F12 Installation hangs @ "Preparing transaction from installation source"

[doombringer]

Hello all,

New linux user here, very keen to get it working, but I must say I'm not impressed so far.

Trying to get Fedora 12 installed normally on a laptop, but it's hanging at the aforementioned point during installation. The mouse cursor is movable and the system appears to be fully working. The progress bar isn't moving and there is nowhere to either shut down the PC or access the terminal?? I cannot check any progress or see any log of what the installation program is trying to do.

If someone could give me some advice on this matter I'd be very grateful. It's a P4 laptop with ~700mb of ram. This is a fresh install from the i386 DVD distro. Why is it so hard to get a running system in linux when Windows or Mac is ready to go in about an hour? I've spent a good 3 hours trying to find my way around this latest problem and I am SO close to giving up. What a waste of my time linux has been so far.

Thanks,
Matt.

[CSchwangler]

Can you get to a console by pressing Ctrl-Alt-F1..F8?

[doombringer]

Didn't want to leave the laptop drawing power all night so had to switch it off.

Tried a fresh install this morning but it froze when it tried to create the new filesystem (use entire drive option).


In the end I gave up (tried all the other options, wasn't sure how to manually create all the necessary partitions). Windows XP installs fine, goodbye Linux, maybe another time when it actually works?

[mouse_runner]

what are your spec's of the pc?

how did you download fedora? by torrent or....?

did you checked of fedora was burned fine by using the test option BEFORE installation??

did you try to install other distro's.. like ubuntu??
ubuntu just released 10.04 LTS version, you get at least 3 year support

[forkbomb]

Another started-with-the-wrong-distro problem?

I'm sure the OP's long gone by now and has moved on to other hissy fits, but the obligatory links are:
http://www.ubuntu.com/
http://www.linuxmint.com/

[doombringer]

No, forkbomb, I haven't 'moved on to other hissy fits'. I was just explaining how spending 4-5 hours trying to get it working was too much time for me to waste. Fair enough right?

@mouse runner:
Specs of the PC:
2.6ghz P4, ~700mb DDR1 RAM, 40GB HDD. It's nothing special but can run XP without a problem.

Downloaded fedora via torrent (official site torrent), and checked the file before and after burning, passed all tests.

I did try ubuntu but only the live version, fedora live seemed better so I took the time to get the DVD. My ISP has told me I've hit the limit this month so I can't experiment with other distros yet. I will use partition wizard to free up some unallocated space (10gb sufficient?) and have a play once I have time!

EDIT: Just realised it's 1st May now, so may download ubuntu, although pretty busy this weekend!

[mouse_runner]

ubuntu is small in size,, about 740mb

[forkbomb]

Originally Posted by doombringer

No, forkbomb, I haven't 'moved on to other hissy fits'. I was just explaining how spending 4-5 hours trying to get it working was too much time for me to waste. Fair enough right?

Uhh, sure. Call it "explaining" if you want. I understand frustration. It was more the way you worded it, and especially your sarcastic post #2.

All that aside, I'll just say to you the same thing I've said to pretty much every frustrated newbie:
Fedora is probably not a good distro for first-timers. It's a distribution that specifically aims to be cutting edge, and as such, it can be "bumpy." Sure, for the most part, it does "just work." But that doesn't change the fact that it is a cutting edge distro that moves fast, updates fast, and hits EOL fast -- that means that even if it does just work for the most part, it has a habit of breaking. The consensus around here seems to be that if one has some pretty severe internal impetus to learn Linux, Fedora can work as a first distro, but for the vast majority of folks Ubuntu and Mint are a better direction to go for new users. It's not that Fedora is an "elite" distribution that requires special knowledge -- it really doesn't -- it's just that it has a habit of hitting nasty snags. Sadly it often leaves a bad impression upon new Linux users.

Oh, one more thing:
Regarding your metered connection -- as Fedora is sort of a testbed distro, one of its hallmarks is the near-constant battery of updates. It could quickly add up against your quota.