Mint 13 XFCE install problems IBM Thinkpad X30

[castletonia]

I am trying to revive an IBM Thinkpad X30 currently running Windows XP. Since this does not have an internal CD/DVD drive, I am using a LiteOn usb DVD drive to install as the laptop does not support booting from a usb flash drive.

The live dvd boots fine. When I go to install, I get through the part where is asks my name, password, etc. As it says copying files, the window that is showing the progress disappears, however the mouse/cursor is still spinning but I don't hear activity from the dvd drive other than the dvd spinning. After an hour I assumed it locked up and tried again with the same result.

I verified the md5 of the iso and have used this dvd drive and disc to install on a Fujitsu laptop so I have to assume that it is not the dvd or drive. The hard drive passed all tests with seatools under windows and the memory has passed tests using memtest86.

I am at a loss as I have never had an issue installing Mint before on any other computer.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[N64ZeldaFan]

Does it have a floppy drive?
Or you could try Puppy Linux...
Never heard of it before too...

[castletonia]

Unfortunately I do not have a floppy drive. Their is a docking station which has a cd drive, however it does not support linux. I just tried Mint 14 XFCE and same thing happened. I am not that comfortable with Puppy, otherwise I would probably install it. I wish there was still an LXDE version as that did fit on a cd and I could at least try the dock.

[nunol]

You could install Mint 12 LXDE and upgrade to the Mint 13 LTS base.

It's probably better to use Plop to make your computer boot from the USB pen even if the BIOS doesn't support USB boot. This way you can install any Mint CD or DVD Mint edtion.

[igor83]

I am trying to revive an IBM Thinkpad X30 currently running Windows XP. Since this does not have an internal CD/DVD drive, I am using a LiteOn usb DVD drive to install as the laptop does not support booting from a usb flash drive.

The live dvd boots fine. When I go to install, I get through the part where is asks my name, password, etc. As it says copying files, the window that is showing the progress disappears, however the mouse/cursor is still spinning but I don't hear activity from the dvd drive other than the dvd spinning. After an hour I assumed it locked up and tried again with the same result.

I verified the md5 of the iso and have used this dvd drive and disc to install on a Fujitsu laptop so I have to assume that it is not the dvd or drive. The hard drive passed all tests with seatools under windows and the memory has passed tests using memtest86.

I am at a loss as I have never had an issue installing Mint before on any other computer.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Although it is not as nice IMHO, Xubuntu may be your best bet, as it is distributed on an .ISO that fits CD, whereas versions 13 and 14 of Linux Mint Xfce exceed the 700mb boundary by about a hundred megs or so. In the case of Linux Mint 13 Xfce, it is just 95 megs too big... but you can get Xubuntu 12.10 working on your docking station because it is distributed on a CD-compatible ISO. So go with that.