Problematic install, stuck in boot loader screen.

[hkpotts1]

Hello. I have had quite an adventure trying to install linux mint on my hp tc4400 laptop that was designed for windows xp tablet edition. Originally I had the xp tablet edition on it, in 2016 i installed windows xp black edition, then back to regular xp with no tablet drivers, and occasionally used it with a usb bootable linux. as the internet browsers were mainly out of date and many websites were inaccessible i stuck it in the closet, well 6 years later i found myself in need of a laptop and i dug it out to try and resurrect it one more time. i tried the latest linux 32bit iso. I had assumed the laptop was 32bit from its age. It would not work. when trying to install i would get a screen that i'm assuming is the boot loader screen, it has a bunch of lines that are started by either ok in green or failed in red, meanwhile the linux logo is flashing in a full on seizure. the install would never get past this screen. this screen stayed on for 12+ hours with no progress. i then moved on to my all in one running windows 8.1 the newest linux mint 64bit installed flawlessly and i was very happy with it. so after reading forums i tried puppy linux on the laptop, bionicpup 32 to be exact it worked! Then i became very disturbed; i stopped eating and went into a very dark place in my mind; i stopped talking to my girlfriend, i stopped working on my project cars, i stopped reading my bible and my comics, i was on a mission to fix this laptop. i knew it had potential the hardware and specs were perfect why wasnt it working?????

I read some forums about how to enter a command into the prompt to read the computer's setup, i forgot what i typed in, but it came back in the data that the laptop was a 64bit, so now i thought i was getting somewhere, of course i was pondering why bionicpup32 was running without issue. so i tried the same linux mint i put on the all in one, it was cinnamon ubuntu based. did work at first, tried it in compatability mode and it booted! not being faint in heart i formatted the harddrive and wiped windows xp completely out. install finished rebooted, back to screen with seizure logo. left overnight wouldn't boot past this screen.

well there was no turning back at this point. i knew the laptop had run ubuntu fine in 2016 so i couldn't figure out why cinnamon wouldnt work. then i tried LMDE 4 because it was debian based, thinking that would help.it installed.... and went to seizure screen then booted!!!!! i used it for a week, but every time i rebooted it would take longer on the seizure screen until finally it got stuck on there.

Well then i assumed it must be a problem with the bios being locked. i tried to use the short out method, and had to remove the expandable ram chip. bios reset didnt work but i went to start the laptop without the second ram card 2gb pc2. and it booted not with a seizure logo and lines of prompts but instead a linux mint logo and a black screen and started up within a minute. i put the ram card back in and it continues to boot perfect. so removing the ram for a boot session fixed the problem and now everything is fine.

WHAT WAS CAUSING THE PROBLEM, AND HOW DID REMOVING THE EXTRA RAM FOR A BOOT SESSION FIX IT?

[mikeflan]

i tried the latest linux 32bit iso. I had assumed the laptop was 32bit from its age. It would not work. when trying to install i would get a screen that i'm assuming is the boot loader screen

The recommended procedure for installing LM is to create a boot iso of the particular LM downloaded, boot to that USB (or DVD), and try it out on the live boot. If everything works well, including internet browsing, then create an inxi output in the terminal (inxi -Fxxxrz > inxi.txt), save the output to another USB, and then try the install. If something goes wrong then report the LM version, options you selected during the install, and the evidence of it failing.