ubuntu livecd

ringo747

ringo747

ringo747

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1 Feb 2006
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hi guys,

my pc with xp on it has crashed a while back and to avoid having to do a windows reinstall i thought about using a linux live cd to have a look through the other disks and move some files which i need urgently... i downloaded the latest ubuntu build for x86 architecture and burned the iso image to disk. When i try to boot ubuntu from the cd i get a black screen with all this meaningless data containing error messages like 'frozen....JKHJHKJHKJHK error' etc etc.

Why would i be getting all these errors when simply reading from the cd??

Im a linux noob but even still i don't think i am missing anything overly important!
 
Can you remember exactly what the error was, or can you recreate it?

I'm off out now (shopping with the missus followed by a meal out), but will pop back later tonight in case nobody has already solved it.
 
Doesn't the live CD have an option before booting that checks the integrity of the CD. I am fairly certain it does.
 
hi guys, thanks for the responses - i am guessing it must be a dodgy burn as i do remember clicking on the 'verify cd contents' before doing the installation but it was the same error message both times. The machine i have is an AMD 64 bit and firstly i tried the AMD64 version of ubuntu but it didn't work - it said to use a different distribution. Perhaps the x86 version will work if i reburn the cd. Thanks
 
If you're just using it to get files off an NTFS partition then the x86 version will work just fine; it discovers USB storage devices so you can just move the files to something like a USB key, or external HDD.

--
Richard
 
i have just reburned the disk image and have exactly the same problems as before...The error messages i am getting is something like this..

'1194.234234 ata3.00: revalidation failed (error=19)'
'1194.234234 ata3.00: SET of native returned 878273987 expected 23482039'

There are hundreds of lines being pumped out that look similar to the above. Any ideas??
 
jonnyc747 said:
i have just reburned the disk image and have exactly the same problems as before...The error messages i am getting is something like this..

'1194.234234 ata3.00: revalidation failed (error=19)'
'1194.234234 ata3.00: SET of native returned 878273987 expected 23482039'

There are hundreds of lines being pumped out that look similar to the above. Any ideas??
Click to expand...

Did your image come with an MD5 checksum? It is useful to run md5sum on the image before you burn, to make sure it is not corrupt.

e.g. ftp://ftp.mirrorservice.org/sites/ftp.uni-kl.de/pub/linux/knoppix/

KNOPPIX_V5.1.0CD-2006-12-30-EN.iso 714448 KB
KNOPPIX_V5.1.0CD-2006-12-30-EN.iso.md5 1 KB

So you would download both, open a command prompt, navigate to the directory where the two files reside, and type :

md5sum -c KNOPPIX_V5.1.0CD-2006-12-30-EN.iso.md5

Also, burn at as slow a speed as you can stand. :p
I have used 1x on CD-R without a single coaster, but for some reason the CD-RWs I bought only have the option for 4x and I've produced a couple of coasters.

If you are verifying in Windows, download md5sum.exe from one of the following links:

http://etree.org/cgi-bin/counter.cgi/software/md5sum.exe eb574b236133e60c989c6f472f07827b

http://theopencd.sunsite.dk/md5sum.exe eb574b236133e60c989c6f472f07827b

http://downloads.activestate.com/contrib/md5sum/Windows/md5sum.exe eb574b236133e60c989c6f472f07827b
 
hi, no checksum came with the download package - it was just an iso file. I used the same image file to install ubuntu onto vmware on my mac but just after burning it to a dvd to try on my pc it didnt work.
 
An easier way (if you can wait!) is do what I did and order a copy (or 3 like me) of CD's direct from Ubunbtu... I got 2x x86 (one for a mate) and 1x x64 versions.. it can take upto 10 weeks they say!, but mine came in 2 weeks!!... Not had a problem with any of em as they're pressed like Propper CD's! :)

Ooo and they're FREE!!... :cool:
 
If he just reburns the .iso at a really slow speed he shouldn't have any issues. True you get a proper CD for nowt, but a fortnight or longer is rather a long time to wait.
 
i have tried reburning the cds a few times now and it makes no difference - would there be something wrong with my pc that would make an installation go funny? Memory problems or anything like that?
 
Memory problem is the most likely - Linux is quite sensitive to errors in the memory. The CD should let you test your memory. Run it for a few hours on something like Test 5 and see what it throws up.
 
Just running the test right now - already had a red memory error message. Would this probably indicate a RAM error and therefore be the reason why my PC is screwed up with windows??
 
Yup, looks like we found the problem. Bad memory can do funny things to an OS. You probably just don't notice in Windows :p

Course of action now is to see if it is just the one stick of RAM - assuming you have two. Take one stick out, memtest it and if there are no errros after a while, try the other one.

Unfortunately memory errors don't always show up straight away so 1: you were lucky it errored so soon and 2: it could be ages before you get another!
 
hi, this morning i tried moving about my memory sticks to see if one was faulty but still had the same problem - unplugged one of my HDDs and rebooted and i can boot up now from the ubuntu cd no problem - didnt think a dodgy hard disk would make any odds!
 
Yeah, that's surprising... well done on thinking to try it.

Actually, thinking about it, I seem to remember something about the LiveCD checking your hard drives to see if they're ext3 format, and if they are, then it can use them to speed things up without anything being permanently written to the drive. Maybe it's related to that...?
 
How does the "faulty" HDD connect to your PC [IDE or SATA]? With SATA drives I have found that sometimes the cable can be damaged/slightly loose but the BIOS can still see it, but the drive misbehaves. Might be worth reseating the cable.

If not, I suggest getting your stuff off it, if you can, as it could be a sign your HDD is about to visit the big PC in the sky.
 
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