PLEASE HELP with reload

[organist1]

I have a desktop (Dell Pentium 4 512 ram) which has 10.04 loaded. There are apparently some errors as some of the menu items didn't load correctly, and after a while, it freezes showing a black screen with vertical lines. This is not a dual-boot setup. I have a new 10.04 disk which I have tried to boot from to simply over write it with a fresh install but the computer will not boot from the disk. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[gordintoronto]

You need to get into your BIOS setup. Just after turning on the power, you must press a key which will get you there. It varies from computer to computer! Most common is the Del key, but some computers use ESC or a function key. If you have a manual, it might tell you.

[organist1]

Thanks. Boot order is set to read disk 1st. Still no go. What am I missing?

[Blasphemist]

There may be 2 ways to boot the cd. One is setting the cd to first in the boot order in bios as you've done. The other is that many systems also prompt an option to select the boot device right after power on, maybe at the same time as prompting to allow bios access. Mine is F12 but that could differ for you, if it is an option.

Also, be sure that the cd you are trying to use is supported by your likely very old cd drive. You don't want a dvd most likely. Did you burn the cd on that system? That would of course ensure it is acceptable to that drive. I had an old laptop that wouldn't boot to a cd that was 52x but would an old slower cd.

Is usb a boot option in bios? Have you tried a usb boot?

[organist1]

This desktop computer was originally formatted to 8.04(?) by CD then updated to 10.04. We have used it for some time but there has always been errors since the original load. The pc doesn't have a burner (that I'm aware of). Once booted up, the CD shows up on the desktop and the properties seem correct. Is it possible to overwrite from here? I have a laptop that I'm using now with 10.10 (Macbuntu) and I've never experienced these difficulties before.:(

[Blasphemist]

There is no way for you to do what is termed a clean install without booting to a live media, cd or usb. A clean install seems best here unless you decide to get to resolving your issues. Depending on what the errors are that could be a simple or complex process.

The path of least resistance for an install is looking like using a usb drive/jump drive. Would you like to pursue that? The advice we have already given should allow you to boot from cd if the cd and the drive are good. Have you tried booting from your cd on another pc?

[organist1]

AhHA! You may have found the problem. This laptop won't boot from it either. I'm assuming I need a new CD. I'll burn a new one. (unfortunately, with my connection rate, it will take a few hours to download. I had a friend download it before). I'll see if this works. Thanks.