Cannot install any Linux, it hangs at partition formatting

[infocom]

Hi

I have been trying to get Ubuntu to work for a long time. It was installed but kept hanging. So I thought I would re-install it. But now it hangs on Partition Formatting, particularly the ext3 part.

So I thought i would try other Linux's. I tried Suse and Debian, and both also hang during partition formatting. Actually, Suse got past that but then had an error on almost every package install.

So I wonder if its a hardware issue. Would anyone be able to advise on this? If it is hardware how do I find out what?

Thanks

[Pumalite]

Boot your Live CD and post:
sudo lshw

[infocom]

Here you go, thanks:-



ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo lshw
ubuntu
description: Desktop Computer
product: NF61S-M2A
vendor: BIOSTAR Group
version: 1.0
width: 32 bits
capabilities: smbios-2.4 dmi-2.4 smp-1.4 smp
configuration: boot=normal chassis=desktop cpus=0 uuid=00E04D50-DCEC-FFFF-FFFF-FFFFFFFFFFFF
*-core
description: Motherboard
product: NF61S-M2A
vendor: BIOSTAR Group
physical id: 0
version: 1.0
*-firmware
description: BIOS
vendor: Phoenix Technologies, LTD
physical id: 0
version: 6.00 PG (08/15/2007)
size: 128KiB
capacity: 448KiB
capabilities: isa pci pnp apm upgrade shadowing cdboot bootselect socketedrom edd int13floppy360 int13floppy1200 int13floppy720 int13floppy2880 int5printscreen int9keyboard int14serial int17printer int10video acpi usb ls120boot zipboot biosbootspecification
*-cpu
description: CPU
product: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3500+
vendor: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]
physical id: 3
bus info: cpu@0
version: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3500+
slot: Socket M2
size: 2200MHz
capacity: 3GHz
width: 64 bits
clock: 201MHz
capabilities: fpu fpu_exception wp vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 syscall nx mmxext fxsr_opt rdtscp x86-64 3dnowext 3dnow up rep_good pni cx16 lahf_lm svm extapic cr8_legacy cpufreq
*-cache:0
description: L1 cache
physical id: c
slot: Internal Cache
size: 128KiB
capacity: 128KiB
capabilities: synchronous internal write-back
*-cache:1
description: L2 cache
physical id: d
slot: External Cache
size: 512KiB
capacity: 512KiB
capabilities: synchronous internal write-back
*-memory:0
description: System Memory
physical id: 1f
slot: System board or motherboard
size: 2GiB
*-bank:0
description: DIMM
product: None
vendor: None
physical id: 0
serial: None
slot: A0
size: 1GiB
width: 64 bits
*-bank:1
description: DIMM
product: None
vendor: None
physical id: 1
serial: None
slot: A1
size: 1GiB
width: 64 bits
*-bank:2
description: DIMM [empty]
product: None
vendor: None
physical id: 2
serial: None
slot: A2
width: 64 bits
*-bank:3
description: DIMM [empty]
product: None
vendor: None
physical id: 3
serial: None
slot: A3
width: 64 bits
*-memory:1 UNCLAIMED
description: RAM memory
product: MCP61 Memory Controller
vendor: nVidia Corporation
physical id: 6
bus info: pci@0000:00:00.0
version: a1
width: 32 bits
clock: 66MHz (15.2ns)
capabilities: ht bus_master cap_list
configuration: latency=0
*-isa
description: ISA bridge
product: MCP61 LPC Bridge
vendor: nVidia Corporation
physical id: 1
bus info: pci@0000:00:01.0
version: a2
width: 32 bits
clock: 66MHz
capabilities: isa bus_master
configuration: latency=0
*-serial
description: SMBus
product: MCP61 SMBus
vendor: nVidia Corporation
physical id: 1.1
bus info: pci@0000:00:01.1
version: a2
width: 32 bits
clock: 66MHz
capabilities: pm cap_list
configuration: driver=nForce2_smbus latency=0 module=i2c_nforce2
*-memory:2 UNCLAIMED
description: RAM memory
product: MCP61 Memory Controller
vendor: nVidia Corporation
physical id: 1.2
bus info: pci@0000:00:01.2
version: a2
width: 32 bits
clock: 66MHz (15.2ns)
configuration: latency=0
*-usb:0
description: USB Controller
product: MCP61 USB Controller
vendor: nVidia Corporation
physical id: 2
bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0
version: a3
width: 32 bits
clock: 66MHz
capabilities: pm ohci bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=ohci_hcd latency=0 maxlatency=1 mingnt=3 module=ohci_hcd
*-usb:1
description: USB Controller
product: MCP61 USB Controller
vendor: nVidia Corporation
physical id: 2.1
bus info: pci@0000:00:02.1
version: a3
width: 32 bits
clock: 66MHz
capabilities: debug pm ehci bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=ehci_hcd latency=0 maxlatency=1 mingnt=3 module=ehci_hcd
*-pci:0
description: PCI bridge
product: MCP61 PCI bridge
vendor: nVidia Corporation
physical id: 4
bus info: pci@0000:00:04.0
version: a1
width: 32 bits
clock: 66MHz
capabilities: pci ht subtractive_decode bus_master cap_list
*-firewire
description: FireWire (IEEE 1394)
product: IEEE 1394 Host Controller
vendor: VIA Technologies, Inc.
physical id: 8
bus info: pci@0000:01:08.0
version: 46
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm ohci bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=ohci1394 latency=64 maxlatency=32 module=ohci1394
*-multimedia
description: Audio device
product: MCP61 High Definition Audio
vendor: nVidia Corporation
physical id: 5
bus info: pci@0000:00:05.0
version: a2
width: 32 bits
clock: 66MHz
