[mdlug] Can't get graphical boot on an older box

[Ingles, Raymond]

I'm working on setting up a firewall box that can also double as a basic Linux
workstation sometimes. I've got a 20GB drive in there, which is plenty for what
I want to do. I'll have a dual-boot setup, probably IPCop and Ubuntu. I'm trying
to get the Ubuntu install done first, though, and I'm running into problems.

 I've tried disks for Ubuntu 7.06 and 7.10. I've also tried Knoppix CDs with
versions 3.3, 3.4, 3.8, and 5.10 (I think, a very recent Knoppix, anyway.) In
all cases, they can boot, but stumble badly on the graphics, it just locks up
with a blank screen, or a line of blocks at the top, or whatever. I can usually
Ctl-Alt-F1 to get to a console, but that's it.

 The machine is a Dell Dimension L700cx; 700MHz Celeron, 256MB RAM, i810 onboard
graphics, two wired NICs and one PCI 802.11g card, plus an Aureal Vortex sound
card. Last night I pulled all the cards but got the same behavior. I've run memtest
and it didn't find any problems with the RAM.

 What's funny is I *know* I got this thing to work with Ubuntu 6.06 at one point.
I think it may be that something about the memory map of live CDs doesn't work
well with the i810 graphics in there. I'm going to try the 'alternate', non-graphical
Ubuntu install CD and see if that works. I'm pretty sure that, with 6.06, there
wasn't a live-CD version, or at least I didn't use one.

 Has anyone run into a problem like this? Any suggestions?

 Sincerely,

 Ray Ingles                                                 (313) 227-2317

 "Do Americans want to be a country that kidnaps people without charges,
 tortures them, lies to its allies about it, and then, when it turns out
  they were completely innocent, blocks the Government officials who are
 responsible from being held accountable? That's the country we've become
  under this administration and its blindly loyal servants in Congress."
                            - Glen Greenwald
 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/18/AR2006091800883.html
The contents of this e-mail are intended for the named addressee only. It contains information that may be confidential. Unless you are the named addressee or an authorized designee, you may not copy or use it, or disclose it to anyone else. If you received it in error please notify us immediately and then destroy it.