can't intall ubuntu

Cpu speed, ram-size & amount of hard-drive space would be good to know, please tell us

I was also wondering if you have an Ubuntu Cd and where you got it from? Was it from
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download
Also have you tried checking the md5sum? I tend to find really cheap "write once" cds that you can only buy in stacks of 10 or more are better for this type of thing than more expensive kinds. Also here's some more advice on making a really cd
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto
Sometimes it's just a case of 3rd time lucky.

With the Cd are you able to boot up from the Cd to a menu that has the option "Try Ubuntu without changes to this machine", if not this guide might help
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BootFromCD
Choosing that "Try Ubuntu ..." option should get you to a working desktop which we call a "LiveCd session" if it works. On the top taskbar of that you should find that Firefox has found your internet connection allowing you to surf into here. Please let us know if this works :)

Good luck and regards from
Tom :)

I use COMPAQ cq40-144tu, with 2 GB RAM, 2 GHz processor & 160 HDD. everytime I try to install ubuntu, it stops after a while.
"Trying Ubuntu without making any changes to machine" dint work either

I got the free CD from getubuntu

Hmmm, it should work. Have you tried burning a cd at a slower speed? Also try this page might have some handy hints
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto

At which point did you get stuck when booting the Cd? Did it ignore the Cd and just continue with a normal boot?

It gets stuck while checking the hardware configuration, shows a few error messages and then just stops

Can you try a different linux distro? Try Wolvix Hunter 1.1.0 to see if you cn get to a LiveCd session with that
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=wolvix

What are the error messages you get? It may be errors with your HD! Tom gave you good answer try the link he provided https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BootFromCD if this doesn't help then please give error messages.

hi, i installed ubuntu jaunty.. its working fine.. thanks!

Brilliant :))) Nicely done :))
Do you know of anything you did differently that made it work? Sometimes these things can be just random chance tho.
Congrats and welcome to linux-land, especially the ubuntu corner of it :))
Regards from
Tom :)

well i think i was trying an older version of ubunty (hardy) it gave me a tough time, but still wouldn't install. jaunty installed much easily.
regards

Wierd, i would have expected the other way around as i thought the hardware detection and support was meant to be better in Hardy but i haven't read the release notes or really read much at all about the differences. Thanks for letting us know :)
Regards from
Tom :)