Help installing (any form of) linux

[donzieja]

Hello, it's great to be back. Hopefully this time around I'll manage to be less busy and stay here a while.

Anyways, as some of you may recall, I have been having trouble installing any form of linux on my [Gateway NV52, 2.1 GHZ amd64 x2, 4 GB ddr2, 320 gb hdd laptop], since it has returned from repairs. During the repairs, the motherboard was replaced. I was informed that it may have something to do with the bios; so I set the defaults. Still, Linux refused to install in a timely manner, and by that I mean "to get to the live desktop, then click install [Put Linux distro here]". I've tried the following distributions to little or no success:

Linux mint 9 [Gnome, 64-bit DVD]
Linux mint 9 [KDE, 64-bit DVD]
Ubuntu 8.10 all the way through 10.10 [Gnome, 64-bit dvd] & minimal cd [10.10]
Debian 5 [Not sure of the specific number, 5.something.]
Fedora 7, 8, 9, 13, 14.
Opensuse [not sure of the version on this one]


As of now, I am at the live screen for Linux Mint 9 KDE edition, 64-bit dvd.

I booted from the dvd at around 3:05 (now 3:33)

It seems okay, but before repairs this same scenario has went down in under 5 minutes.

I'm now [at 3:37] going to click the install linux mint button.

Any help?

Thanks,

-Don

P.s. - Will edit if install somehow succeeds.

[oz]

Hello, it's great to be back. Hopefully this time around I'll manage to be less busy and stay here a while.

Anyways, as some of you may recall, I have been having trouble installing any form of linux on my [Gateway NV52, 2.1 GHZ amd64 x2, 4 GB ddr2, 320 gb hdd laptop], since it has returned from repairs.

Hello and welcome to the forums!

This appears to be your first post ever on these forums, so I'm not sure anyone will remember you having troubles before, but if you've tried that many different distros and none have worked, there are apparently one or more pieces of hardware on your machine that don't like Linux.

You might be able to disable any non-essential hardware items and complete the installation, then re-enable them, or you might be able to use the F-keys on the keyboard to change the kernel boot options for the distro of your choice to get you past any show-stopping hurdles.

[donzieja]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

This appears to be your first post ever on these forums, so I'm not sure anyone will remember you having troubles before

I remember now! Thanks... I must have mistaken one memory for another! Lol..

Anyways, I just (at 3:54 pm) managed to get past the time zone and to the keyboard layout page.

[donzieja]

At 4:32 the main installation has started.

4:34 27%

[oz]

Most of the time, installation should take from about 20 or 30 minutes on up to an hour or perhaps a little more, depending on the distro being installed and the hardware it's going onto. For example, it usually takes me about 25 to 30 minutes to install Ubuntu.

If you should run into problems, post back with a new thread and the details for each individual issue.

Good luck with it!

[MASONTX]

If your current attempt doesn't work, try downloading the alternate install for your distro of choice. Not always, but most times, this will help you get around or at least identify the problem.

[donzieja]

Hello, thanks for your help. The installation was successful. It took (in total) about 4 hours to complete, and about 5 minutes to boot for the first time. I find that it is booting faster every time. Again, I am very grateful for all the help you have provided me with.

-Don