Problems Installing Ubuntu and Its Derivatives

[Graham Todd]

I have been trying to install Ubuntu, Kubuntu, or Xbuntu, and one or two
unofficial distros based on Ubuntu such as OpenGEU and gOS on my
laptop.  The versions that I'm trying to install in the official
versions are 8.10 and 9.04, and I've got the Shipit cds as well as
self-burn ones and the 'alternative' cds.  I'm getting an error message
will *every* cd from the official versions, and the 'alternative' cds
too, as follows:

[0.132001] ..MP-BIOS bug: 8254 timer not connected to IO-APIC
[0.142001] Kernel panic - not syncing:IO:APIC & timer doesn't work! 
Boot with apic debug and send a report. Then try booting with the
'noapic' option

The strange thing is that Debian Lenny recognises the problem but
carries on and installs (at least the live version), and gOS installs
easily (despite it being a derivative of Ubuntu).

Can anyone tell me what's going on here?  Is it my machine that's faulty
or have I found a bug in Ubuntu?

My laptop is a Hi-Grade Model 332.
--
Graham Todd