My Mandriva wont boot and neither will WIN XP pro.
 

Ok...i tried installing wine and immediatly when i began the download, Mandriva 2006 Froze..{of course} ... ok then it didn't even load the LILO bootloader. I turned it off to try again. it has the Dell(then the loading bar under it) then it has bios revision ______

ok...it boots up so slow and doesn't even get past midway point(on the BIOS loading). Whats the deal??? this is crazy.
How can i get my computer back up and running.. any help is appreciated.

Give Dell a call maybe? If you're computer isn't even getting to the LILO screen then its a hardware or BIOS problem and its nothing to do with Linux, WINE or Windows or anything like that. You could check your BIOS settings to make sure its set to boot off the right hard drive.

It might help if you tell us the exact error message that you get on bootup. Also unplug any USB devices you have (I've had strange problems sometimes on an old mobo that doesn't seem to like USB stuff). If it still doesn't work you can probably troubleshoot it yourself to some extent by removing PCI cards one by one and seeing if the machine will boot. Also do the same with memory sticks if you have more than one in there - remove one and see if it'll boot. Replace it and remove the other and see if it'll boot, you get the idea. Finally another thing to try is to get a power suppy from another machine and plug that in - power supplies are one of the most common things to break in desktop PCs and they're fairly cheap to replace (less than $40).

Yeah, this sounds like a major hardware problem. Were/are you running an overclocked system?

overclocked?

Well if you responded like that, then I doubt you are, but for your future information:

Overclocking is pushing your processor beyond it's rated clock speed. hence the term "over-clock"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overclock

If you don't know what it is then you probably aren't. Overclocking is where you set the CPU to run at a higher clock speed than its made for. This gives you extra performance but it is potentially bad for the CPU and can lead to lots of hardware problems.

If you got your computer from dell then it would have already been set at the correct frequency so unless you've changed it in the BIOS it won't be overclocked.

Ok. Heres what i got when i tried it today(IMPORTANT!)

Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS version 1.10 A01
Copyright 1985-1988 Phoenix Technologies LTD.
Copyright .>>....dell.........

allright reserved.....
Dell SYstem Dimension 8200

then(for the important part) it says

Alert! Previous attempts at booting this system have failed at checkpoint[size]. For help in resolvi9ng this problem, please note this checkpoint and contact Dell Technical Support.

Will dell even listen to me if i tell them ive dualbooted winxp pro/mandriva2006 free?

Hmm, I don't know. I build my own systems so I don't deal with system tech support. What's the worst they could do? Probably only say no....

Since it looks like a hardware BIOS problem you can probably get away with not mentioning it, the problem seems to have nothing to do with wether you have Windows or Linux or whatever on your box so just pretend you only have Windows on there.

yes, and if they said no..then that would suck..

It would, but isn't that the risk you knowingly take by modifying your system from their specifications?

ok....dont you think because I installed Linux on a machine designed for Windows(and dual booted them)..they would say no?...anyways...i just found out that they(dell) can preinstall Linux packages on there(maybe it wouldn't even matter)......

What im wondering is this:

Is my computer screwed up merely because i installed Linux?

its hardly their specifications....Its just designed for Windows XP. Its not like "you must have windows XP only on here". I dunno though.

Ok, well I guess if it didn't come with XP installed then it should be free-game, but I'm not a reputable source on this kind of thing, as I build all of my own systems.

I've never owned a major brand system other than this IBM thinkpad that I'm required to own by my school. As soon as I got it, I resized the NTFS partition and slapped Mandriva on it :) They force me to use it, I use it on my own terms. I realize that I might be voiding any warranty I have for it, but I did this knowing what the risks were and have accepted them.

As has been said before, your problem sounds like it's definitely a BIOS problem. Before trying any of the suggestions I have here, you should try booting to a CD.

If the CD works, your hard drive is probably screwed up. Two options:

1) You'll do a fresh install of Windows then Linux (assuming you're keeping the dual boot). As well as any software you had on those OSes. You MIGHT be able to recover some data if you have an extra HD to use as a master. In this case you'll set the dead drive up as a slave. If this is the case, let us know, I'm sure someone will be glad to walk you through the recovery process.

2)Knoppix. I've never used it for this purpose but supposedly you can do some system repair with it (just search/ask around)

If it won't boot to CD, things are more serious. It could be as simple as the CD not being set as bootable (in which case you'll want to change it in BIOS settings, and follow the above procedure), or it could be as serious as a damaged BIOS.

You can try changing the settings in the BIOS by hitting F2 when the Dell logo comes up. This will bring you into the BIOS setup. I'm not entirely sure which options will need to be enabled, and make sure you know what anything you changed was before the change so you can change it back. Usually Dell locks out any dangerous options suck as overclocking options, but if you're not sure, ask someone who knows first.

From the sounds of it, though, your problem might be happening before then. If so there's really only three possibilities (that I know of at least, and the second probably won't be possible):

1) Reset the BIOS by unplugging the computer, removing the BIOS battery, and pressing the power button a few times to remove any excess charges.

2) Flash the BIOS. This is dangerous, but if it's necessary it can't do much damage that hasn't already been done (in fact, if your problem is serious enough, you won't even be able to do this anyways) You'll have to contact Dell or your motherboard's manufacturer for a valid BIOS revision, copy it onto a floppy, and put it in your floppy drive. Any extra instructions will probably come from Dell or the manufacturer along with the BIOS revision.

3) Replace the BIOS chip. I don't know the exact process for this, but depending what caused this problem, and how old your computer is, you may be covered by your warranty. If not, and it comes to this, it will probably be easiest to just send it in to Dell (or depending on the cost, maybe just buy a new computer)

If these possibilities have you worried, don't. They are worst-case scenarios, and Dell support should be able to guide you through everything anyways.

Oh, and installing Linux (or any non-Windows OS) is definitely NOT prohibited by Dell. That would just be downright ridiculous. The only thing they won't have is have support for linux problems (including the boot manager).