Someone gave me a CD of PC Linux. I wanted to run it off the CD.
I stuck it in my Compaq Prosignia 165. It started to load. I got the
logo. Then the screen changed colors a few times and nothing more
happened. The CD no longer spun.

The computer does work. I have Windows 2000 on it. I did remove the
harddrive when I put this CD in, just to be sure it did not screw up
my Win2K installation.

Worse yet, I could not stop it. I could not eject the CD, CTRL-ALT-DEL
did nothing. I finally had to remove the battery and the power cord
to stop it. After that I could eject it.

I have never used Linux. This does not make me want to try it again.

Mark

markshepherd@none.com wrote:
> Someone gave me a CD of PC Linux. I wanted to run it off the CD.
> I stuck it in my Compaq Prosignia 165. It started to load. I got the
> logo. Then the screen changed colors a few times and nothing more
> happened. The CD no longer spun.

If you want help, then specify version, as it can be quite a lot
differences between different versions, like it's between microsoft 3.11
and microsoft xp.


> The computer does work. I have Windows 2000 on it. I did remove the
> harddrive when I put this CD in, just to be sure it did not screw up
> my Win2K installation.

Nothing that you have to do, as you will have to make an active action
to cause the Linux to do something with the hard drive and you will even
get an warning before it will do anything, so Linux ain't at all as
destructive as microsoft.


--

//Aho

markshepherd@none.com wrote:
>
> Someone gave me a CD of PC Linux. I wanted to run it off the CD.
> I stuck it in my Compaq Prosignia 165. It started to load. I got the
> logo. Then the screen changed colors a few times and nothing more
> happened. The CD no longer spun.
>
> The computer does work. I have Windows 2000 on it. I did remove the
> harddrive when I put this CD in, just to be sure it did not screw up
> my Win2K installation.
>
> Worse yet, I could not stop it. I could not eject the CD, CTRL-ALT-DEL
> did nothing. I finally had to remove the battery and the power cord
> to stop it. After that I could eject it.
>
> I have never used Linux. This does not make me want to try it again.
>
> Mark

Whether it's PC Linux, Windows 2000 or whatever, if you have a lockup
like that do the following:

1. Press and hold the power button for 5 full seconds, then release it.
The system should power off or go into sleep mode, depending on
BIOS configuration.

2. Press and hold the eject button on the CD while you turn the PC back
on. The CD should eject.

This procedure will work on virtually all PCs on the market today. It
has worked on every Compaq I know of.

I have tried PC Linux with mixed results. I recommend trying Mepis 7.0.
It's Debian-based and the hardware detection is very good.

Phil Gilmer

On 2008-08-09, markshepherd@none.com hit the keyboard and wrote:
> Someone gave me a CD of PC Linux. I wanted to run it off the CD.
> I stuck it in my Compaq Prosignia 165. It started to load. I got the
> logo. Then the screen changed colors a few times and nothing more
> happened. The CD no longer spun.
>
> The computer does work. I have Windows 2000 on it. I did remove the
> harddrive when I put this CD in, just to be sure it did not screw up
> my Win2K installation.

This doesn't say much.

But maybe removing the HDD caused some error, and did you
change something in the BIOS also ?

CPU? How fast?

How much RAM is in the PC. Live-CD's (the majority of them)
need at least 512MB of Ram. You see the OS run from RAM...

>
> Worse yet, I could not stop it. I could not eject the CD, CTRL-ALT-DEL
> did nothing. I finally had to remove the battery and the power cord
> to stop it. After that I could eject it.

I gather this is was the first time you used a Live-CD ROM,
and also that you don't know much how PC's in general works.
Just press the button and then point and klick...

All you need to do is let the PC start again, hit the
*eject* button on the CD-Rom drive, and the CD-Rom will be
released. No need to disassemble the HDD. I'll keep your
story though, as it is rather funny..:-)

>
> I have never used Linux. This does not make me want to try it again.

It's a choice you have of course. Don't blame the OS for
your own lack of knowledge about PC hardware and how it
works though OK?



>
> Mark



Dragomir Kollaric
--
This signature is licensed under the GPL and may be
freely distributed as long as a copy of the GPL is included... :-)

On 2008-08-09, markshepherd@none.com hit the keyboard and wrote:
> Someone gave me a CD of PC Linux. I wanted to run it off the CD.
> I stuck it in my Compaq Prosignia 165. It started to load. I got the
> logo. Then the screen changed colors a few times and nothing more
> happened. The CD no longer spun.

