Help - 4 burns all have errors

[rbrandes]

After deciding on Ubuntu I downloaded from Georgia Tech. The first burn had 16 errors. The second burn, with settings to go slower for precision, had 16 errors. The third burn on a different machine had 17 errors.
The next download from some national lab site produces burns with 16 errors. Won't install and so on. What can I do? I really want to try this.
Regards, Ray in FLA

[oz]

Welcome to the forums!

Check this link to make sure you are downloading and burning the ISO files to disk properly:

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/ins...ll-cd-dvd.html

If you've correctly followed all the steps provided there and are still getting bad burns, maybe you are using bad media.

[rbrandes]

Thanks for the link to the how-to. It kept me busy for quite a while. I can't check-sum the download since I have nothing to run md5sum.iso on yet.
I burned the image on both machines and they had file errors in the teens. I downloaded isoburn and used that on both machines with the speed down as low as it would allow (8x & 4x), still errors in the teens.
So I figured I will get the older distribution, 8.04 and try that. Still no luck, lots of file errors.
The media I am using is Memorex.
I give up on the downloads. I am going to order a disk.
Regards, Ray in FLA

[rbrandes]

I am not asking for help, just noting what I am going through.

I noticed my web host was using Linux and now I have a spare computer I decided to give it a try.
I searched the web in three separate multi-hour sessions and the more I read the more confused I got.
Finally, I decided to try Ubuntu. I downloaded the latest distro and burned a CD. It didn't work. The self test showed 17 file errors.
I downloaded again and burned another CD. Similar results.
Then I downloaded the previous version and burned a disk. No luck!
Then I got on this forum and got help right away.
I downloaded a recomended burner application and burned the "image" to the CD. And.... still errors in the teens when I try to install.

On 5-11-09 I went to the Ubuntu site and requested a CD be mailed. Their site reports they approved the request and forwarded it to the shipping company on 5-17.

That is where it stands right now. I am waiting for an error free CD and still suffering with Windows.
Regards, Ray in FLA

[techieMoe]

Just a suggestion: next time before you even burn the disc, verify the integrity of your ISO image using something like WinMD5Sum. The valid MD5 signatures are available on the Ubuntu site here:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuHashes

Next, provided the MD5Sum checks out, make sure you burn at a relatively low speed to reduce the chance of errors. If your burner can go up to 24X, try burning at 12X. Finally, don't put so much stock in the results of the CDROM self-check; they've been known to give false positives in the past. If your MD5 checks out and you burned it slowly, there's a good chance you will get an error-free install.

[rbrandes]

So, I was trying to try Ubuntu without changing my comuter, and I thought perhaps that was the problem, not enough room on the HD. So, I got the reinstall disk and was going to slick the drive and partition it.

When I try to reinstall Windows, it tells me it can't because the version on the PC is newer than the one on the CD...
So I put the HD in a USB and formatted it from another computer.

Now when I try to reinstall Windows I get NTLDR not found...

I have a note to Dell asking why I can't reinstall my OS.

This is turning into a long strange trip.

[rbrandes]

Many calls to Dell and they said my HD needed to be replaced and gave me a price. All the tests I did on the HD said it was good so I wasn't going to replace it. Finally, the last tech told me anything on the HD at all would produce the NTLDR not found error message.
I looked to do a low level format on the drive and learned that is old stuff. Seagate provides a utility to "completely erase" the HD. I did that and then tried to reinstall windows. The reinstall stalled so I quit.
After another complete erase, I tried my best Ubuntu burn again. Things looked good, but that cd blew up a bunch of errors.
So, I am still waiting for the disk requested on 5-11.
Regards, Ray in FLA

[rbrandes]

The Ubuntu disk came yesterday. June 6th. With high hopes I popped it in and started the computer. But, eventually, just like the burns I downloaded, it stalled and the computer wasn't responding and I had to unplug it to get it to restart.
Several disk things were tried, but always the same result. I tried safe mode, I tried full erase, I tried partitioned, I tried formatted etc. etc. No luck.
I figured it might be the computer, so with the directions on the cd sleeve I tried it in another computer. Finally! Installed Ubuntu inside Windows and it all works. Now I guess I need to find out what is wrong with the other computer that was running windows just fine until I erased the disk.

[whych]

The ubuntu disk should allow you to run live from cd on the defunct/other pc.
If it runs fine, tyry a complete install using the whole of the hdd for ubuntu. (I assume you don't need windows on it.)

[rbrandes]

Whych,
The problem is unique to that computer and hard drive. The drive, in another computer, installs winders and linux just fine. Back in the original computer everything runs fine, just couldn't install anything.
Regards, Ray in FLA