First Time Installing Linux
 

Hey guys,

I have decided to install Linux and start learning it as my main OS. I had some bad luck with liveCDs, so I figured it would be better to straight install a distro and deal with that. So, I bought an amazing 320 gig hdd and went to install Linux on it.

Here's my problem:

My Ubuntu liveCD didn't work. Neither did the Gparted liveCD, the Knoppix, the Slax, and most recently the PC Linux OS liveCD. I keep getting messages like kernel panic-tried to kill init! and so on.

I went online. Apparently, the init is not capable of dying, it just has another problem and gets scared. Forums are equally vague. Just because I'm learning doesn't mean I'm learning what I need.

Someone who sounded like they knew what there were talking about suggested a command such as 'live noapic noalpic'. This is fine. Where do I enter that command? When the PC Linux OS cd starts, do I try to find a command interface and type it then? What does it stand for? What does it do? I remember and learn better if I know what the commands mean.

Another question: my Windows OS is on the 100 gig that came with the computer. Its IDE, and the new, unformatted, 320 gig is a SATA 2. Should I disconnect the Windows one while I try to install Linux? Just to simplify things? Also, the rest of the machine is fairly new, someone mentioned that older hardware might be the problem, and my box is fairly uptodate.

Thanks for anything you can tell me.

If no live CDs are working make sure you are checking the MD5sum and burning a a low speed.
Some hardware can cause failures and there are often workarounds. Post the exact live CD you want to troubleshoot and the exact error.

as above, check the checksums, and burn at the lowest speed.

I have NEVER encountered a machine that SLAX would not at least boot on.


is ALL of the hardware newer, or is it a mix of new/old?

did you verify the md5s?

Hardware
 

Here is my hardware, as exact as I can be.

LITE-ON Combo SOHC-4836K DVD/CD-ROM drive
Pentium D 3.2 Ghz
Maxtor 6L 100PO 100 Gig Hard Drive
2048 MB Corsair RAM, two one gig sticks, 533 Mhz
EVGA Nvidia 5200 video card (256 MB memory)

Windows Xp

The oldest hardware is the hard drive and DVD/CD-ROM which came in the box I bought. EVERYTHING else has been added/upgraded. Although, I'm still using the original 400 watt power supply as well. I don't think that I need a new one yet.

To answer your first question, noapic is a kernel boot parameter. When you boot a live CD for example you might see a fancy boot image with a boot: prompt at the bottom. Normally you would either do nothing and wait for the timeout which will continue booting or you can type in commands and then press the enter key. To use the noapic boot parameter you would type at the boot prompt:
linux noapic

BTW
ACPI = Advanced Configuration and Power Interface
APIC = Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controllers

I will leave it up to you to google and find out what all this really means.

Your second question is that actually linux will work better with older hardware then newer since it takes time for the drivers to be written once the hardware gets to market. Some hardware manufactures particularly with graphics adapters like Nvidia provide linux drivers but that is the exception rather then the rule. No need to disconnect the windows drive first. However, you need to be careful to select the correct drive or your windows might be over written.

you said you are learning So I am suggesting may be you should try this
http://instantfundas.blogspot.com/20...ctly-from.html

as far as your hardware is considered it is absolutely fine what I doubt is

the linux version that you are installing can you provide some details as

what version of Ubuntu you used

try the new releases with kernel 2.6.18 and above like Open Suse 10.2
Fedora Core 7 etc since older kernels did not had drivers for Sata but the problem you reported is not the one that I suggested try with a new and latest distro

Ubuntu 7.04
 

I used the Ubuntu Feisty Fawn CD, should have worked. Thanks for all the advice so far guys, I'm working on it.

Here's my current idea: LFS. If I really want to Linux, I need to pick a distro and learn it. So, arguably the most time and work intensive at first is LFS. Is it feasible that I spend a long time working on it, and so grow in the Tao of Linux? Or am I crazy and don't know what I'm asking? Sorry if this is disjointed.

Lfs
 

Aloha,
LFS may be a bit of a leap at this point. If you are using the Ubuntu LiveCD, when the boot screen comes up, press F6 for "Other Options" and add
to the line. Then press enter and see if it boots up into the LiveCD. If that don't work, try . If that don't work, do both . I am not familiar with the noalpic option but try it, ymmv.
Mahalo,
Edward

Luck, or so...
 

I have a million cds lying around, and I forgot to mark what one of them was. So, I popped it in to the drive because I couldn't tell if anything was written on it. To my surprise, it was an openSUSE disc, and it immediately started to do the install options. I was in XP, and a little confused, but I was overjoyed, and an hour later things were looking good. It formatted my drive in ext3, and proceeded to install most of openSUSE. The snag: it froze my box at 58 percent of 'updating kernel dependencies'. So, I restarted my pc and let it try to install from from the disc. It skipped what had gone on before, and again got stopped at 58 percent. Sigh. So, probably a problem with that particular disc. I take heart from the fact that I CAN at least start to do something.

Perhaps you're right, I'll put off LFS for a day or two. But, I've decided that I'm going to concentrate my efforts on openSUSE right now. Better to focus on one than hop around looking for something that will do everything for me. Otherwise, I'd be using Windows...

Thanks for the help so far, please keep adding advice etc.

go to suse DVD or CD inside it there is a README file read and tell the version of Open Suse you used

Version
 

The README says that I'm trying to install version 10.3 of openSUSE. Good or bad? I want something that is as stable as possible and as new as possible without being 'the bleeding edge' as I hear it called. At least, not yet.

Tried Again
 

I redownloaded the openSUSE iso, burned it with a new program, and ran the iso on a new disc. It worked as well as usual, which is fine right up until it freezes my computer at 58 percent completion. What am I doing wrong?

i also had such a problem, it might be a hardware issue but i am not sure since i am a begginer myself

Find a solution yet?
 

What happened? Did you ever manage to get it working correctly?

Just in case you can tell what ISO u downloaded for which architecture