Damn it !! Fifth install of Dapper Drake

[Compunuts]

My this little firewall/gateway/webserver started out life as Debian 2.1 Slink (if you know the history of Debian releases, you KNOW how old THAT is :P). It had never failed me. But last month, it started out not being able to log in. Turns out, HDD goes 100% . I could have find other work around but I decided that it's time for me to leave good ol' Debian and goes with better Debian, Ubuntu.

So I downloaded and install it. Despite all those rave reviews, I'm having a hell of a hard time getting it to work. The first a few installs were hang one thing or another without being getting to base-install. Thinking that it was cheapo disks with bad burns coasters (since I was burning it on my wife's WinXP with Neo), a few fresh downloads (all from either Ubuntu mirrors, third party mirrors or bittorrent), the last install went a head and ask me to reboot.

Since then, it was in constant reboot process. It will load the kernel and instantly goes into reboot process. Damn it !!!!

Oh my good old Debian, mother of all distros, here I'm back.

Note :: Okay, we no longer have rant forum and it's about Debian/Ubuntu so I'm posting it here. If inappropiate, feel free to move it mods.

[Tyr_7BE]

Hmmm...could it be a problem with the type of install you chose? Try selecting a "server install" at the install prompt. This will give you the most basic set of packages possible. If that ends up working and you want to turn it into a full Ubuntu install, just issue an "apt-get install ubuntu-desktop" from the basic system.

Also, how are you installing? Is it by booting up the LiveCD and using the installer from there, or are you booting an install CD and just using the traditional install program? I know the LiveCD method is brand new and might be buggy.

Another thing you might be able to do is load up a previous release, like Breezy Badger, and upgrade from the Ubuntu Dapper mirrors (there are instructions on how to do this here). Maybe you'll have better luck there.

[Schotty]

Unless your CDR fails the MD5, you probably have flaky hardware.

[Compunuts]

Yeah, I'm checking it out. Just for fun, I installed FBSD on it and it seems to do fine although it can't read some files so I now have half baked FBSD.

I will try it some more time though.

[Compunuts]

Hmmm...could it be a problem with the type of install you chose? Try selecting a "server install" at the install prompt.

Well, this IS the server install CD. Ubuntu now ships two versions, Desktop and Server. I do both vanila server install and LAMP install. Same thing with missing packages on CD error. I'm beginning to think it's the ISO that's flaky.

Also, how are you installing? Is it by booting up the LiveCD and using the installer from there, or are you booting an install CD and just using the traditional install program? I know the LiveCD method is brand new and might be buggy.

No, no liveCD. It's the server version of Ubuntu Dapper and using triditional install program.

Another thing you might be able to do is load up a previous release, like Breezy Badger, and upgrade from the Ubuntu Dapper mirrors (there are instructions on how to do this here). Maybe you'll have better luck there.

Well, I DID the upgrade this way on this box (my desktop box). But since I was installing a new OS, I thought I might like to try putting a brand new install so that I can see how things have changed since my last install (WOW, a few years ago, that's really old). It certainly got a lot easier even the installer. May be this box like to have Debian back on it .

Also, do you guys think my HW is the problem with Ubuntu??

This box is Pentium 233, 256 MB Ram, 8 G HDD, 3 NICs and I was gonna run as headless box.

[jro]

I had to DL and install using the 'Alternate' image becasue their slick new GUI installer would bomb out in the first few seconds. The alternate CD gives you the option to do a command line install (read: how they used to do it before Espresso or whatever its called now) That went off without a hitch. Hope this helps..

[Tyr_7BE]

I don't think your hardware should be a problem. That's a pretty basic setup, and like you said you've been successfully running older distros for a few years. In my experience, hardware support isn't an issue anymore until you get really extravagent things like usb modems and all that. I've installed Ubuntu Dapper on around 15 different beige boxes so far and never had a hitch with the hardware.

I'd agree with jro to try the traditional install method. That GUI installer was rushed and shouldn't have been released so early IMO.

[Schotty]

How does knoppix or any other live cd work out? What if you netboot? I am trying to find some ways to eliminate pieces of hardware that usually fail (cdrom, hard disk, etc).

[savilash]

Hi There

I am new to the world of Linux. Ubuntu was recommended to me by a friend. I downloaded the latest version (6.06) which has the install GUi and I found that it was brilliant. In fact, being a Microshmuck man, I found it easier and quicker to install than Windows XP Pro.

[mojo jojo]

yeah the new GUI is pretty click much better then SuSE and Red Hat Imo.

I would think OpenBSD would be better for firewall/gateway/webserver...or slackware.