Linux install issue

[dude444]

Trying to install linux (federa/ubuntu/other versions) on the laptop which has 2 partitions primary Win XP (39GB) & second one is blank (36 GB) but failing each time.

Also trying to install Linux using gparted on USB connected to external hdd with another 3 partitions (80GB / 100 GB / 120 GB blank unpartitioned or unformated space) and unable to install linux on the blank unpartitioned or unformated space using linux_liveCD.

Created several CDs/DVDs from ISO files.
ubuntu 32 bit
ubuntu 64
fedora 13 i686

After creating the DVD/CDs all discs are not booting up from the laptop after restarting the computer!

Have the partitions created but unable to boot the CDs & run the installation???
Is there another way to install linux. Any help appreciated.

[devils casper]

Have you set CD/DVD drive as First Boot Device? Does any Linux distro throw any error?
Which Graphics Card do you have? Post your machine's specs here.

[dude444]

Here is the info for the laptop

Gateway M320 Specifications
Show Part Numbers
Hide Part Numbers
2900604, 2900605, 2900606, 2900607, 2900609, 2900612, 2900654, 2900677, 2900749, 2900750,

3400091, 3400092, 3400095, 3400335, 3400336, 3501936, 3501937, 3501941, 3501942, 3501987

Feature Description
Processor and core logic
Processor options One of the following options:

One Intel® Celeron™ M CPU
One Intel® Pentium® M 705, 715, or 735 CPU
Determine Your Processor Speed

Processor packaging Intel micro-FCPGA
Level 2 cache 512 KB (Celeron)
1 MB (Pentium 705)
2 MB (Pentium 715 and Pentium 735)

Chipset-Northbridge Intel 852GM (Celeron)
Intel 855PM (Pentium)

Chipset-Southbridge Intel ICH4-M
Processor side bus speed 400 MHz processor system bus
BIOS Phoenix BIOS
4 MB Flash ROM
SMBIOS 2.3 support
Advanced Configuration and Power Interface 1.0b and 2.0 (ACPI 1.0b and 2.0) support
Wired for Management 2.0 (WfM 2.0)

System memory
Memory type 333 MHz DDR RAM
Memory expansion options Two 200-pin industry standard DDR-SODIMM sockets
Accepts two 333 MHz DDR RAM memory modules in memory bay
No internal memory
2 GB maximum system memory
Determine Your Notebook's Memory
Adding or Replacing Memory

Video
Graphics controller One of the following options:

Intel 852GM with 32 MB UMA Video Memory (chipset integrated)
-OR-

Intel 855PM with 32 MB UMA Video Memory (chipset integrated)
2D hardware acceleration
3D rendering acceleration

Video memory UMA (shared memory) architecture with Dynamic Video Memory Technology (DVMT)
LCD display panel 15.0-inch active matrix (TFT) LCD color display

Maximum Resolution: 1024 × 768
Maximum Color Depth: 32-bit (16.7 million colors)

LCD maximum refresh rate 60 Hz
Controls Brightness level selectable through FN keys (up, down)
Auto dim on battery and auto bright on AC power (selectable in BIOS)

External video Supports dual display and extended desktop
External CRT resolutions Supports standard IBM VGA compatible modes
Maximum resolution: 1920 × 1200
Maximum color depth: 32-bit (16.7 million colors)

External CRT maximum refresh rate 75 Hz
Audio
Sound support Analog Devices AC '97 SoundMAX® Codec
Multi-stream Direct Sound and Direct Sound 3D acceleration
SoundBlaster Pro, MIDI, Windows Sound System compatible
Note: This notebook does not have an internal microphone.

