Cannot boot from CD or external USB

[Thomas Blasejewicz]

(2014/08/23 3:28), NoOp wrote:
> On 08/22/2014 04:06 AM, Thomas Blasejewicz wrote:
> ...
>> * The live CDs - I tried a few of them - ALL work just fine when
>> inserted into the Windows machine on my desk.
>> It is therefore probably safe to assume, that those are OK too.
>>
>> Conclusion:
>> -> the hardware seems to OK
>> -> the live CD seems to be OK
>> Task: find a way to "run" the program and install the "damn thing"
>> (14.04) .
>> Is there such a way to get into those programs, or do I have to be
>> satisfied with 12.04 for eternity (in the not so distant future the
>> community will tell me, support has ended and I should update my system
>> ...)?
> F9 at first boot indication will usually give you a menu so that you can
> select what to boot from.
>
> You can install from ISO:
> <https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2/ISOBoot>
> Easy way to boot to 14.04 from ISO is to use grml-rescueboot:
> <https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2/ISOBoot#grml-rescueboot>
> after following the grml instructions, downloading and placing the 14.04
> ISO in /boot/grml & 'sudo update-grub' reboot and you'll see the 14.04
> grub menu entry that you can boot into.
>
>
Regarding Mr. Colins question: I ALWAYS booted from CD and did this 
countless times with multiple versions of different Linux flavors
(I will try with a Windows CD tomorrow (I guess I still have one somewhere)
Regarding Mr. Kassube's suggestion: when I try to upgrade to 14.04 the 
computer tells me, my current graphic card or something are
not really suited for the new version and I am advised to stay with 12.04.
That (the old hardware) is precisely why I wanted to try something 
lighter, like Lubuntu. So, upgrade does not work.

Regarding Mr. NoOp's suggestion:
Now that is something that provides some hope.
HOWEVER ... I had a look at those websites and THAT is again something 
where Martians talk in Alien to jellyfish from Jupiter. Apparently meant 
ONLY people with a degree in computer science.
I will have to take MANY deep breaths, sit for hours in a very quiet 
room to go over those instructions character by character.
But my chances of success are probably not higher than 5%.
(Why, I cannot even specify an ordinary path. Like I am trying to tell a 
dictionary software to look for dictionaries in a folder found under:
Home -> dict. Yet, ALL possible combinations I can think of like 
/Home/dict/ etc. are rejected
If I cannot succeed at that, all those million character long commands 
are WAY beyond my horizon)

While running a "failsafe" version, I tried almost all options found in 
there.
One is file system check. While running this, the computer asks me in 
between to put in the CD (with Lubuntu) and press enter.
When I do that, it says for a very brief moment: % Working
before the same message appears again. A million times until I press Esc.
And there was some other error I do not remember.

Because of all this, I do tend to think, there is something wrong with 
the OS.

Nevertheless, I will throw myself (tomorrow) at those grub rescue 
something tasks.