8.04 Install: Error reading boot CD.

[Snowman1979]

I burned the kubuntu 8.04 DVD, popped it in my drive, rebooted, and was greeted by the kubuntu boot menu, all looked fine. However, no matter which option I choose, "Loading Linux kernel" gets about 7% to 10% through the process and freezes. After a few seconds a box pops up titled "I/O error" and the message is "Error reading boot CD." In the upper left corner of the screen there is a green number: 8042009F.

If I boot into Windows XP SP2 (the only other OS on this machine) I can read the DVD fine. I tried opening random files off the disc in Vim and never received any errors. If I put the disc in my other computer and choose to boot into kubuntu without installing, it loads up almost instantly and continues on with the boot process, eventually winding up at the desktop. If I load a separate CD, e.g. SystemRescueCD (also a Linux LiveCD), it boots up fine.

While I have not used Linux recently I used to use it exclusively, so the first thing I thought of was to mess with the boot options. I tried various combinations of enabling or disabling ACPI and APIC, as well as the "edd=on" with which I am unfamiliar. Every time, same problem. I even tried the CD version of kubuntu 8.04, as opposed to DVD, and receive the exact same error.

At this point I believe it is a hardware problem booting off that drive. I tried swapping cables, power cords, etc. I ran the memory checker included on the kubuntu install disc which worked and reported zero errors. I had Windows run a full scan of all hard drive partitions that are currently formatted and it came up clean.

I am at the end of my knowledge here. I tried everything I know how to do. Hopefully someone has an idea. Here are the system specs:

Asus A7V600 motherboard
AMD Sempron 3,000 (2 GHz)
2x512 PC3200 Kingston ValueRAM
Seagate 160 GB PATA HDD (primary master)
WD 40 GB PATA HDD (primary slave)
Plextor 16xDVD/CD R/RW (secondary master)
ATI AGP graphics card (don't remember the model) 128 MB
Sound Blaster Audigy

If anyone needs more information please ask and I will be happy to help you help me.

[Guest]

Re: 8.04 Install: Error reading boot CD.

Most likely still a faulty disc. Try:

md5sum /dev/scd0

to compare with http://ubuntu.mirror.ac.za/ubuntu-cd...ease.1/MD5SUMS

You should also check the original iso. The problem is usually with the burn though. Assuming it doesn't match, try again at a slower burn rate.


Evan

[Qqmike]

Re: 8.04 Install: Error reading boot CD.

Assuming it's not md5sum issue,
it does sound specifically hardware related to THAT PC, as you suspect.
The only sort of red flag I see is the Plextor drive: nice, expensive, known as a gold standard ... => Except recently (past 18-24 months), I've noticed an avalanche of Plextor problems at a hardware joint I hang at (www.hardwareguys.com --you might post there). So much so that the board owner and national hardware author took Plextor off his list of "recommended" components. When these pups fail, hard telling what error-behavior they exhibit. That's all I see here as a possibility. CD/DVD drives have become commodity items now. Pioneer & et. al., are probably as good as any.

I always use known-good CD/DVD brand names, like Verbatim (btw locally, Office Max is the place to get the best deals on Verbatim). But, here, it doesn't sound like that's your problem. Nor does it sound like a "bad CD batch" problem--the CD works on another machine, right? Sometimes the whole spindle of CD/DVDs is bad.

[Snowman1979]

Re: 8.04 Install: Error reading boot CD.

I ran md5sum on the ISO file and it matched:

MD5SUMS:
076010531962d3d8eb312316471a6e8e *kubuntu-8.04-dvd-i386.iso

md5sum kubuntu-8.04-dvd-i386.iso
076010531962d3d8eb312316471a6e8e *kubuntu-8.04-dvd-i386.iso

So I know my downloaded file is fine, which I expected because I believe BitTorrent verifies this anyway. When I burned the disc (Verbatim 16x DVD-R medium) I verified it after burning and it passed. I feel confident that this is not a disc error.

I checked and the model of my DVD drive is Plextor 740-A, which according to that forum, caused issues for several people. I am currently upgrading the firmware and if that does not work I will run self-diagnostics.

I will report back with what I find.

Edit: success! Kubuntu loaded all the way to the desktop without any problems using default boot settings. The DVD firmware update is what solved my problem. Even being a veteran of dealing with hardware problems I never knew that updating the firmware of an optical drive was even possible.

Thank you both for your help, especially for the link to that hardware forum.

[Qqmike]

Re: 8.04 Install: Error reading boot CD.

Excellent feedback you've given us!

I also didn't fully appreciate the need to maintain updated optical drive firmware until I discovered that it can solve a range of issues, even eject issues.

Thanks again for your detailed account!
And glad you got it!

[Snowman1979]

Re: 8.04 Install: Error reading boot CD.

As a professional software developer I get my fair share of... questions that could be asked better, to put it nicely. So when I ask for help I always do my best to ask the right questions and provide a detailed resolution so in a year when someone is searching these forums they have a detailed account of what happened. And you guys can sleep well knowing everything is working great for me. Which it is, I am typing this on the computer that wouldn't boot last night :-)

I have been out of the Linux loop for a while, but hoping to get back into it now. I used it exclusively back in college and off and on since then, but fully intend to master all popular OSes now (including MacOS). These forums have been helpful so far, thank you all.