Volume controls Volume control toggle
Press wheel in to mute the sound
Software control provided through Windows®

Internal speakers Stereo speakers built into front of notebook
1.0 W maximum output for each channel

Audio jacks Stereo headphone output
Monophonic microphone input

Communications
Modem features Integrated V.92 56K modem
Uses the RJ-11 jack on the rear of the notebook
Supports Wake on Ring from S3 power mode

10/100 Mbps Ethernet interface features Integrated IEEE 802.3 (10/100 BASE-TX) Ethernet interface
Uses the RJ-45 jack on the rear of the notebook
Supports Wake on LAN from S3 power mode

Wireless Ethernet interface features (Factory installed option) Integrated Intel PRO / Wireless IEEE 802.11g Mini-PCI Card (with Pentium M) or Broadcom 802.11g wireless Mini-PCI card (with Celeron M)
FN+F2 keyboard combination turns wireless Ethernet on and off.
Antenna: Uses factory-installed diversified internal antenna
Operating channels: 11 selectable channels
Security: 128 and 64 bit WEP encryption
Operating Frequency: 2.4 GHz Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (IEEE 802.11b and IEEE 802.11g)
Maximum Data Rate

54 Mbps (IEEE802.11g)
11 Mbps (IEEE802.11b)

Input/Output (I/O)
Keyboard U.S. English keyboard
Full-sized 84-keys
19 mm × 19 mm key pitch
2.5 mm keystroke

Pointing device Gateway EZ-Pad™ touchpad with vertical scroll
2-button design

Status indicators FN+F1 keyboard combination turns status indicators on and off.

AC power
Wireless Ethernet
Caps lock
PAD (Num) lock
Scroll lock
Hard drive access
Battery status
Power/Suspend

Input/Output (I/O) ports Four USB version 2.0 (4-pin)
IEEE 1394 (4-pin)
V.92, 56K Modem (RJ-11)
10/100 Ethernet (RJ-45)
External monitor (VGA)
Stereo headphone output
Monophonic microphone input
PC Card socket (one Type II)
DC input

PCMCIA Accepts one Type II device
Ricoh R5C590 controller
Note: This notebook does not support Zoom Video.

Storage
Hard drive 2.5-inch diameter
9.5 mm height
Replacing the Hard Drive

Memory card reader (Factory installed option) Supports the following card types:

Memory Stick®
MultiMediaCard™
Secure Digital™

Optical drive (Factory installed) Drive options include:

Combination DVD/CD-RW
Combination CD-RW/DVD-RW

Power
AC adapter 19 VDC, 3.42A, 65 W output
Automatically adjusts for 100 to 240 VAC, 50 to 60 Hz power sources
Two-wire design

Battery type Removable Lithium Ion battery pack
Embedded controller inside to support smart battery

Battery capacity 6-cell Li-Ion
4.4 Ah
11.1 V nominal
48 Wh
Note: Battery life varies depending on configuration, programs, power management settings, and features used. Recharge time varies, depending on usage.

Power management Advanced Configuration and Power Interface 1.0b or later (ACPI 1.0b or later) support
SMBIOS 2.3
PC 2001 compliant
CPU may support Intel® Speedstep™ technology

Controls Icon on taskbar shows battery charge as a percentage remaining
Power switch Supports Power On/Off, Standby/Resume, Hibernate, Shutdown
Lid switch LCD On/Off, Standby, Hibernate
Security
Passwords Power-on password (user/supervisor password set in BIOS)
Hard drive password

Physical Main system memory compartment screw
Hard drive kit screw
Mini PCI bay screw
Kensington® security slot on notebook back

System software
Operating system Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

System management SMBIOS 2.3 BIOS support
Advanced Configuration and Power Interface 1.0b and 2.0 (ACPI 1.0b and 2.0) support
Support for Wake on LAN from S3 power mode
Support for Intel® LANDesk® Client manager 6.0
Wired for Management 2.0 (WfM 2.0) enabled

System compatibility PC2001 specification
Advanced Configuration and Power Interface 1.0b and 2.0 (ACPI 1.0b and 2.0) support
SMBIOS 2.3
Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) certified

Quick boot Supported
Physical specifications
Dimensions 12.9 × 10.5 × 1.0-inches (W × D × H)
328 × 268 × 27.1-millimeters (W × D × H)
System weight 5.5 pounds (2.5 kilograms)
Includes optical drive and 6-cell battery
AC adapter weight 11.5 ounces (357 grams)
Includes cord
Battery weight 10.4 ounces (322.5 grams)
Environmental
Operating temperature 50°F to 90°F (10°C to 32°C)
Storage temperature 4°F to 140°F (-15°C to 60°C)
Operating humidity 20% to 80% relative humidity; no condensation

=================================================

Yes I have set the CD/DVD reading first priority.

