Welcome screen hangs

[kipperman]

Hi, I am new to Ubuntu and very excited about getting into it after a demo from a friend.

I have a Sony Vaio PCG-9B2M model which was running XP OS. The XP has since got corrupted and rather than put it back on I wanted to just go with Ubuntu as the main and only OS on it.

I got the 10.10 CD disc done and booted it up. I can get to the welcome screen but have a problem from there. I first tried to install Ubuntu but it failed to go onto the next stage. The turning circle sat there and did not progress any further. After 15 minutes I powered the PC down and tried again. I thought that maybe the XP had corrupted the hard drive to a point that it could not find any space or something.

I then tried the 'Try Ubuntu' option to see if that would work. I thought that maybe if I run that I could do something with the hard drive to get the install running.

Unfortunately I got to the same hung welcome screen with no signs of progress. I had left it 30 minutes before powering down.

So I am kind of stuck. Any ideas on a way forward here please?

Kind Regards

[Rubi1200]

Hi and welcome to the forums :)

Please post the full specifications for the computer.

Thanks.

[kipperman]

Thanks
I can't remember exactly now. But I know it has 256 RAM and an athlon processor, (1G I think) with about a 60Gb H/D

I have searched for the specs online and have not seen any results as yet.

[Rubi1200]

The minimum amount required to install the regular version of Ubuntu is 512MB. I seriously doubt you can do it with 256MB.

Here is what I suggest:

give either Lubuntu or Xubuntu a try; they are much lighter when it comes to resource usage.

http://lubuntu.net/
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/10.10/release/

Always try as a LiveCD first to see if it is compatible with your system.

[kipperman]

Hi, Thanks for the answer. Yes I see that know, sorry for not spotting it. Hopefully the lack of memory is the solution. Fingers crossed!

I could try the other lite versions as you suggest. But instead I have ordered another 256MB RAM for the laptop. I flipped the back panel off and there is another available slot for it. 512 is the max it will take though I have found out.

Just have to wait a few days for the part to arrive and see where we are.

regards

[Rubi1200]

If you add the extra memory you should be good to go.

I've used Ubuntu on a laptop with 512MB and it was fine.

[kipperman]

Thanks for pointing in on the right road.

I have now fitted the extra RAM and we were off and away on boot up.

I used the whole disc to write Ubuntu on as I was sick of XP. The new O/S looks and feel grand. It even found and used my drivers without prompting me for downloads and silly messages.

Bye Windows, Hello Linux!!