im planning on giving away my desktop, as it just holds my desk down and i havent turned it on in a couple months. so today i decide i should probably update it before dropping it on my relatives. the software updates went fine, so i set about updating versions (to 8.1 and then if that worked, up to 9.04) the deal is on the reboot into 8.10 it froze up, so i set about making a new 8.04 install, and that freezes now too before the install. it takes me to a screen that says busybox, or some such thing, and says to type help for commands, but the commands dont seem to work.

any ideas?

You should always include the make and model of the hardware when you write a post.

I recommend ensuring that the computer is working properly. Then try using different live CD distributions until you find one that likes your hardware.

it does work with 8.04, though. it's been on there for a year or more, and in fact, i screwed around with it for about an hour before i decided i should update it for these people. i will admit freely that the graphics hardware is outdated, and took some doing to make right when i set this thing up for my own use. i still however do not see how this would be a problem, since im installing the same operating system that was already in use on it.

would this have anything to do with not being able to reboot completely after the update to 8.10. that's the only thing i can think of that's really changed anything. and if so, could i not just unhook the hard drive, hook it back up and start anew, again?

Once again you have failed to provide the make and model of the hardware.

Distribution upgrades are almost always a bad choice. This has been discussed in other threads at this site.

right, sorry. its running on an amd 64 3000, 512 ram, and some on board video that im unsure about now. i built the thing years ago.

i have installed ubuntu several different times, for many convoluted reasons you couldnt pay me to remember, and ive never had this problem.

Boot in recovery mode so you can see the messages rather than that lame splash - no way to help without some data.

i dont see a recovery option on the 8.04 disc. is there one in a submenu somewhere?

Maybe not on the liveCD - it'll be an option on the boot menu after install. Maybe do the Intrepid (8.10) again, and see what you can see.