Installation freezes

[gneo]

Hello,

Newbie here so please be gentle.

I tried installing both 8.04 and 8.10 to an old laptop (Philips freevents X52) and the installation freezes. I've tried all possible options (Live CD, install inside windows, full installation) but nothing seems to be working.

Any help would be greatly apreciated.

[Pumalite]

Ram?

[gneo]

1 gb ram

[dabl]

"Installation freezes at xx%" is the classic indicator of a problem reading the installation CD. Either it's a bad CD burn, or the old optical drive isn't up to the job. Linux installation CDs use maximum compression and have to be burned slowly, at 4X speed, and using DAO mode if it is available.

[Kevbert]

Welcome to Ubuntu.
Have you burnt the ISO yourself (at a slow speed) ? Checked the ISO hash ? Checked the CD integrity via the install menu ? Checked your memory via the memtest option ?

[Pumalite]

Downlo0ad and install ImgBurn:
http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download
Once installed; go to Mode>ISO>Burn
Select 1x speed of burn. Clean the lens in your burner.
Before burning; do md5sum on your iso.
Use only good quality CD-R

[gneo]

No "installation freezes" message. Just crashes before it starts doing anything.

I've checked the integrity of the CDs. OK.

I followed instructions and used Nero to burn the cd image.

The installation actually begins, I get the first screen, I pick the type of installation I want and then everything crashes. A hard reset is required to go back to booting Windows XP.

[Pumalite]

Post:
sudo lshw

[gneo]

Eeerrrm what?

No Linux experience here. I hoped Ubuntu would be my first one!

[Pumalite]

Boot your Live CD; get to the Desktop; there go to Applications>Accessories>Terminal.
In the Terminal; type: sudo lshw, press 'Enter'
Copy and paste the output here.