Laptop install problem

Irf · 26 Jun 2008 at 22:08

Hi all,

This is a pretty basic problem, but I can't figure out how to overcome it.....

I have a Dell Latitude C510 laptop with a new (clean) HD in it. The optical drive is a CD-ROM.

I am trying to install Ubuntu 8.04 onto this machine, but the CD-R is not seen by the drive. I wonder if this is because the drive is just a CD-ROM and not something that can routinely read CD-Rs. Or perhaps it's because the CD-R distros I have burnt have been done at a high speed?

I have thought trying some kind of USB/Flash install, but without an OS (or a BIOS) that supports USB booting I can't see how that would work. The oly option I see at this stage is to buy a eplacement (old) optical drive.

Any ideas anyone???

Thanks for reading

Irf.

deano · 26 Jun 2008 at 22:12

reburn iso at a lower speed 16x or slower check md5 sums

Irf · 26 Jun 2008 at 22:55

Thanks Deano. I have just tried as you suggest - burnt the CD-R at 4x (SLOWWW) and checked the md5.....

The sum worked out OK, and the laptop still protests that there is no bootable media present. I guess the only definite proof would be to try installing (anything) from a pressed media rather than a burnt one, but I have nothing like that here.

Any more ideas or suggestions?

Irf.

benjo plz. · 26 Jun 2008 at 23:10

are you certain its bootable?

Irf · 26 Jun 2008 at 23:53

Yes, I'm certain. It is the same CD-R I used to install to another test linux box yesterday. Also, I have just booted from this disk "live" into my own desktop PC (normally Windows). I'm typing this from within that live ubuntu session.

Also, just to check, I tried to boot from other known working distros as well as an old back-up copy of windows. All worked fine unless I tried with the laptop.

Still trying stuff......!

Irf.

Minto · 27 Jun 2008 at 02:42

when my cd drive was on it's way out the first thing to go was booting from CD, then it would only read the first disk you put in each boot, and then it died completely.

Maybe try an external cd drive, or an enclosure for one of the drives from your other comps (to borrow just for the install)

Outcast · 27 Jun 2008 at 03:24

Smells like you haven't burnt the disc as an image

Irf · 27 Jun 2008 at 09:52

All,

Thank you so much for your replies. I have almost reached the end of my options, but here is a little more information....

I have re-burnt the ISO at 4x speed (the lowest my burner will go. Still no joy.
Both disks (fast and slow burnt) boot and install properly on other (newer) machines.
The laptop I am trying to use is quite old (Pentium III) and the only boot options in the BIOS are floppy, CD, HDD and various network options (which I REALLY don't know how to use!).
The disks I am using (all distros - OpenSuSE, Ubuntu, Mandriva, etc.) have all been burnt properly as ISOs - and they boot properly elsewhere.
I would have connected a different CD drive externally, but there's no way to make the laptop boot from it as far as I can see.

So there you have it - am I stuck?

Thanks to all again for replies sent and yet to arrive!

Irf.

Ethics · 27 Jun 2008 at 10:11

Install BASE distro on HDD in another machine with ALL relevant modules to laptop compiled into the kernel?

basically enough to have core utils and and input/output support.

Then whack it back in laptop and set it up from the ground, may take a bit fo hacking about.

This depends on the distro you use, a lot of them have stripped down versions like Ubuntu server, arch base etc etc.

.walls · 27 Jun 2008 at 10:34

set up one of your other boxes as a PXE server and boot from that. It's suprisingly easy to do and means that you never have to burn another OS disk

Minto · 27 Jun 2008 at 11:28

or buy a new internal cd drive for your laptop

Irf · 27 Jun 2008 at 16:21

Ethics and .walls - I'm sure that's possible for you guys, but I'm a relative Linux newbie, so wouldn't know where to start with your suggestions. The PXE server option sounds most likely to be possible with my simple brain - any pointers as to how to do this? Thank you anyway for taking the trouble to reply.

Minto - yes, it is an absolute last resort that I buy an internal CD-RW or DVD-RW for this Dell laptop. They cost between £30 and £50 across the net.

Regards,

Irf.

.walls · 27 Jun 2008 at 21:50

Irf said:
The PXE server option sounds most likely to be possible with my simple brain - any pointers as to how to do this?

First off, you have to make sure that you can network boot from your laptop... so, when you power on and get the Dell splash; you get an option for enter BIOS (or setup) and an option for boot menu (or boot order) - I think it's f12 for boot menu. Enter the boot menu and select Network boot (or something like that). IF when you select that, the computer searches for a DHCP address (it should tell you on screen) - then we're good for PXE. If that's the case (most computers are PXE bootable), then there seem to be a lot of guides here

Irf · 30 Jun 2008 at 11:15

OK, thanks to all for responding and being so helpful.

The solution that worked first was actually probably the simplest. I just connected the 2.5" HDD to an adaptor and then to my Linux test desktop PC and carried out a normal install on that. Then when I put it back into the Dell laptop it just worked fine!

One small issue is that upon bootup the orange moving bar thingy gets stuck for about a minute at one point, but that's a tiny issue which is probably due to the different hardware. Also the mouse works OK, but doesn't have the double-tap functionality as normal.

All in all - very happy now....

Thanks again.

Irf.

Outcast · 30 Jun 2008 at 11:44

One small issue is that upon bootup the orange moving bar thingy gets stuck for about a minute at one point

That appears to be normal. My mates Asus A4book has Ubuntu installed through wubi and it gets stuck at about 40% of that orange bar then changes to a black text screen and hangs for about 3 minutes on activating swap file. The machine works perfectly afterwards. With each update I keep hoping it'll suss that issue but it hasn't so far. Bit of a bummer really as he's a n00b with computers but prefers Ubuntu over XP, but the delay in getting to a usuable os understandably ****** him off.

As for your mouse pd issue.. look in prefs, you will probably be able to fettle it to work correctly.

Minto · 30 Jun 2008 at 16:18

Irf said:
One small issue is that upon bootup the orange moving bar thingy gets stuck for about a minute at one point, but that's a tiny issue which is probably due to the different hardware.

This is almost always caused by the system attempting to bring up an unused or non-existant ethernet port. make sure you "sudo ifdown eth*" on any network hardware you aren't using, it should stop it doing it. - I have to wait ages as my 360 is bridged through my ubuntu system, so when it isn't switched on my ubuntu hangs for about 30 seconds on boot as it tries to bring the interface up.