capabilities: pm msi ht bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=HDA Intel latency=0 maxlatency=5 mingnt=2 module=snd_hda_intel
*-ide:0
description: IDE interface
product: MCP61 IDE
vendor: nVidia Corporation
physical id: a
bus info: pci@0000:00:06.0
logical name: scsi0
version: a2
width: 32 bits
clock: 66MHz
capabilities: ide pm bus_master cap_list emulated
configuration: driver=pata_amd latency=0 maxlatency=1 mingnt=3 module=pata_amd
*-cdrom
description: DVD-RAM writer
product: CDDVDW SH-S202H
vendor: TSSTcorp
physical id: 0.0.0
bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0
logical name: /dev/cdrom
logical name: /dev/dvd
logical name: /dev/scd0
logical name: /dev/sr0
logical name: /cdrom
version: SB00
capabilities: removable audio cd-r cd-rw dvd dvd-r dvd-ram
configuration: ansiversion=5 mount.fstype=iso9660 mount.options=ro,noatime,relatime state=mounted status=ready
*-medium
physical id: 0
logical name: /dev/cdrom
logical name: /cdrom
configuration: mount.fstype=iso9660 mount.options=ro,noatime,relatime state=mounted
*-bridge
description: Ethernet interface
product: MCP61 Ethernet
vendor: nVidia Corporation
physical id: 7
bus info: pci@0000:00:07.0
logical name: eth0
version: a2
serial: 00:e0:4d:50:dc:ec
capacity: 100000000
width: 32 bits
clock: 66MHz
capabilities: bridge pm msi ht bus_master cap_list ethernet physical mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation
configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=forcedeth driverversion=0.61 latency=0 link=no maxlatency=20 mingnt=1 module=forcedeth multicast=yes port=MII
*-ide:1
description: IDE interface
product: MCP61 SATA Controller
vendor: nVidia Corporation
physical id: 8
bus info: pci@0000:00:08.0
logical name: scsi2
version: a2
width: 32 bits
clock: 66MHz
capabilities: ide pm msi ht bus_master cap_list emulated
configuration: driver=sata_nv latency=0 maxlatency=1 mingnt=3 module=sata_nv
*-disk
description: ATA Disk
product: ExcelStor Techno
physical id: 0.0.0
bus info: scsi@2:0.0.0
logical name: /dev/sda
version: P21O
serial: PVE101Q394W9RB
size: 76GiB (82GB)
capabilities: partitioned partitioned:dos
configuration: ansiversion=5 signature=00041b89
*-volume:0
description: Linux filesystem partition
physical id: 1
bus info: scsi@2:0.0.0,1
logical name: /dev/sda1
capacity: 73GiB
capabilities: primary bootable
*-volume:1
description: Extended partition
physical id: 2
bus info: scsi@2:0.0.0,2
logical name: /dev/sda2
size: 3239MiB
capacity: 3239MiB
capabilities: primary extended partitioned partitioned:extended
*-logicalvolume
description: Linux swap / Solaris partition
physical id: 5
logical name: /dev/sda5
capacity: 3239MiB
capabilities: nofs
*-pci:1
description: PCI bridge
product: MCP61 PCI Express bridge
vendor: nVidia Corporation
physical id: 9
bus info: pci@0000:00:09.0
version: a2
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pci pm msi ht pciexpress normal_decode bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=pcieport-driver
*-pci:2
description: PCI bridge
product: MCP61 PCI Express bridge
vendor: nVidia Corporation
physical id: b
bus info: pci@0000:00:0b.0
version: a2
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pci pm msi ht pciexpress normal_decode bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=pcieport-driver
*-pci:3
description: PCI bridge
product: MCP61 PCI Express bridge
vendor: nVidia Corporation
physical id: c
bus info: pci@0000:00:0c.0
version: a2
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pci pm msi ht pciexpress normal_decode bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=pcieport-driver
*-display UNCLAIMED
description: VGA compatible controller
product: GeForce 6100 nForce 405
vendor: nVidia Corporation
physical id: d
bus info: pci@0000:00:0d.0
version: a2
width: 64 bits
clock: 66MHz
capabilities: pm msi vga_controller bus_master cap_list
configuration: latency=0
*-pci:4
description: Host bridge
product: K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] HyperTransport Technology Configuration
vendor: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]
physical id: 100
bus info: pci@0000:00:18.0
version: 00
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
*-pci:5
description: Host bridge
product: K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Address Map
vendor: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]
physical id: 101
bus info: pci@0000:00:18.1
version: 00
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
*-pci:6
description: Host bridge
product: K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] DRAM Controller
vendor: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]
physical id: 102
bus info: pci@0000:00:18.2
version: 00
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
*-pci:7
description: Host bridge
product: K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Miscellaneous Control
vendor: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]
physical id: 103
bus info: pci@0000:00:18.3
version: 00
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
configuration: driver=k8temp module=k8temp
*-network
description: Wireless interface
physical id: 1
logical name: eth1
serial: 00:11:50:b0:df:24
capabilities: ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11b/g

