dell dimension 8400 won't boot from live cd

[Maccas124]

hello, I have a Dell dimnesion 8400 running xp on which i am attempting to install ubuntu 12.10 on; i have attempted various ways of doing this.

i burned the iso file to a disc successfully as it worked in another pc, I have also ensured that the cd/dvd drive is set as first in boot drives in BIOS settings. The problem is when reboot the machine i get a message saying "invalid boot ini file booting windows c-drive" the xp boots, even though im attempting to replace xp with 12.10.

I have also attempted to download ubuntu using the windows installer but just as it looks like its finishing i get an error saying "string index out of range" then the installation fails.

i have also attempted to use the boot helper on the ubuntu cd but this didnt have any effect either, i recieved an error code which i can't remember at this time.

im really stuck, any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

[sanderj]

Before we dive into details: how much RAM has your Dell Dimension 8400?

I see some reviews with 512 MB ... that's too little run to Ubuntu 12.10

[Maccas124]

yes i have 2gb of ram withn the computer.

[Bucky Ball]

Thread moved to Installation & Upgrades.

[sanderj]

yes i have 2gb of ram withn the computer.

OK, good. Now back to booting from the CD:

Is the Windows still working? If there is no CD in the drive, does it boot into Windows?

[Maccas124]

yes when it fails to launch ubuntu, it automatically boots xp.

[sanderj]

You could read this:
http://en.community.dell.com/support.../19414708.aspx

Do you have two optical drives in your Dell?


PS: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/...boot-dell-8400