Ubuntu Installation on a very old and decrepid Inspiron 8200...suggestions?

[Doctor_Gonzo]

So here's the deal, I'm trying to install Ubuntu 8.10 (or 8.04, have both disks) on my very old Dell Inspiron 8200. Problem is the cd-drive is bad, I get to around 49% installation with either cd and it craps out, so I'm 99.9% positive the cd drive is bad. I don't believe a usb jump is an option since the laptop is quite old school and only has usb 1.1 and I don't even see an option to boot from usb in the bios. So do any of you linux gurus have any suggestions as to how else I could get an OS on this old bitch? I really don't want to sink another dime into it (i.e. new drive) since I'm planning on getting a new laptop in the near future, but my sentimental attachment to it makes it hard for me to just leave it bricked (I've had it for over 7 years and up until a month ago it was still kickin hard). So, suggestions?

[zvacet]

IOf yo uhavew windows on that laptop you can try this. (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/FromWindows?highlight=%28CategoryCleanup%29) Be carefull to replace http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/gutsy/main/installer-i386/current/images/netboot/ubuntu-installer/i386/ with http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/hardy/main/installer-i386/current/images/netboot/ubuntu-installer/i386/.

[Doctor_Gonzo]

Unfortunately, it's sans OS...I was running a dual-boot on it but decided since I never use windows anymore that I would just scrap it and format the hd with a fresh hardy system...that's when I discovered the cd drive was bocked...

[Doctor_Gonzo]

bump