OK I looked this model up. Is this truly a P II 366MHz
Lap-top with 64 MB of RAM? OK a normal "Desktop-Linux" might
not be able to run on this baby. I use a distribution called
"Damn Small Linux" on a 486er Laptop with 16MB RAM and 2 Gig
HDD. It says that you could up the RAM in your Lap-top to
192 MB...

Another choice I could offer you for this, is to use
Xubuntu, the desktop is a bit easier on the resources.

Serious if you really want to install a OS on that baby
and you already removed the HDD, (then you have more
capabilities then I assumed when I composed my previous
reply) then I could give you some help how you could install
Xubuntu on this thing.

But win2k must be rather slow on this thing too?


>
> The computer does work. I have Windows 2000 on it. I did remove the
> harddrive when I put this CD in, just to be sure it did not screw up
> my Win2K installation.
>
> Worse yet, I could not stop it. I could not eject the CD, CTRL-ALT-DEL
> did nothing. I finally had to remove the battery and the power cord
> to stop it. After that I could eject it.
>
> I have never used Linux. This does not make me want to try it again.
>
> Mark



Dragomir Kollaric
--
This signature is licensed under the GPL and may be
freely distributed as long as a copy of the GPL is included... :-)

Em Sábado, 9 de Agosto de 2008 12:21, markshepherd@none.com escreveu:

> Someone gave me a CD of PC Linux. I wanted to run it off the CD.
> I stuck it in my Compaq Prosignia 165. It started to load. I got the
> logo. Then the screen changed colors a few times and nothing more
> happened. The CD no longer spun.
>
> The computer does work. I have Windows 2000 on it. I did remove the
> harddrive when I put this CD in, just to be sure it did not screw up
> my Win2K installation.
>
> Worse yet, I could not stop it. I could not eject the CD, CTRL-ALT-DEL
> did nothing. I finally had to remove the battery and the power cord
> to stop it. After that I could eject it.
>
> I have never used Linux. This does not make me want to try it again.
>
> Mark

you ain't got enought RAM to run a live-cd

only installed systems, and old ones...

markshepherd@none.com wrote:

> Someone gave me a CD of PC Linux. I wanted to run it off the CD.
> I stuck it in my Compaq Prosignia 165. It started to load. I got the
> logo. Then the screen changed colors a few times and nothing more
> happened. The CD no longer spun.
>
It tried to start the X-server (graphic desktop) but failed due to whatever
reason. I do not know "PC Linux", it may be "PC LinuxOS" or some very
outdated version you found at a junkyard/garage sale.
The cd may have a defect (bad burn, scratches) as well, or your cd reader
goes blind.

> The computer does work. I have Windows 2000 on it. I did remove the
> harddrive when I put this CD in, just to be sure it did not screw up
> my Win2K installation.
>
Oh wait ... did you - after removing the drive - at least once call bios
setup, to make your bios aware of that fact? Strange effects can happen
otherwise ...

> Worse yet, I could not stop it. I could not eject the CD, CTRL-ALT-DEL
> did nothing. I finally had to remove the battery and the power cord
> to stop it. After that I could eject it.
>
Uhm. Either a PC has a hard power switch that will turn off the power to the
unit, or you can press the "soft power button" for 5 seconds and it will do
the same.
No need to remove the battery. Btw., do you talk about a laptop?
Then, on next restart, immediately press the eject button until the cd comes
out.

> I have never used Linux. This does not make me want to try it again.
>
Don't worry, be happy. Win2000 is a nice OS with not too much bloat, no
activation necessary and not yet (too much) homephoning except maybe 3rd
party software. Keep it, as long as your hardware is supported.

On Sat, 09 Aug 2008 06:21:20 -0500, markshepherd wrote:

> Someone gave me a CD of PC Linux. I wanted to run it off the CD. I
> stuck it in my Compaq Prosignia 165. It started to load. I got the
> logo. Then the screen changed colors a few times and nothing more
> happened. The CD no longer spun.
>
> The computer does work. I have Windows 2000 on it. I did remove the
> harddrive when I put this CD in, just to be sure it did not screw up my
> Win2K installation.
>
> Worse yet, I could not stop it. I could not eject the CD, CTRL-ALT-DEL
> did nothing. I finally had to remove the battery and the power cord to
> stop it. After that I could eject it.
>
> I have never used Linux. This does not make me want to try it again.
>
> Mark

PCLinuxOS user here. Start with a fresh Live CD. Two variants might
work better on your older machine. MiniMe 2008 is a scaled down release
of PCLinuxOS 2007. TinyMe 2008 is a remaster for older machines. That
said I have a Compaq Pentium II 300 running PCLinuxOS 2007 with 512mb of
ram.

