Hello,

I just redid an ancient machine (new ram, hd, the works) and went to put linux (RH 7.2) on it. Apparently the BIOS is so old that it doesn't support bootable cd's. No problem, I made a boot disk from the cd.

The problem arises when i try to boot from the install disk. Everything works fine until the "boot:" prompt. In both graphical and text install modes it loads "initrd.img" and "vmlinuz" and then spits out "Boot failed: please change disks and press a key to continue"

I've tried using new disks, and I checked that the cd drive is detected and works using the win98 emergency disk. What is wrong and how do I fix it?

-Thanks in advance

My first guess is that the new RAM isn't playing nice with either the old RAM or the BIOS. Find out who the culprit is and give it a 'time-out' in the corner.

If it's the BIOS, check for an update from the motherboard manufacturer. If it's the RAM, try different sticks, one at a time.

Maybe the HDD too... see BIOS.

I've check all the hardware -> BIOS, RAM, and HDD, all work under the win98 boot disk and using a separate dos diagnostics disk.

What else could it be?

Is the RH cd in the CD-ROM drive when you start?

why yes, as a matter of fact it is!

Where exactly in the boot process does it fail? If there are boot messages on the screen when it hangs, post them; it might help narrow things down.