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Hi again
Knoppix is a fairly simplified Live CD Linux - so it should give you a good idea if your hardware in general is OK or not, at a basic level. I don't use Ubuntu much, so I'm not as familiar with that distribution, and not-at-all as a Live CD. [My desktop Linux distros have mostly been RedHat, the old Caldera, and Mandriva - which is on the system I'm using now - I keep Knoppix CDs about for my repair business - I give one to each customer as one of their emergency tools].
If Knoppix won't run, it's time to run more diagnostics, and the Windows XP hardware compatibility applet (the "Upgrade Advisor"). It might be interesting to see what happens if you boot the computer to your XP Pro Cd, select "start computer with CD-ROM support", and then from the command prompt, type:
cd \i386 and press Enter, then
winnt32/checkupgradeonly
The results should be saved in an Upgrade.txt file.
Are other operating systems currently installed on the machine you want to install Windows XP on? Are you using Grub or LiLo as your boot manager? And - is this a major-brand computer?
Have you changed the CMOS battery since 1998? Is the Bios still keeping the correct time/date? And timing settings are staying correct? How recent a Bios were you able to obtain for the motherboard? How big is the current drive, and did you have to employ a "drive overlay" or "drive translation" software (such as "EZ-Bios" or "Drive Manager" by OnTrack, MaxBlast, etc.) to overcome size limitations due to the older motherboard?
Can I assume the computer isn't overclocked?
Have you had lots of extraneous peripherals attached during the installs (as mentioned in my last reply)?
Yes, you have an interesting case - but perhaps not unsolvable.
. . . Gary
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