Linux on old desktop

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AnandJoshi

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Hello team,

I have a old desktop running on Win7 (32 bit).
Recently it has became very slow and becoming useless. So wanted to shift to Linux.

Is it possible to take backup of my D: before; even though my windows is not running?

I tried with old Linux CD (ver 6.x) with noapac parameter.

But screen freezes on
"Uncompressing Linux OK
booting the kernel....

Could you please suggest me correct version/ flavor of Linux?

Below are my system configurations

Intel core 2 duo E4600 2.4 ghz
2 GB Ram

It would be great if you could point me to step-by-step page as I'm very new to this.

One more important thing is; if I try to re-install Win7, it fails stating "No drivers found. Click load driver to provide a mass storage driver for installation."
 
Last edited:


Hi @AnandJoshi, and welcome to the site. Let me ask a couple of questions to get started:

1. Is your D: drive the Windows Recovery partition? Or is it just general storage that you want to keep, like photos, etc?

2. How exactly are you trying to install Windows 7 that gives you the error about mass storage? I have seen an error like that before using an external DVD-ROM connected with USB.

Cheers
 
Thanks for the reply.

Here are my answers

1. D: is a partition I had created and mainly contains documents/ photos/ music etc... But yes; I want to keep all that is there in my D:. If Ubuntu expects to wipe off everything on C: I'm okay.
2. Trying to install Win using DVD no DVD connected using USB..
 
Okay. Both Windows and Linux might have erased your D: if you were not careful, but both should install into the C: partition and not harm D: if you are careful. But Linux is different and doesn't use terms like C: and D: so new users are easily confused and make mistakes.

If the computer is a brand name, like HP or Dell, there would probably be a way to use Windows Recovery to restore that OS, but that also might harm your D: data.

I think the first thing is to protect your data. I would choose a Linux distro and burn it to DVD and be sure it boots the computer and is stable. Not install Linux yet... just boot on the DVD and run in "live mode". I would then get a USB flash drive (or more than one) to transfer all of your data safely to the USB. If you have a lot of data, you might need a USB hard drive instead of a flash drive.

Then when your data is safe, you can again try to figure out the install problem with Windows if you want to keep it, or you can use the Linux DVD to install it to the hard drive and let it erase everything.

If your DVD drive is defective (causing the error installing Windows) you can put Linux on a USB instead of DVD to boot and run in live mode. You should still be able to save your data to another USB drive if you need to go this way.

Take your time and ask questions... we will try to help you save your data. If you want to continue, the next step is to pick a Linux and get it on a DVD or USB. You will have to use another computer to get these things prepared since the one you want to work on seems to far gone to do these tasks.
 
One more basic question...

As mentioned earlier, I tried with a DVD I have for Ubuntu

But the screen freezes at following... Nothing happens. ... Shall I wait for some more time? ( I waited for almost 20 mins)

"Uncompressing Linux OK
booting the kernel....
 
Yes, that's a great place to start. Be sure to read it all carefully.... especially about how to get the Ubuntu .iso file properly burned to the DVD or USB. You can't just "copy" the file or it won't boot the computer.

Is the problem computer an HP? If so, you might want to try Windows Recovery if it's available... but not until after you have saved your data to another media.
 
AnandJoshi said:
One more basic question...

As mentioned earlier, I tried with a DVD I have for Ubuntu

But the screen freezes at following... Nothing happens. ... Shall I wait for some more time? ( I waited for almost 20 mins)

"Uncompressing Linux OK
booting the kernel....
Click to expand...

You said that was an old version, and you should follow the instructions you found to get a current version... actually Ubuntu 16.04.4 just came out a few days ago and would be a good choice. A brand new Ubuntu, 18.04, is coming out next month.

Anyway, your problem could again be your DVD drive may be defective. It's up to you whether to try DVD first, or follow the instructions and put Ubuntu on USB first.
 
Actually when I tried installing from CD for the first time, it gave me following error
MP-BiOS bug: 8254
After Googling a bit, I found that as solution, so added.
Anyways will download the latest one and try with that.
 
Hopefully the newer Ubuntu will have solved that issue, but if not we'll take each step or problem as it comes. If Ubuntu gives too much trouble, we might have you try a different distro. But usually Ubuntu is pretty good for a beginner.

Time to sleep now... one more midnight shift to work. :confused::eek:

Cheers
 
Wish you a 'Very Good morning' with a note of Thanks

Thank you thank you thank you......

Could download as instructed, created a USB and WOW it works.

I can see all on my D: intact and will take a backup..

Thanks a ton again for saving me.....

Will get back to you in case I face issues as I'm too new for Linux but would love to continue with that now...
 
Glad to hear your good news! :D Take your time and have fun. Learning a new operating system can be challenging sometimes, but folks here think Linux is worth it.

Cheers
 
Wow, I am just kicking back and enjoying this, ... and a beer :D

(Wizard appears in a puff of smoke, beer in one hand, cigarette in the other, whoops dropped my staff - solution, grow an extra arm)

Hi @AnandJoshi and welcome to linux.org :). You are doing well and are in good hands.

If you have no problems with the install, let us know, and one of us will tell you how to enable your Firewall.

Cheers and enjoy ;)

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz
 
Hello all,

I tried staring my machine again today with Ubuntu on USB.

But it seems it is falling to start.

I'm getting following error.

Could you please help?

Or shall I start a new thread?

By the way Ubuntu starts after few such errors.
1521386309455-304220633.jpg
 
Hi @AnandJoshi. A quick Google shows that error may be due to a bad cable between your hard drive and motherboard.... or the cable might not be fully plugged in securely.

If you are comfortable inside the computer case, you may want to try unplugging the hard drive cable at both ends and then securely plugging each end back in. If there is more than one hard drive, do this for each one. Be sure to unplug the main power cable before going inside the case.

The error could indicate a failing hard drive, and there are some tests you can run from Linux if you can get a good boot on the USB. I'm at work right now though and can't come up with the test commands off the top of my head. Maybe someone else will jump in with some help on that.

The error may have some other causes too, so maybe we can narrow it down. But reseating the cable connection on the hard drive seems to be a somewhat common fix.

Cheers
 
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