unable to install redhat or fedora

[nit2rahul]

i had redhat and xp on my system previously.There was some problem coming in the linux the i had.So i decided to remove that and reinstall it. But unknowingly i deleted the partition containing the red hat from the windows directly.
Now when i m installing redhat or fedora ,its not getting installed. The error message is :-Unable to read the drive.

I urgently need to install linux. Please if anybody can help.

[devils casper]

Hi and Welcome !

Installation error has nothing to do with earlier installation of Linux.
Something is wrong with installation CD/DVD only. Have you checked same installation media in other machine? Did you burn installation CD/DVD yourself?

[techieMoe]

If you're not concerned with preserving what's on the harddrive, I'd recommend using something like the GParted liveCD. Download and burn it, then boot your computer with it. You'll get a graphical utility similar to the one in XP that lets you add/delete/format all the partitions on your drive. Just delete all of them, save your changes, and reboot with a Linux disc. You should be able to install then.

[nit2rahul]

there is no any such problem in the DVD. The same problem is there with the other
DVD's also.

The Error coming is:-"The Partition Table on the device sda was unreadable

[nit2rahul]

The Error coming while installing is:-"The Partition Table on the device sda was unreadable".

Plz if u could help

[nit2rahul]

Is there any problem in the MBR. If so how can it be resolved.Please tell me some appropriate solution

[Rubberman]

Boot the liveCD but don't choose to install. Also, do not mount the drive. Just run the fdisk command on the root of the drive, such as: fdisk /dev/sda
Even if it complains, it should at least show some information about the disc. Assuming it doesn't terminate, execute the 'm' command to see the fdisk menu. You will see that the 'l' command will list the contents of the table. Try that first. If that doesn't work, then the 'o' command will create a new empty DOS partition table. This is what you want to do if the partition table is well and truly frelled. Unfortunately, when you do this, your Windows partition will be gone, though if you remember what its settings were previously (offset, size), you might be able to preserve it by creating the Windows partition with the same settings. Finally, issue the 'w' command to write the table to disc and exit. Now, you should be able to install the operating system on the disc.

[devils casper]

Lets check Partition Structure of your Hard disk first. Just boot up from LiveCD of any Distro, open Terminal and execute this

su -
fdisk -l

Or

sudo fdisk -l

* Its small L in fdisk -l.

[Rubberman]

Lets check Partition Structure of your Hard disk first. Just boot up from LiveCD of any Distro, open Terminal and execute this

su -
fdisk -l

Or

sudo fdisk -l

* Its small L in fdisk -l.

That will list all the discs that are connected to the system. My instructions below were assuming you run fdisk on the disc in question. Run fdisk /dev/sda (or whatever device id your disc is associated with). Then when you are at the fdisk prompt, type the letter 'l' (lower case). Sorry if this wasn't clear. Everything I was suggesting is done inside fdisk.

[devils casper]

That will list all the discs that are connected to the system.

If there is more than one, Members tell us the device name assigned to disk in question in the reply most of the time.