installation help

[Gerry Tool]

Claude Jones wrote:
> On Sat April 1 2006 10:38, Ryne Sechrist wrote:
>> ok well I have just been having problem after problem trying
>> to install fedora....i'm trying to install it on a compaq
>> presario, 190 ram, 800 MHZ, amd k6, ati graphics, it has
>> windows 98 on it right now but i'm doing a full delete of
>> windows and replacing it with fedora 5....well first off i
>> downloaded the fives images off the site and burnt them as
>> images...i then tried to install them which the first cd
>> failed...so i tested all my cds and only disk 2 and 5
>> passed...so i redownloaded from another mirror the
>> rest....well on the second media check attempt only disk one
>> passed....so i redownloaded the others from another
>> mirror...well that media check didn't pass either one...so i
>> tried again on another mirror and check failed again....so i
>> tried another and failed and the last time i tried they failed
>> again...well i was wondering "well disk 5 passed before so
>> lets see if it passes a second time" and it didn't...so
>> basically i got disk 1,2,and 5 to pass and failed 7 times on
>> disks 3 and 4, and i retested disk 5 and it failed....so i
>> tried to install fedora core 5 anyway....well everythign was
>> going fine untill it got to the installation of the first
>> disk...i got through 64% on the first disk then all of the
>> sudden my screen turned into a bunch of text....well i'm at
>> the end of my ropes and i have no idea what to do now....i
>> really want fedora but i can't seem to find stable images or
>> if my computer is too old or what? any help would be
>> great...like i said i really want linux and i have been tring
>> everything to get it to run.....any suggestions?   thanks
> 
> Given your report, and the age of your machine, my first 
> suspicion would fall on the cd-rom in your machine. You could 
> try cleaning it, though I've only had success with those cd 
> cleaners one or two times 

I agree that is a good possibility.

Also, you did not mention that you checked the sha1sums of the 
downloaded iso images before burning.

In linux there is a program called sha1sum that you use as
sha1sum imagename.iso
and it returns a string of characters that represents a checksum of the 
file.  There may be a version available on the internet for windows. 
Google for it.

Fedora publishes the correct sha1sum file on the web site where you 
downloaded your images.  Compare the calculated sha1sum from the command 
above with the one in the list for each of the images before ever 
burning.  If the sha1sum is correct, there is no need to download again 
- if it is incorrect, do not use that image - get another one.

If all the images have correct sha1sums, then you should also suspect 
the media you are using and possibly the speed at which you are burning. 
  Use only first-tier media known to be compatible with your burner and 
burn at a slower speed.  The added time it takes is peanuts compared to 
the troubleshooting time you spend otherwise.

Good Luck.

Gerry

p.s. When you post, include some whitespace between your sentences when 
the topic changes.  It makes it much easier for the reader to figure out 
what your message is about.  Thanks.