Cannot boot from CD or external USB

[Thomas Blasejewicz]

(2014/08/23 15:57), Colin Law wrote:
> On 08/22/2014 04:06 AM, Thomas Blasejewicz wrote: ...
>>>> 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.
>>>>
>>>> (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.
Old Windows CDs do not work either.
> Install lubuntu-desktop first and check that works.  Then upgrade to
> 14.04 and you can boot into lubuntu.  However it is probably not a
> good idea to upgrade without checking that the machine runs on lubuntu
> 14.04 first, so you still need to work out what is broken.
>
> Colin
>
I tried to fumble around with that "ISOBoot"  thing and after A LOT of 
trial and error I "somehow" managed to
install this Grub2 thing and can call up (sometimes) a "grml" screen, 
offering the option of installing Lubuntu.

I tried that - MANY times - and always failed.
There are three options during the installation process, ALL of which 
end with an error message,
telling me something like "installer cannot unmount xxx point" -> /isodevice
At that point I can neither "continue" nor "go back". The computer is 
frozen.
I have also absolutely no idea how I am supposed "unmount" this 
something; there are no "buttons", no options, a terminal cannot be 
called up ... everything is dead.
Would this work, if I unmount the isodevice BEFORE trying to install. 
Sounds paradoxical to me.

I also made a "bootable" flash drive.
Which, naturally, does not boot. I tried on 4 computers (2 Windows, 2 linux)
On the Windows machines, however, clicking on that "wubi.exe" icon 
starts the drive and asks whether I want to install.
Does not work under Linux.

WHY for heavens sake can't there be anything as simple as clicking on 
some icon in Linux?

As for the flash drive ... if there actually ***IS*** a way to boot from 
that thing, I would very much like to how that can be achieved.

 From reading on the instructions pertaining to those flash drives, I 
was under the impression, that you can create you own personal
Linux OS (plus maybe some personal folders), take it with you, jab it 
into any computer be ready to work in that private environment of yours ...

I am really sorry, but spending all this time to get nowhere is becoming 
really frustrating.

Thomas