With the opening screen PRIOR to the OS loading you will see boot
parameters listed. At the end is the cursor although you won't see it
flashing. Just add "noscsi", without the quotes and seen what happens.

On Sat, 9 Aug 2008 14:36:45 +0200 (CEST), Dragomir Kollaric
<Dragomir@DK.org.invalid> wrote:

>On 2008-08-09, markshepherd@none.com hit the keyboard and wrote:
>> Someone gave me a CD of PC Linux. I wanted to run it off the CD.
>> I stuck it in my Compaq Prosignia 165. It started to load. I got the
>> logo. Then the screen changed colors a few times and nothing more
>> happened. The CD no longer spun.
>
>OK I looked this model up. Is this truly a P II 366MHz
>Lap-top with 64 MB of RAM? OK a normal "Desktop-Linux" might
>not be able to run on this baby. I use a distribution called
>"Damn Small Linux" on a 486er Laptop with 16MB RAM and 2 Gig
>HDD. It says that you could up the RAM in your Lap-top to
>192 MB...
>
>Another choice I could offer you for this, is to use
>Xubuntu, the desktop is a bit easier on the resources.
>
>Serious if you really want to install a OS on that baby
>and you already removed the HDD, (then you have more
>capabilities then I assumed when I composed my previous
>reply) then I could give you some help how you could install
>Xubuntu on this thing.
>
>But win2k must be rather slow on this thing too?
>
>
>>
>> The computer does work. I have Windows 2000 on it. I did remove the
>> harddrive when I put this CD in, just to be sure it did not screw up
>> my Win2K installation.
>>
>> Worse yet, I could not stop it. I could not eject the CD, CTRL-ALT-DEL
>> did nothing. I finally had to remove the battery and the power cord
>> to stop it. After that I could eject it.
>>
>> I have never used Linux. This does not make me want to try it again.
>>
>> Mark
>
>
>
>Dragomir Kollaric

Yes, this is the first time I used a live cd. I did not know what
this laptop had for a processor, but it did say 64megs of ram. I just
bought the computer last week. It came with a crashed copy of Win98.
I use win98 on my desktop computer, but I misplaced the cd, but found
a Win2000 cd. It runs, it is a tad bit slow. As soon as I find my
Win98 cd, I will probably install that instead. I like 98 better
anyhow. I have all the Win98 install files on my desktop harddrive,
but I am not sure how I could get the laptop to read a USB flash stick
if the harddrive has no OS.

Getting back to Linux, I have no idea what version of PC Linux it is.
The guy who sold me the laptop computer at a garage sale, gave me
some cds and a box full of cables, mice, connectors, and other odds
and ends he had in a box. I noticed it said PC Linux, and I asked him
about it, and he said just install it in the drive and it will load.
It does not say the version and since it wont boot, I have no idea
what version.

I'm sure it would run on this computer (desktop, with 512megs ram and
a PIII 1Ghz processor. I'm just afraid of it messing up my Win98
installation, and removing harddrives on this means ripping the whole
case apart to get to them.

I always wanted to try Linux, but I live in the country, all I can get
is dialup internet. I tried to download a version last year and it
would have taken several days to download, and my ISP only allows us
to be connected a max of 20 hours per day.
(Plus I dont have a cd burner).

On 2008-08-10, markshepherd@none.com hit the keyboard and wrote:
> On Sat, 9 Aug 2008 14:36:45 +0200 (CEST), Dragomir Kollaric
><Dragomir@DK.org.invalid> wrote:
>
>>On 2008-08-09, markshepherd@none.com hit the keyboard and wrote:
>>> Someone gave me a CD of PC Linux. I wanted to run it off the CD.
>>> I stuck it in my Compaq Prosignia 165. It started to load. I got the
>>> logo. Then the screen changed colors a few times and nothing more
>>> happened. The CD no longer spun.
>>
>>OK I looked this model up. Is this truly a P II 366MHz
>>Lap-top with 64 MB of RAM? OK a normal "Desktop-Linux" might
>>not be able to run on this baby. I use a distribution called
>>"Damn Small Linux" on a 486er Laptop with 16MB RAM and 2 Gig
>>HDD. It says that you could up the RAM in your Lap-top to
>>192 MB...
>>
>>Another choice I could offer you for this, is to use
>>Xubuntu, the desktop is a bit easier on the resources.
>>
>>Serious if you really want to install a OS on that baby
>>and you already removed the HDD, (then you have more
>>capabilities then I assumed when I composed my previous
>>reply) then I could give you some help how you could install
>>Xubuntu on this thing.
>>
>>But win2k must be rather slow on this thing too?
>>
>>
>>>
>>> The computer does work. I have Windows 2000 on it. I did remove the
>>> harddrive when I put this CD in, just to be sure it did not screw up
>>> my Win2K installation.
>>>
>>> Worse yet, I could not stop it. I could not eject the CD, CTRL-ALT-DEL
>>> did nothing. I finally had to remove the battery and the power cord
>>> to stop it. After that I could eject it.
>>>
>>> I have never used Linux. This does not make me want to try it again.
>>>
>>> Mark
>>
>>
>>
>>Dragomir Kollaric

