Trouble installing Linux on circa-1999 Compaq Presario

[edwardp-KK0ffGbhmjU at public.gmane.org (edwardp-KK0ffGbhmjU at public.gmane.org)]

Tom Metro wrote:
>
> Your hardware broke?
>
> When was the last time you tried installing the 2008 version?
>
>
>> Why these errors do not occur with their 2008 Spring and earlier
>> releases, I do not know.
>
> Maybe the 2008 version was distributed on a CD and the 2009 version 
> uses a DVD?
>
>
>> ...the memory...was fine, no errors reported.
>>
>> It must be something on the motherboard then, that may be failing or 
>> has failed.
>
> If you wanted to play around with it some more, the next logical thing 
> to try might be using USB storage to do the install, so that you 
> bypass the IDE controller. Either use a USB DVD drive, a small thumb 
> drive to boot a network installer, or setup an external HD to boot an 
> installer.
>
> If the internal HD is using the same controller as the CD/DVD drive, 
> this may not help any.
>
>  -Tom 

I could plug everything in right now and get a failed install of 
Mandriva 2009/2010 and Ubuntu 8.04/9.04 (all CD's).  If I then insert 
the Mandriva 2008 Spring image (also on CD), -that- release will install 
perfectly.  I last tried all this yesterday.

The 2009 version was the CD image burned to a CD.