Alright, I took the advice from the following thread:
http://forums.theplanet.com/index.php?showtopic=86781

Bought the book, arrived monday (yesterday) started reading as soon as I got it.

Now comes the part which I can't figure out..

I tried to install Debian (book recommended to inorder to follow) Downloaded the ISO's, burned the cds, etc Installed the OS.

When it reboots and start loading up the OS, I get this screen with random colors everywhere (doesn't look like anything except a bunch of different pixels)

I thought maybe there was something wrong with the install? Reinstalled, same thing..

Burned: debian-40r0-i386-netinst.iso

- - - - -

Maybe Debian didn't like to run on my computer? So I downloaded CentOS 5.0, long story short same thing happens just looks a little different.

Burned: CentOS-5.0-i386-bin-1of6.iso through CentOS-5.0-i386-bin-6of6.iso

Am I downloading the wrong arch? Anyone else have any ideas of what could be causing this?


My Computer Settings
AMD Ahtlon 64 3200+
Attempting to install it on the slave drive that I just installed

Edit Just noticed this looks to be in the wrong thread.. kinda.

Random pixels on the screen are frequently a symptom of improper video settings. Are you trying to boot into a GUI?

*Moving to the Other OS forum*

You may also want to look into compatibility issues.

Back when I was about 15, I tried installing slackware, Red Hat, turbo, corel, etc. No matter which distro, it just would not write to the drive. I thought I was just missing something, turns out it was some compatibility issues with my BIOS.

Then again, it could be something as simple as what Kevin mentioned... A configuration issue with your video card.

Have you tried a linux live cd? simply to see if it works.

I know its tough, but your going to feel great after you finally get the system up and running.

I believe so, when working with the Debian CD's the installation seems to go fine with no problem. But when it reboots to go into the regular GUI it shows the colored pixels.

With CentOS, I don't get that far, I only get to the screen after the CD checks.


Thanks for your suggestions, going to go check all that out right now. It probably is my graphic card but I'm not sure how to get a fix for it, going to go google it up. (nVidia Geforce 6800 GS)

Update: Downloaded Centos 4.4 LiveCD, burned it, ran it. Ran the following line in boot: and everything seems to work fine. (linux nvidia)

It was infact my nVidia graphic card, only way that I could figure out how to install the OS was to move the HD to a computer without a higher-end graphic card, install the nvidia driver and then move it back over to my main computer.

Works like a charm.

P.S. You can close/delete this thread now. Thanks Kevin and James for your help.

No problem! Glad we could help.