install hangs . . .

[chipshott]

installing mandrake 9.1 says could not uncompress second stage ramdisk and suggested hardware error or kernal bug.
Should I try a newer cd-rom or do you think it is a bug or other hardware problem ?
thanks,
Charles

[kilgoretrout]

Post your hardware; it's probably not seeing the cdrom drive after the install kernel loads, a not uncommon problem with some laptops or removable cd drives. There may be a workaround but need to know your hardware.

[chipshott]

Asus A7n266 _ AMD 1700 XP _ 512mb infineon ddr
IBM Deskstar dtla-307015 15Gb @7200
Seagate 80 Gb slave
Acer e-ide cd-rom 24x/akox
Thanks, Charles

[Statica]

Did you check the CD itself? The error is very common to bad installation media. use an MD5 checksum tool as well to check out your CD.

[kilgoretrout]

Good point Statica. Definitely check your md5sums on the downloaded isos and make sure they match. Not sure how to do an md5sum on a cd in windows, although it's easy to do in linux.

If the iso md5sums check out OK, try burning at a slower speed. Also, try the cds on another box if you have one available.

I don't see anything in your hardware off hand that would cause the problem.

You can also try this. As soon as the install screen comes up, hit F1 which will take you to a boot prompt. At the prompt type:

linux noapic nodma

and hit Enter. See if the program will load.

Also, check your bios setup and make sure that plug 'n play is disabled. That can cause all kinds of problems in linux.

[Statica]

http://www.brandonstaggs.com/filecheckmd5.html windows util to check MD5