USB drive.

One more question, that may not matter, is this a commercial drive (what model?) or an HDD you put in an external enclosure?

This is a laptop hard drive that I put in an external enclosure. It used to be in a Mac (I believe in an iBook) but I took it out and put it in an IDE-to-USB enclosure.

As for the FAQ. I find that I only get error 18 when I don't do the partitions myself. When I do them, I make the /Boot small (100 MB) and the swap big (512 MB). I think that maybe I make the /Boot smaller than normal. Then I'm able to bypass error 18 and get to error 2.

When I install GRUB, I install it to (hd1). Should I try specifying a partition by doing installing to (hd1, 1)? If so, what partition should I install to (/, /Boot, swap, something else)?

Thanks for the help.

You might want to specify the partition. Your partition number is going to be determined by your partition order. If / is at the front it would be 0 and /Boot 1. I would recommend moving /boot to the front of the drive though, as this can be a problem. Though, I think when you creat your own /boot this is fixing the location problem (?). Also try the information regarding separate boot partitions on the Grub Faq.

I really wish I could be more help, but until I can get home and perhaps replicate the problem, this is the best I can do for now.