ubuntu nightmare

[Duckslammer]

(I have rewritten my original post for clarity as the first response indicated the reader didn't understand the problem.)

Problem: ubuntu crashes randomly and frequently. We have tried it as wubi, running off the LiveCD, and as a partition installed on the harddisk. We have installed and reinstalled many times, tried various options as suggested by folks on #ubuntu. Been messing with this for a week now, getting very frustrated.

By "crash" I mean that it hangs completely. The gui freezes and there are no consoles. I can find no errors in the log files. This has happened during install, it has happened after install while using the package manager, it has happened while copying files, it has happened while running a find.

I am helping a friend set this up from a long ways away. The friend is a total linux noob. I cannot see her screen and I cannot go to where the system is. I tell her what to type and she tells me what's on the screen.

Currently we have it up as wubi.

Advice appreciated.

[Duckslammer]

BTW, the hardware specs for this laptop are at the very bottom of this page.

[dino99]

wubi is only made to give you an idea of the look and feel, not for working

better to have a real install:

mini howto: http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php...4&postcount=14

[Duckslammer]

Ubuntu crashes randomly and frequently, and it does this as wubi, running off the LiveCD, and installed as a partition on the harddisk.

Ubuntu is not usable in any form. Without windows this box is just a boat anchor. And it is not possible to install ubuntu side-by-side (various reasons).

We have just reinstalled wubi. How shall I approach troubleshooting?