Hey :-) I'm glad you didn't take my first reply in the
wrong way.. Even though I might have been a bit harsh at
first. :-)

>
> Yes, this is the first time I used a live cd. I did not know what
> this laptop had for a processor, but it did say 64megs of ram. I just
> bought the computer last week. It came with a crashed copy of Win98.
> I use win98 on my desktop computer, but I misplaced the cd, but found
> a Win2000 cd. It runs, it is a tad bit slow. As soon as I find my
> Win98 cd, I will probably install that instead. I like 98 better
> anyhow. I have all the Win98 install files on my desktop harddrive,
> but I am not sure how I could get the laptop to read a USB flash stick
> if the harddrive has no OS.

Win98 was also my last version, when I switched over to
Linux. Does the Lap-top come even with USB? But if it has it
might be USB 1, and that is rather slow. Problem is that you
can't down-load so fast. You'd need to check to see if you
can boot from USB, then it will be able to install a OS onto
the HDD, so it doesn't need a OS installed. "DSL" comes also
for USB-Pen drives.

>
> Getting back to Linux, I have no idea what version of PC Linux it is.
> The guy who sold me the laptop computer at a garage sale, gave me
> some cds and a box full of cables, mice, connectors, and other odds
> and ends he had in a box. I noticed it said PC Linux, and I asked him
> about it, and he said just install it in the drive and it will load.
> It does not say the version and since it wont boot, I have no idea
> what version.

You could get a CD shipped, the newest version of "Damn
Small Linux" which I'd recommend for the Laptop would cost
you about 10 USD.

"http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/dsl-2.3jwm.jpg"

For the Desktop you could also get the *Xubuntu* CD. I think
they too are free for the asking, but I need to look into
it. (I got broad-band so I download them.) The other option
is to look for Mags, which include Gnu/Linux Cd's.

"https://shipit.ubuntu.com/"

Requesting an Ubuntu CD

Ubuntu is available free of charge and we can send you a CD
of the latest version (8.04 LTS (Hardy Heron)) with no extra
cost, but the delivery may take up to ten weeks, so you
should consider downloading the CD image if you have a fast
Internet connection.


>
> I'm sure it would run on this computer (desktop, with 512megs ram and
> a PIII 1Ghz processor. I'm just afraid of it messing up my Win98
> installation, and removing harddrives on this means ripping the whole
> case apart to get to them.

Of course one should be cautious, but I didn't loose any of
my Os's when I installed a new version. The installer just
tells you for example that one OS resides on /dev/hda1 which
would be "C" under windows, the CD-ROM drive is then
/dev/hdb for instance if you only have one HDD and one
CD-ROM. If you have one HDD and more then one partition on
it, (like E, F,) then the next would be /dev/hda2 /dev/hda3.
If you need more info on that too let me know.

I wrote down the make of the HDD (f.e. maxtor) and when the
installation-process comes up with the destination of the
new OS it will tell you the name of the drive. (This was is
on Ubuntu so)


>
> I always wanted to try Linux, but I live in the country, all I can get
> is dialup internet. I tried to download a version last year and it
> would have taken several days to download, and my ISP only allows us
> to be connected a max of 20 hours per day.
> (Plus I dont have a cd burner).

So your best bet would be to get those CD-Rom's through the
mail, or have a friend (who has a faster connection)
download and burn them for you. I'm probably too far away
for you to send a copy :-(

But feel free to ask if you have questions if I can be of help...

>



Dragomir Kollaric
--
This signature is licensed under the GPL and may be
freely distributed as long as a copy of the GPL is included... :-)