I'll come right out and say that I am a newbie with Linux. Some exposure to Unix through IRIX but mostly required to work on and with WinDoze. Decided I needed to get exposed to Linux as it is fast working its way into the business world.

Problem is that right off the bat I can't get my copy of RH 9.0 to install!

I downloaded the Shrike iso images, burned them and did an image check on each disk on install which all passed. Go through the install process for workstation (thought I would start here then set up server later). Everything goes great until I get one of the following errors:

There was an error installing XXXXXX. This can indicate media failure, lack of disk space, and/or hardware problems. This is a fatal error and your install will be aborted. Please verify your media and try your install again. Press the OK button to reboot.

Replace the XXXXXX with any number of packages. It changes with every install I rerun. I have even swapped hard drives in case somehow the drive was bad even though I had used it for Win98 for a couple of years. The machine is a standard Dell XPS R350 that has been running WinDoze 98 and 2000 just fine and made it through several new installs (this is a test system).

It seems to me that there must be some type of incompatibility between this system and Linux. But to figure out what it is is driving me insane!

Any help would be appreciated as I really want to be able experience Linux firsthand. But if I can't install it I'll have to stay with the only software that installs on Dell

It sounlds like it is having a problem reading CDs - check the CDs and the drive are both clean. Failing that you could try a network install.

I had that same issue. I just burnt new discs and starded over.

Well it might just have been a hardware problem after all. I found an old 266 system with 32mb ram and no HD. Put one of the drives that wouldn't load Linux into it and ran the install. Had to do it in text mode due to the low mwmory but it completed. I'm getting ready to try the install on the first system with a different CD drive. I'll report the results.

Thanks for the replies. Great board with lots of info sprinled through out.

Final Results:

It was the drive! I had put an old DVD drive in the system that was giving me problems. The drive seemed OK for everything else but was not going to go along with the RedHat install. Swapped out with a standard CD drive and everything went perfect.

Now on to exploring the wild world of Linux!

you should be more specific about your hardware. Not everybody is going to look up the components in your Dell system. it's a good idea to mention chip-set types. Also drive types, make and model # would be helpful

I've had problems as a result of the cd-drive also. If your cd is out of warranty. open the tray. shut down with the tray open. Remove the drive with the tray open. Open the drive carefully. Break the warranty seal as it is no good anyway. then use an air duster to do a good cleaning. with the drive apart. Carefully re-assemble it and re-install it. I've recovered 2 drives that way recently.

Did you ever just try a lens cleaner?

yes i did try a lens cleaner. and it was a no go. I think that one problem was dust on the drive mechanism. a lens cleaner won't touch that. but tweezers from a basic pc tool kit will. then for good measure a nice clean air dusting to top things off. also tighten the screws back up in and x pattern a little at a time. like i said i saved 2 drives that way. keep you finger away from the lens also.

Thanks for the tip.

Some of the older DVD drives will not read all types of CDs. My older Pentium II computer has a DVD drive would not read all CDs. Several years ago I tried to install Win NT 4.0 and it would not read the installation disks for that either. If I am not mistaken it also would not read CD-R or CD-RW disks. The DVD drive in my new computer does not have any trouble reading most ordinary CDs.