4 Penguin Error on Boot Up

[MitchNFitch]

Im getting an error on both ISO and live CD. The error is 4 penguins. Its boots up saying press Enter to continue with Linux or F2 for boot up ect.. But then after that instead of the 1 penguin showing up then loading Linux I get 4 penguins and it just freezes. Iv gotten this error with Ubuntu and Knoppix. I also have an open Linux partition so I have no idea what the error means or what to do.
Sys specs.
Intel Quad @2.4GHz
BFG 8800 GTX Superclocked
4GB DDR2 800 OCZ Flex FLC
P5W DH Deluxe MoBo.
400 GB HD WD.

[Harry Kuhman]

...The error is 4 penguins.... instead of the 1 penguin showing up then loading Linux I get 4 penguins ....
Intel Quad @2.4GHz.....
That's not your problem, the 4 penguins is correct. There is some other problem. Could be a bad ISO (did you check the md5 sum???). Could be that you need to find the correct "chreat code" or combination of "cheat codes" to boot on this system. I'll wait until you answer the md5 issue before going much further. Hopefully you see from what I quoted above and emphasized why the 4 penguins are there.

[MitchNFitch]

Haha yea the whole quad thing... Now I feel kinda dumb :? But I booted off the same Live CD on a different computer and it worked, same with the Unbuntu CD. There's no error message after the 4 penguins come up, just a black screen then it freezes.

[Harry Kuhman]

.... But I booted off the same Live CD on a different computer and it worked,...
That means nothing, you could have a high speed burn that works on some systems and not other. I didn't go into that because you indicated that you were using a technique to boot from an ISO file also and it had the same problem. If that's the case it likely isn't a burn issue, so that gets us back to trying the various cheat codes to find out what the problem is. You might also try booting in failsafe mode, which bypasses most hardware checking. You will not be happy running Knoppix that way, likely you mouse and network will not work (among other things), but at least you might see Knoppix boot. And you can try booting in expert mode and taking good notes about how you answer each question. That way you can try answering the last question before a hang differently, and knowing what the last question was before the hang might give you more insight on what cheat codes to try.

[MitchNFitch]

Alright thanks. I'm out of town this weekend so I will try on Monday. So please keep watch of this topic, you sound like you know what your talking about haha :D Thanks again.

[Harry Kuhman]

You still haven't responded to the md5 test question. If you're not going to check that I'm going to lose interest. If the md5 is correct then, if you already did a low speed burn or are booting from an ISO file, look for helpful cheat codes as I described.

[MitchNFitch]

Hi Harry. Im actually a senior in high school and this is my first experience with Linux. I'm looking for about any help I can get. I originally downloaded this OS based on research that said it could recover lost or unknown partitions on a hard drive. I know this really didn't help answer your questions, I was just saying I know very little about Linux but I have to start some where.

[Harry Kuhman]

I'm not sure about what you are saying, but you seem to be implying that you've just decided to ignore my repeated mention of the importance of doing the md5 test although you don't want to come right out and say that. You also said that you were trying to boot from the ISO, but that's not typically someone with no experience will be able to do. If you mean what you say about wanting any help you can find, I suggest starting with reading the documentation. Look at the top of this page. See the link marked Documentation? Click that, it will take you to the wiki. I strongly suggest that you read, at the very least, the Downloading FAQ, which contains all of the information that most users need to get started.

[MitchNFitch]

Just because I don't know much about Linux doesn't mean I don't have experience in Windows or in computers them selves. Im having a little more trouble than burning an ISO file using Nero then firing up my box and changing the boot sequence to boot from CD rom. But I will read the Documentation when I have time tomorrow in class.