Do not know what is distro?

Video Data :
Graphics controller One of the following options:

Intel 852GM with 32 MB UMA Video Memory (chipset integrated)
-OR-

Intel 855PM with 32 MB UMA Video Memory (chipset integrated)
2D hardware acceleration
3D rendering acceleration

Video memory UMA (shared memory) architecture with Dynamic Video Memory Technology (DVMT)

Thanks

[Freston]

What happens exactly when you boot the machine with the CD/DVD inserted? Does it hang, does it just boot Windows?

After creating the DVD/CDs all discs are not booting up from the laptop after restarting the computer!

Well if you are sure you have BIOS set to boot from CD?DVD...

[...] hardware specs [...]

Mainly Intel stuff, 't should work.

Then, one of the most common errors I think are 1) burning the .iso as a file rather than as an image, 2) burning too fast and 3) burning a corrupted image.

Are you fully sure you burned the disks as an image? Which burn software are you using?

Maybe this helps

Is there another way to install linux.

Yes, but the CD/DVD should be the easiest.

[dude444]

I am using several
-MagicISO
-Nero
-MagicDisc
but the most successful is MagicISO.
The burn settings are
-CD/DVD writing speed 24X (other 10X/16X)
-Format mode 1 (other mode 2 /XA)
--Burn proof & Finalize CD checked off
Don't think it is corrupted since I can see the file directories in both hdd & CD
Speed I have tried 24 & 16 both fail.
As for the bois, there I don't know why it is not booting these CDs or DVDs, have burned at least 10 discs!
Used Nero, after extracting the ISO into hdd folder.
Burned the folder into the CD using Nero still it failed, the copy of the CD is excellent.
What can I do to change boot settings to boot from CD/DVD differently???

[yancek]

I'd try a slower speed than 24x if you can.
Did you copy the md5sum from the website, check it after the download?
I'm not sure if I understand what you did, but after you download the iso file, you need to burn it as an image and not data and not extract anything.

[dude444]

Narrowed the problem, there is only text file with limited / mixed characters when you open the file - md5sum.txt, no batch or com file.
I don't have this file.
The speed is no problem, I can burn slower.
The image, here I will select burn as image instead of the actual data, but in anycase it burns as image in the end as there are all the ISOLinux/.disk/install/dists directories.

[Mudgen]

Do you have another computer you can try booting your CDs (one of them, anyway) on? That could help narrow it down to whether it's the CD or something about the Gateway.

[dreamcarrior]

Using Nero, you should use "write Image" function. If you extract the files and simply burn them into the CD, you are not creating a bootable CD. You really have to burn the iso image.

Secondly, if you have great failing rate in creating CD's (using verify function, if it failed the verification process) then your CD-Writer may have hardware problem. You need to obtain another CD-Writer and give it a try.

Thirdly, if you have a dell, at the beginning of booting process, you should see on the top-right corner of the screen "F2 for Setup" or something like that. Make sure that you press that function key to enter "Setup". This setup is the BIOS. You will see a lot of functions such as setting boot priority. Make sure that you know how to boot from CD-ROM.

I am using several
-MagicISO
-Nero
-MagicDisc
but the most successful is MagicISO.
The burn settings are
-CD/DVD writing speed 24X (other 10X/16X)
-Format mode 1 (other mode 2 /XA)
--Burn proof & Finalize CD checked off
Don't think it is corrupted since I can see the file directories in both hdd & CD
Speed I have tried 24 & 16 both fail.
As for the bois, there I don't know why it is not booting these CDs or DVDs, have burned at least 10 discs!
Used Nero, after extracting the ISO into hdd folder.
Burned the folder into the CD using Nero still it failed, the copy of the CD is excellent.
What can I do to change boot settings to boot from CD/DVD differently???

[clowenstein]

Do NOT repeat NOT extract the files from the ISO. Burn it as an image copy.

Unfortunately you have been suckered into the most common trap for people trying to make a bootable CD from an ISO image. The files have already been built into the ISO image, and the boot block code has already been added to it. All you have to do is copy that image exactly to the CD.