[Pumalite]

???
*-memory:1 UNCLAIMED
description: RAM memory
product: MCP61 Memory Controller
vendor: nVidia Corporation
physical id: 6
bus info: pci@0000:00:00.0
version: a1
width: 32 bits
clock: 66MHz (15.2ns)
capabilities: ht bus_master cap_list
configuration: latency=0

*-memory:2 UNCLAIMED
description: RAM memory
product: MCP61 Memory Controller
vendor: nVidia Corporation
physical id: 1.2
bus info: pci@0000:00:01.2
version: a2
width: 32 bits
clock: 66MHz (15.2ns)
configuration: latency=0

*-display UNCLAIMED
description: VGA compatible controller
product: GeForce 6100 nForce 405
vendor: nVidia Corporation
physical id: d
bus info: pci@0000:00:0d.0
version: a2
width: 64 bits
clock: 66MHz
capabilities: pm msi vga_controller bus_master cap_list
configuration: latency=0


The kernel is not recognizing some or your memory and the video controller.

[infocom]

oh right. does that mean its incompatible hardware or something? would that be the motherboard, or RAM? strange how it worked before and occasioanlly hung, and the live cd works. Isnt RAM needed for those? Perhaps it half works.
thanks

[Pumalite]

It ha me puzzled too. Take a look inside. Make sure your sticks of RAM are well set.

[infocom]

they seemed slotted in securely, so removed them and put them back in and I get the same output as above.

[Pumalite]

Next culprit is your display. You might need to boot with some boot parameters. Start with the most common:
http://grumpymole.blogspot.com/2007/05/ubuntu-how-to-edit-grub-boot-parameters.html
noapic nolapic acpi=off irqpoll pci=noacpi pnpbios=off all_generic_ide vga=0x317 vga=788 vga=789 vga=791
To be used one at the time or in different combinations

[infocom]

Hmm, I decided that might take ages for now. By display do you mean just the monitor or the graphics card too? I have swapped to another monitor to see.

But I decided to run memtest86 on the Ubuntu CD. I am getting VAST amounts of red lines. So I suppose that means there is a problem with memory. Maybe I will try inserting different sticks, but this a brand new PC from the shop, although I did assemble it myself.

Thanks

[infocom]

SOLVED!
It was a memory issue. I ran memtest86 on both sticks separately. One just streamed red errors, the other was fine. So using just the good stick Ubuntu installed just fine.

Thanks for your help, it was indeed a memory stick issue.

[Pumalite]

I'm glad you got it running. Good luck!