Newbie with a lot of problems

[Monkey]

I have been trying to install mint 10 for a couple of week and i couldn't i keep trying because i really want to use mint but my problems it can't be solve, first i tried to install mint 9 but i have a problem with the integrity of the iso images that i downloaded so a month later i download mint 10 the first image i try it haves the same problem i guess this is because i have downloaded by torrent, well i learn about the md5sum and download another images and that works...

Ok i was ok i tried mint wiht my live cd and it goes fine so i decided to install, but i don't know why in some moment of the installation i open de unit with the cd because i guess it was done but it don't so my pc died for a couple of days until i get a xp cd and could reinstall xp so i'm using xp and tried again to install mint 10 from my disc that works but now it only restart my pc and stay stop in the mint logo; it doesn't work even to tried in live cd so now i need a bit of help i don't know if there is something from the failed installation that it's causing problems so i need help from someone, i'm so excited to use mint but i can't...

I forgot to say i tried the compatibility mode and still freeze when linux mint is charging so i tried the integrity cd tool and it says it's ok and fine, please i need some quick and effective help.

[pompom]

Welcome to Linux Mint!

Before attempting an install there are a few things to consider. A good place to begin is finding the right puppy for your hardware http://lnag.sourceforge.net/lnag_html/node4.html and checking for potential compatibility issues http://www.linuxcompatible.org/compatlist3.html or http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Hardware-HOWTO. How much do you know about your hardware? Without any details it is difficult to assist you.

Regards,

pompom

[dagon]

Hi!

I'm really impressed that you haven't given up on mint after this... I know I would have.
Unfortunately I don't have a solution for you. I've actually had the same problem myself
but I can't remember how I solved the problem that time. I think I just popped another
distro in there and blew the harddrive all clean.


I think you should use a partition tool from whithin windows and see what units you
have recorded in there.

The computer ran MINT10 live so shouldn't it be compatible then? I think it only needs
grub or something.

oskar :p

[Dajunka]

It's become clear to me that it's very dangerous installing Mint, I tried to install the thing and as a result have lost the use a a new harddrive that maybe is only good for the bin now.

[tenfoot]

It's become clear to me that it's very dangerous installing Mint, I tried to install the thing and as a result have lost the use a a new harddrive that maybe is only good for the bin now.

That's quite a wild statement! Please explain what you did and we may be able to help you. Don't forget to provide details of your hardware.

[Aging Technogeek]

At worst, a failed installation of Mint will render the current contents of a hard drive unreadable. It will not cause physical damage to the drive. The drive can be erased, reformatted and used for years with no trouble.

In many cases, the apparent total data loss is not the actual situation. Possibly reinstallation of the Grub bootloader or the Windows bootloader will allow access to the drive's contents.

Also, there are data recovery apps such as "testdisk" that can be used to read data from a drive even if the Os cannot be revived (as long as the data has not been overwritten).

Dajunka,
Tell us the exact situation with your drive and it is possible that you may get all of your data back and nearly certain that you can regain use of the drive.

[dagon]

But it might be good to go over the issue in your original thread. Someone is allready trying to help you over there.
http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... 32#p369332