I've installed 4 different distros and all of them fail to boot once installed.

They all seem to be failing when attempting to probe usb devices. I keep getting segment error, system sleeping for 30 seconds and then nothing.

I'm installing on a Compaq Presario sr1401nx. 768mb ram ddr400, no externals attached.

I'm assuming there is a hardware problem. Has anyone run into this before and if so am I looking at needing a new machine to install Linux?

Thanks in advance.

is it during hotplug? what are the 4 distros?

That is exactly when it happens.

Slackware 10.1

Mandrake 10.1

Suse 10.1

BSD

You know, I can't stand using Windows, but this is the very reason Linux, any distro, will never make it in the real world of desktop use. The inability to load on common hardware is the biggest problem and one that is just ridiculous. And damn frustrating.

Do you have anything plugged into the usb during the boot? What versions of the distros are you trying to install? are they new(er)


well, first of all, if this is a common occurrence, if you google, I am sure someone has solved the problem or has a workaround. Otherwise, take a look at the logs to see if there is anything going on. You can also disable hotplug, but then you will need to tell your distro which modules to load(including network). If you know anything about scripting, write hotplug to stdout and see exactly which modules it is bailing on and add those to blacklist. I would try downloading a live cd and see if it boots up fine. Then I would check what modules it loaded and write them down. If nothing else, you can disable hotplug, load the modules you need then try updating hotplug. Just remember google is your friend.