Newbie with installation problems Optiplex 320

[bpfeil]

I'm a total newbie to ubuntu and I'm trying to dual boot xp and ubuntu, after I get it all installed, I reboot and try and load ubuntu and I get a f and 2 green bars on my screen. What am I doing wrong or is there something I need to change?

[Sef]

Go into Grub and boot into failsafe. Does it come up then? (GRUB appears at the beginning of the boot sequence; push the esc button to get into it.)

[bpfeil]

Yes I get it then also

[bpfeil]

I finally got ubuntu to run but I had to install it inside of windows when I boot it I have to choose the acpi walkaround version otherwise all it does it freeze up on boot, or show me a black screen. Is there anyway that I can get around this?