Any Linux install I try does not work

[sudodus]

Yes, something is wrong. Maybe the motherboard and ram are not co-operating as they should. Or there is something wrong with the motherboard.

[monkspeed]

So I managed to install Aros without a hitch! Its not Linux but at least its breathed some life into an old rig and I get to re-live my good ol' Amiga 500 days!

[Zill]

monkspeed: Most, if not all, Linux distros can be run as a "Live" session directly from a DVD or USB - no installation to HDD required. This is an excellent way to test compatibility with your hardware and, IMHO, should always be done prior to trying to install a new distro. If the live session runs OK "out of the box" then this should show that an installation should work without any problems. However, if the live session does not run properly then this will indicate that you may need to add some boot parameters to get things working or that there are hardware problems that need further investigation.

In order to avoid wasting DVDs, I suggest you use rewriteable DVDs (RW) rather than the single-use (R) versions. Alternatively, you can use a USB stick for the ISO - just make sure your PC BIOS is correctly configured to boot from USB.

The spec you have posted may be rather limiting for some modern Linux distros but it should certainly work with distros having lower system requirements. I suggest trying out CrunchBang Linux, first as a Live USB and then, if successful, installing the system. My recommendation is to try the 32-bit Waldorf for Older PCs (non PAE) version as this should have the best chance of working well on your system.

[mörgæs]

The Athlon XP 1800+ does not support PAE.

Do you have a link for this, please?
(I know it's not the CPU which original poster is using).

[matt_symes]

Hi

Do you have a link for this, please?
(I know it's not the CPU which original poster is using).

If the OP can boot into a Linux Live CD/USB then

grep pae /proc/cpuinfo

should show pae if it has it.

I'm also interested whether the chip older is non pae capable.

Incidentally, you can check with the non pae netboot 12.04 iso.

Kind regards

[monkspeed]

The live CD's don't work, soon as I select 'start' it hangs... I'm sure this MB has problems with booting from a cd, or possibly some hardware fault. Maybe even the harddrive is a dud. Maybe it don't like the DVD +r discs... Once in thirty tries it might boot a bit further with the DVD but then... You guessed it, it hangs again. I managed to install Ubuntu 12.04 a few days ago after a couple of attempts, used it for a day, installed the nvidia driver, the I started getting random system errors and then the next thing I know it wouldn't load past grub...

So that's when I began trying other distro's and then discovered nothing works any more :-/

I'm burning crunchbang waldorf now as per Zill's instructions, see if that works..

[monkspeed]

I burned crunchbang at 4x and verified OK.
Selecting install or live CD just hangs, memtest instantly restarts the PC.

I figured out tab allows me to type some options so I wrote 'nomodeset' and 'edd=off' to no avail.
This is so unbelievably frustrating...

[sudodus]

1. Maybe you should check out the memtest problem: Try with one memory card (test each of them separately). Then swap the position of the cards (when both are connected).

Can you check if the motherboard supports the specs of the memory cards and vice versa? Do you have other memory cards with similar specs (for example sitting in another computer)?

2. Maybe you can take the internal HDD out of the computer and connect it to another computer. Then you can install some linux distro to it [an Ubuntu flavour ] Install no proprietary driver! Then move it back into this Abit computer and try running it.

[mörgæs]

+1 to the suggestions above.

Also, for comparison how does a boot from USB work (provided your BIOS supports it)?

[Zill]

The live CD's don't work, soon as I select 'start' it hangs... I'm sure this MB has problems with booting from a cd, or possibly some hardware fault. Maybe even the harddrive is a dud...

A live CD DVD should ignore the harddrive and so a live session should run irrespective of the harddrive's condition or even its presence! If a live CD will not load then this is probably down to either the motherboard or to RAM and so it would be useful to check the RAM as suggested by sudodus. However, as mörgæs suggests, it will also be useful to boot from USB in order to eliminate your DVD drive as the culprit.

Please post back exactly what your PC shows when it freezes while loading a live distro. CrunchBang Waldorf should be helpful in this regard as it does normally show some terminal output while booting and it will be useful to see what was last loaded.