Ubuntu half installed
 

Hi everyone, I'm a Linux newbie and I am having difficulty getting Ubuntu up and running, if anyone can help point me in the right direction, I would be very grateful.

I have a very old pentium2 machine with 6.4GB HDD/233mz/128MB RAM.

I am trying to install Ubuntu but get the error message 'Install the base system, an error was returned while trying to install the initrd -tools check/target/var/log/bootstrap.log/previous installation' I went ahead anyway as the only previous installation must have come from trying the Ubuntu Live version out some time ago.

I was previously running Windows 98se.

When I boot the pc Ubuntu half loads but then freezes whilst loading initialization packages.

Thank you in advance of any replies.

Not that I think it is the source of your problem, but that computer is really too slow to be running Ubuntu. On a 233 MHz machine you might get away with running Xubuntu (Ubuntu with XFCE as it's desktop) but personally I wouldn't even consider that acceptable.

You would be much better off with something like Slackware or Vector Linux. You could also try doing an install of Damn Small Linux, which would perform very well on that hardware.

If you really want to get Ubuntu installed, I would suggest that you check the CD for errors, and then completely wipe the partition before starting the installer.

You won't be able to install from the regular iso anyhow with that little RAM. The alternate cd does provide for installing with lower amounts of RAM but don't ask me whether Ubuntu will run well at all - it certainly won't with either KDE or Gnome.

Thank you for your help, you have both saved me alot of time and frustration.

The computer in question has been gathering dust in a corner for a good while now, a friend gave me Ubuntu cd and suggested I try it on that machine.

I'll download the Danm Small Linux and see how that works out.

Once again thank you for your help, it is very much appreciated.

You might get ubuntu installed. But with the alternate cd, and definitely not with gnome or kde. You might have to manually install fluxbox or some other lightweight window manager. The downside is you'll have to use way more command line. But that's really the only way.
But I too would recommend vector or DSL. Those will be much harder to set up, but more fun to use on that machine.

I've taken your collective advice and just installed DSL Frugal Grub,
which has breathed new life into my under spec machine. For starters the cpu usage is minimal, which has made one heck of a difference to the speed, Adios Windows 98se.

I still have a mountain to climb regarding how to use DSL, but I'm sure it will be more than worth it.

Thanks again everyone :)