I hate to give the same pat answer, but let me ask, what speed did you burn the images at and with what CD burning software? I have seen bad burns halt like this. You generally want to burn the images on a CD-R, as I also have seen CD-RW´s fail on installs, especially if the image is not installed using the same drive that the burn was completed on. So, assure that you burn the image at 8X or less speed on a CD-R and check the MDSUM first to make sure that the download was solid. Boot from the same CDRW drive, not a secondary CDROM drive, which may have issues with the format of the image.

I had an inckling this could be the prob..
 
I used cheapo unbranded CD's and burnt at 24speed via Nero Express. Not only that, but during the install process, my laptop was doing overtime with the fan and CD got very, very hot.
 
I think I will borrow the original cover discs and install from them, maybe make a back-up copy of the discs on decent CD's at a low speed as you advise..
 
Thanks, hopefully this will sort it. I have been trying for 4 weeks now to get Linux to work on my laptop, still must be better than the dredded XP..

Danleff, I have been reading through the posts here for a couple of days now, and I have seen this question or similar several times. Wouldn't this qualify as a "Frequently Asked Question"? ;(

Maillion, good suggestion. Perhaps the sysadmin would consider this, since most people come here to look for an answer and do not think of looking on the net. elsewehre, such as a google search.
 
Three issues seem to come from this thread.
 
1. Laptops: are notorious for having problems with Linux. I have tried several with all kinds of results. Video, CDROM drives and modems are the main issues. I also have one of those "WINMODEMS" on my Thinkpad. Won't work with anything! The closest I have come is with Lindows 4.5 laptop edition. Everything works out of the box, except the modem. I'll have to try Mepis on it.
 
2. CDROMS on Laptops: The hardware is so varied that people get frustrated. Burn an ISO on your desktop (most people don't have CDRW drives in laptops) but the burned CDROM won't work in their laptop.
 
3. Burning CD's: as we may have found here. A lot of people burn the file, not the image, a common mistake, happened to me! A lot of the distros won't check out OK if burned at too fast a speed. "Hey, my CDRW drive can burn at 24X, why doesn't it work?"
 
Trying to boot a burned image in another machine with an older CDROM. Older CDROM's may not be able, without Adaptic software fix, to read CD's burned on a newer CDRW. That;s why I recommend booting with the same CDRW drive that you burned the image on. That way, if it works there and not in another system with an older CDROM, or the same system with a secondary CDROM, you know what the issue is.. happened to me at work. Have a 200 mhz NT system there (yah, I work for the state). Had to install the Adaptic CD patch to read the CDR"s that I burned at home.
 
Cheap CDRW's and CD-R's - not worth the hassle. May be OK for data, but not for burning ISO's.
 
And the last one - CDRW's in general. I have tried burning ISO's on several Memorex CDRW's with various results. You want to try a distro and not waste a CD-R. Sounds good, but this gotcha got me several times. Same brand and rating, different results. But, consistently good results burning at a slower speed.

Quote:3. Burning CD's: as we may have found here. A lot of people burn the file, not the image, a common mistake, happened to me! A lot of the distros won't check out OK if burned at too fast a speed. "Hey, my CDRW drive can burn at 24X, why doesn't it work?"

Me too, more than once! (You know how it goes, it's late, the server is slow, you're sleepy. The download finally finishes, so you decide to burn the CD and go to bed. Next day, the install balks, you spend hours trying to figure out why, then, by accident, you see the ".iso" at the end of the one file on the CD...)

In re to CDRW's: I have a couple of those "liveCD" distros on CDRW and they are working well. Maybe - well, I don't know why it works this way and not the other... 8)

BTW, I just noticed that I am now listed as a 'Member' rather than a 'Junior Member' cool!

On a sort-of-kind-of-related note, I'd just like to say that I've tried almost all of the Linux cd burner front ends and have burned from the command line, and in my opinion, K3b absolutely leaves the rest in the dust! I think it is the best cd burner FE out there period. It makes Nero look chaotic and difficult.

Arson is pretty good also, but does not exist along side of K3b well. Often dependency issues in KDE get into the way and you lose one.
 
I agree, K3b is the best!