OK..Gotta odd question here

R

RoboDaFink

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Hey all- HOPEFULLY someonee out there can help me. I have an old laptop that is SRSLY not working. Is it possible to create an Ubuntu install DVD or USB on my Mac, then use it to load on a Windows based system (that doesn't work)..
ADVICE gets my undying appreciation!!
 


I do thank you. I have managed to create the disc, but sadly, the laptop is so damaged that I cannot get into anywhere on it to install the Ubuntu OS. I am afraid I am faced with a task, that I am incapable of solving. Am stuck with "Factory Image Recovery" that starts, gets 10% done, and freezes for hours...
 
I would not give up so quickly. It sounds to me like your actually pretty close to solving your troubles. If you have the Ubuntu CD in the drive and your computer is still starting the "Factory Image Recovery" then it sounds like it is just still set to boot off the hard disk before trying anything else.

To fix this you will want to go into the BIOS and tell it to boot from your shiny new cd. To do so watch carefully when you first turn on the computer. The first screen that comes up often will have a message like "Press ____ to enter setup" or if your lucky you might even see "Press ____ for boot menu". You might have to start the computer up a few times to catch what is says. You then will want to start the computer and quickly press that key to get into setup or the boot menu.
If you get the boot menu then just select CD and your done.

If you get into setup, you will be looking for boot order. You will want to adjust the boot order so CD is first. Save settings and then reboot.

If you find that you don't see either of the "press ___" messages then you still don't need worry. If there is no message then you just have to fall back to the good old guess and see method. You will just need to turn on the computer and tap different keys until you find the one your computer uses. The common ones are "Esc, Del, F2, F10-F12" just pick on at a time, turn the computer on and start tapping the chosen key as it boots to see if you get a menu.
 
I wouldn't worry about "installing" Linux yet... as Machin Shin is directing you, just get the laptop to boot first on the CD, if you can. You may have bad RAM, a bad hard drive, bad motherboard, or even the power supply or dead cooling fans could be causing your Windows recovery to fail. If you can't get the CD to boot, you could also have a bad optical drive. It's all a process of elimination. You don't say when this laptop last worked properly, so we don't know if it ever did.

When in your BIOS setup, see if your laptop will boot from USB. If so, you can put Linux on a flash drive and bypass the CD drive if you think it is suspect (not too likely, but possible). If it still doesn't boot, look in your RAM bay and see if you have more than one chip. Try removing one and boot again, if that doesn't work, swap it out and try the other one (chips should be in Slot 0 (zero) if only one is used, and if they are marked). If you only have one RAM chip, you might see if a friend can supply you with another one to test. Also, be sure to check the minimum system requirements for whatever Linux distro you want to test with, and make sure you have enough RAM, and sufficient CPU. If your laptop is real old, you might want to download an older Linux distro to match the system requirements.

Well, you get the idea. If you get a USB or CD to boot, and you can't get it to install, then you could try some hard disk diagnostics at that point. I'd guess hard drives are the most common point of failure, but I wouldn't buy a new one for an old laptop unless I was convinced it was the problem. Heck, I wouldn't buy a new ANYTHING for an old laptop unless I knew it would fix it and was worth the cost. New/used computers are just too cheap to spend much to repair old stuff.

Good luck!
 
I would just use a LIVE CD/DVD flavor or Linux and run that instead of trying to load up an OS on a laptop that is not in working condition. If you choose this method you will be able to access any data that is currently on the system.

Good luck

Kovax
 
Been on SMART warning now for two days. HD is going, it looks like. :(
Oh well- I gotta FREEBIE Dell (DUDE! I GOTTA DELL!) that i shall be using going forward. The HP was SRSLY crippled anyway...
I would like to THANK all of you. I have made notes on ALL your posts. AND being the HD IS cooked, I am gonna FRISBEE IT, and THAT will be the LAST HP product I have left! My printer got taken to the uh, outdoor range and I fed it 3 mags of bullets, lol...
 
Been on SMART warning now for two days. HD is going, it looks like. :(
Oh well- I gotta FREEBIE Dell (DUDE! I GOTTA DELL!) that i shall be using going forward. The HP was SRSLY crippled anyway...
I would like to THANK all of you. I have made notes on ALL your posts. AND being the HD IS cooked, I am gonna FRISBEE IT, and THAT will be the LAST HP product I have left! My printer got taken to the uh, outdoor range and I fed it 3 mags of bullets, lol...

You know, it might be that the shinny little battery that keeps your system clock running is not shinny anymore (old machines use it to keep BIOS settings when power is off too) therby causing the system to forget the drive geometry (boots 10% then hangs). Or could have bad sectors on HD. Is system time/date accurate to within one hour when you turn it on? If not, you might look there.
 
I hope you solve your problem. But, if you toss the hard-drive don't forget it has some very powerful little magnets in it, that can be useful. but beware they can pinch the skin when playing around and picking one up with another.
 

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