i really hope this is the right place to ask this

[hemotoxin]

Hello ubuntu forums, please excuse me if I posted in the wrong place, but I'm very frustrated with my current situation and I don't have much patience.

Anyway, I'm switching (or upgrading I guess) from Windows Vista to ubuntu. My brother had given me a disk with what I believe to be an old version of ubuntu on it, so I figured I'd upgrade it later. My plan was to wipe my hard drive as it was almost uselessly slow. I decided to install it first and play around then proceed to wipe it then re-install ubuntu. So I went to install ubuntu and I got an error while installing that said something missing I believe. I figured this was because it was old version of ubuntu so I restarted my computer and went to go load Windows, and it wouldn't load. So now I cant do much, and as someone with only basic understanding of computers, I ask the mighty masters of linux for your help, thanks in advance.

[MrMichaelHill]

Hello ubuntu forums, please excuse me if I got an error while installing that said something missing I believe..


What did it say?

:p

[bpb101]

just re download ubuntu and fire it up again

[hemotoxin]

I believe it said "[something] could not be found, please try cleaning the disk or download the newest version of linux" something along those lines. And I can't just re download it because I can't boot up Windows.

[hemotoxin]

I'm really get frustrated here.

[dFlyer]

My advice is to go to www.ubuntu.com and download a current version of ubuntu. After downloading check the md5sum to make sure your download was good before burning and image to cd. Once that is done test drive the live version for a while before choosing to install it to make sure all your hardware works correctly. Remember linux is not windows and does not function like windows. Remember to go slow and have fun, and before you choose to install ubuntu, clone or at a minimum backup your windows data before you proceed.

[MrMichaelHill]

I believe it said "[something] could not be found, please try cleaning the disk or download the newest version of linux" something along those lines. And I can't just re download it because I can't boot up Windows.

[something] could be the important part...

I'd borrow a friend/family pc?


Re-download

[Dangertux]

Yeah -- it sounds like the disk is damaged to the point where it can't find a file it needs to install. Or the .iso was not burned right.

If the disk is really scratched up and you need a working operating system to download a new copy (IE: you have no computer you can borrow). You can try doing this.

Put toothpaste (regular toothpaste, not the whitening kind or the kind with little mouthwash specs in it) on the surface of the cd, and wipe from inside (near the hole) out in a straight motion with a soft cotton cloth. Do not wipe circularly. This may help give your disk enough extra mileage to finish the install so you can burn a new iso. It may also do nothing, particularly if it's not a scratch but a corrupted iso.

I know this sounds weird but it really will help make do with a scratched CD. Just make sure all the toothpaste residue is clean from the surface of the disk before reinserting it into the machine.

Good luck :-)

[YesWeCan]

Best to run a "check disc for errors" from the CD menu before installing.

Nice toothpaste tip. Remarkable. :)