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Original Symptoms

I have annotated misleading facts and assumptions with block-quotes.

I'm trying install Lubuntu 16.04 onto an old laptop from 2003. It uses PhoenixBIOS version R0108K7. My guess is that this old BIOS doesn't support the newer bootloaders.

This assumption was incorrect. Lubuntu 16.04 can boot from PhoenixBIOS version R0108K7

My question is: how do I get Lubuntu onto this old laptop? Do I go from an older version and then upgrade? I don't want to do this by trial and error and waste a bunch of CDs/DVDs. I've already wasted two! Also network booting is an involved process which I hope to avoid.

I verified the following:

  1. The CD/DVD drive is working. I checked by opening the disk on the Windows XP OS currently installed on the machine.
  2. The images I burned were the ISO (I did not copy the file to the CD manually)

These checks were inadequate because it was my CD/DVD drive that was the problem. Unfortunately, the drive failed when I was trying to install the OS but did not fail when I was inspecting it.

I have tried the following:

  1. Lubuntu 32bit minimal install onto a CD. In order to force it to boot from the CD, I disabled Network, Floppy Disk Drive, and Hard Disk Drive. The only remaining option which I left enabled is 'Optical Drive'
    1. Operating System not Found when I try to boot from optical. My guess is that the boot loader on the CD is not supported.
  2. plop boot manager to allow me to boot from USB (the BIOS doesn't support USB boot)
    1. Operating System not Found when I try to boot from optical. My guess is that the boot loader on the CD is not supported.

Still left to try:

  1. burn Lubuntu 32bit alternate onto a DVD
  2. setup PXE so I can network boot

Hardware stats [reference]:

BIOS: PhoenixBIOS Version R0108K7
Processor : Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 2.66GHz(1)
Cache Memory : 512 KB integrated on-die level2
Bus Speed : 533 MHz
LCD : 15” XGA (1024x768) TFT Display
Graphics : ATI® RADEONTM IGP 345M 64MB (shared)
Memory : 512 MB DDR SDRAM (256MB x 2), expandable to 1024MB
Hard Drive : 40 GB hard drive(2)(11)
DVD-RW/CD-RW Drive : Internal DVD-RW/CD-RW drive(9)
(DVD-R write 1x, DVD-RW write 1x, CD-R write 16x, CD-RW write 8x, CD-ROM
read 24x, DVD-ROM read 8x)
Optional Floppy Drive : External 1.44 MB, 3.5" USB floppy drive (PCGA-    UFD5)
Modem : Integrated V.90 modem
Ethernet : 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX Ethernet with RJ-45 interface

Resolution

In the end, the problem was my CDROM drive. When I tried to boot from the CD, it wouldn't work. When I opened the CD from a working operating system I had no problem. By trying to boot a half dozen more times, I was able to boot from the CD.

Kevin Bowen
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Joseph
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    Ubuntu should work. Did you actually burn the ISO to the DVD or just copy the file? – TheWanderer Jul 23 '16 at 20:37
  • Also, are you sure the drive actually works? – TheWanderer Jul 23 '16 at 20:38
  • @Zacharee1: I used Xfburn to burn the CD. I selected the "Burn Image: Burn a prepared compilation, i.e. an .ISO file" option. I am also able to open the CD and browse the file from Windows XP OS already on the computer. Thank you for your trouble shooting tips. – Joseph Jul 24 '16 at 01:04
  • I would use Imgburn instead. – TheWanderer Jul 24 '16 at 01:22
  • It is unclear from the narrative: was there any success in booting from a CD? If not, can you test booting from sysrescueCD? I have had success on sysrecueCD from much older hardware. – gatorback Jul 24 '16 at 03:07
  • Try booting from the CD on another computer or from within something like VirtualBox. – Olathe Jul 24 '16 at 03:46
  • @Zacharee1 was correct. It was my CDROM drive. The drive is sometimes dead. The drive wasn't working when I tried to install lubuntu. When I looked at the drive from the OS already installed, I was able to access the CD's contents. Trying to boot from the CD a few more times was successful. If you make an answer I can assign the answer to you. – Joseph Jul 24 '16 at 16:53

3 Answers3

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Your CD drive may just be dead. Older laptops can boot Ubuntu just fine (I'm pretty sure I put it on an old Dell Latitude from 2001). "Operating System not found" usually means there's either something wrong with the media or the drive.

Since you've confirmed that the drive is the issue and asked me to write an answer, I'm going to say it's that :p.

Hope you get everything working.

TheWanderer
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I encountered an older 32-bit laptop that would not install with 16.04, but worked with an older version. If you can boot from USB, I find it faster / preferable to install from a USB stick using a program like Unetbootin to configure the install stick. You might consider a 'lighter' version of Ubuntu like xUbuntu. Looking forward to your success story.

Update: you may wish to consider the TRANSPLANT OPTION \ METHOD if there are no viable booting options.

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gatorback
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if you have .iso file then you can easily install from rufus by following steps.

Can Wubi use the ISO I already have?

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denny
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