chappajar
April 28th, 2010, 01:26 PM
I'm trying to install Ubuntu to a laptop for a relative.
Through my own impatience I accidentally damaged the data on the first partition on the hard disk, which wouldn't matter except that the laptop refuses to boot from most CDs.
It won't boot a Win XP install disk (despite the fact that I've installed Win XP on it from the same disk in the past).
Immediately after I wrecketd the first partition it would boot one of Ubuntu 8.10, 9.04 or 9.10 (I forget which version, and it only worked after I downloaded and burnt a fresh copy, wouldn't work with the copy I already had) but not the other two, and won't boot any of them now. When it did boot the Ubuntu livecd it would crash a short while after I tried to install.
It will happily boot into DSL from a live CD. It wouldn't boot a GParted live cd before, but will now...?
So I'm a bit stuck. How do I go about getting Ubuntu installed on the first partition. BTW there is data on the second partition that I can't allow to be damaged or deleted.
The laptop is old, and won't boot from USB.
I'm guessing my best bet is to install through DSL? I can't open the CD drawer once DSL livecd is running(! Is this normal?) and DSL doesn't find either of the two hard disk partitions, but I can mount an external hard disk in DSL.
Can I use this to install Ubuntu (or at least get the install started, if it crashes again I'll deal with that problem then), and if so, how do I do it?
Through my own impatience I accidentally damaged the data on the first partition on the hard disk, which wouldn't matter except that the laptop refuses to boot from most CDs.
It won't boot a Win XP install disk (despite the fact that I've installed Win XP on it from the same disk in the past).
Immediately after I wrecketd the first partition it would boot one of Ubuntu 8.10, 9.04 or 9.10 (I forget which version, and it only worked after I downloaded and burnt a fresh copy, wouldn't work with the copy I already had) but not the other two, and won't boot any of them now. When it did boot the Ubuntu livecd it would crash a short while after I tried to install.
It will happily boot into DSL from a live CD. It wouldn't boot a GParted live cd before, but will now...?
So I'm a bit stuck. How do I go about getting Ubuntu installed on the first partition. BTW there is data on the second partition that I can't allow to be damaged or deleted.
The laptop is old, and won't boot from USB.
I'm guessing my best bet is to install through DSL? I can't open the CD drawer once DSL livecd is running(! Is this normal?) and DSL doesn't find either of the two hard disk partitions, but I can mount an external hard disk in DSL.
Can I use this to install Ubuntu (or at least get the install started, if it crashes again I'll deal with that problem then), and if so, how do I do it?