Solutions to common Linux install CD boot problems

You can just try all of these, they don't do any damage. They just disable certain features that may be causing the problem. You can resolve these issues when you've finished installing.

Framebuffer problems

If there are issues with your videocard and the linux framebuffer you can try adding nofb to the boot command. I.e

linux nofb

when you are prompted at boot.

This is often the case when for example the Fedora Core installer hangs when it tries to start the graphical part. Nofb makes it try the textmode installer.

ACPI / power control problems

Some motherboard and laptop manufacturers have horribly messed up ACPI implementations which may prevent Linux from booting if it tries to use them.

You can disable the acpi features of the kernel by adding

acpi=off

to the boot command line.

APIC

There may be problems with your system's interrupt controller. Try adding

noapic

to the boot command line.

Be aware that some of these may come back to bite you if you use them as a permanent solution. They do turn off features that you may want later.

The best option is to use these workarounds to install linux and resolve the underlying issue with a BIOS update or a new kernel version afterwards.

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