Thanks for your suggestion poorguy. TBH though I've now tried both the 32-bit and the 64-bit versions of MX-15 and both have the same problem: so I don't think it's likely that it's just one bad download, especially since more than 90% of the distros I try install just fine from a DVD. MX-15 boots just fine into RAM (both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions) and runs well from there, it's just the installation which goes awry.poorguy wrote:Hey Colonel Panic,
Are you sure it isn't a hardware issue as a HDD or some bad caps?
Some of my old computers just refuse to boot from a cd/dvd.
Is the integrity of your iso download good.
Try installing from a usb drive.
All the same, I might try an MX-15 installation from a USB drive if I can do it without having to reformat the drives first (I have two and at the moment they're both used for data storage).
As I've said here before a similar situation arises when I install Salix; every version of Salix without fail now has the same issue with a missing desktop because the file which loads it on bootup is either missing or corrupt. I know how to work around it (and am willing to, because it's a good distro), but it's clear to me that it's the distro which is at fault and not my computer as I don't have the same problem with any other one.