Couldn't install any version of Linux on my Old Tecra s5 laptop

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I have this old laptop Toshiba Tecra S5 (64bit) and it was running on Windows XP. However, I wanted to install a linux version, so I tried to install Linux Mint, Xubuntu and Lubuntu so far.
But the laptop didn't boot from USB drive and I tried everything I know.
Then I dissembled the hard drive and used it as an external drive on another computer. At last I could install Lubuntu on the hard drive. I plugged it back on my old laptop and I thought now it would work fine.
But no. Now it shows below shown error.
This has become a headache for me. If you have any answers, please send them to me. Your help is very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
20210522_002245.jpg
 


ok ..thoughts... did you burn the iso image to form a bootable disc/pendrive? when you installed from the installation media did you just copy it [ drop and drag] from the installation media or did you run it live in ram then select the install button? [your screen shot tells me it cant find a bootable media]

The Toshiba Tecra S5 only came with 2gb ram [unless you have already upgraded it] you could do with 4gb [the maximum this machine supports]
 
What is your boot sequence, can you see the hard drive as an option?

The problem seems to relate to a hard drive that can't be read, and the computer is trying to boot from a non-existent network.

 
ok ..thoughts... did you burn the iso image to form a bootable disc/pendrive? when you installed from the installation media did you just copy it [ drop and drag] from the installation media or did you run it live in ram then select the install button? [your screen shot tells me it cant find a bootable media]

The Toshiba Tecra S5 only came with 2gb ram [unless you have already upgraded it] you could do with 4gb [the maximum this machine supports]
Hi, thanks for ur reply. I burned it using rufus. After failing to boot from USB drive and installing on hard drive, again i tried to boot the laptop from a bootable linux mint CD. But still the same result
 
As @Linuxembourg said, your screenshot is showing that you are trying to boot on a network. It does not appear to recognize your USB or hard drive at this point. Your laptop has some special keys that can help you to boot on USB, or even a SD card. You need to get into BIOS and review your settings. You can find more information in Chapter 7 of your User Manual (below). You also should check that your USB will boot on another computer to prove that it is burned properly and is usable.
 

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  • tecra_s5.pdf
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Your laptop has some special keys that can help you to boot on USB, or even a SD card.

In a Toshiba, that should be F12 for the temporary boot selection menu.

With the age of their device, it may not support booting from anything but CD/DVD.
 
when you installed the OS to the external hard drive did you test it by booting your installing computer from it?

loading harddrives via a usb port is something I do quite often and not had this problem, I cant figure why your having problems unless either the OS didn't load properly or a bad connection when you put it back in the tosh.
 
With the age of their device, it may not support booting from anything but CD/DVD.
I was thinking this myself, Its of an age around the changeover to USB booting
 
I was thinking this myself, Its of an age around the changeover to USB booting
I to thought the same thing however looking through the pdf manual @stan posted in post #5 it appears that it may.

It just ain't seeing nothing to boot from and when mine show the "Intel Boot Agent" that generally means it ain't finding nothing to boot from.

I believe the OP may have to go into the bios and configure the 1st boot HDD as the actual USB although I may be wrong.

I Have to do that on some of my old junk Frankenstein computers due to the age of them.

Trying to boot 3 different distros and no success tells me something just ain't configured correctly.

May be a long shot but at this point ain't nothing to lose imo.
 
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Hi, thanks for ur reply. I burned it using rufus. After failing to boot from USB drive and installing on hard drive, again i tried to boot the laptop from a bootable linux mint CD. But still the same result

Did you get the same message when you fail to boot from USB? If so, you are not failing to boot from USB as such. The computer isn't trying to boot from USB, it is trying to boot from a network.
 
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As per the manual posted by @stan, and assuming I am reading it correctly, the default bios settings do not use USB at all. USB can be used though.

You can override the default settings by holding some down keys on boot.

U Selects the USB floppy diskette drive. N Selects the network. 1 Selects the built-in hard disk drive. C Selects the CD-ROM*2. M Selects the USB memory drive.


To change the default boot device you need to hold down F12 when booting.

Pages 148 & 149 of the PDF manual previously attached detail accordingly.
 
BIOS battery could be dead.

I had to replace one of those little batteries about 20 years ago as my PC wouldn't remember the time. I suppose it wouldn't have affected me as I was just booting off HDD, but presumably the BIOS in such cases reverts to default and stores no changes?
 
Did you get the same message when you fail to boot from USB? If so, you are not failing to boot from USB as such. The computer isn't trying to boot from USB, it is trying to boot from a network.
Sry for the late reply. Yes, same error appeared when trying to boot from USB. Tried different ways, but all failed. So at last I decided to install windows 7. It worked.
Somehow linux distros don't work on that laptop. I don't know why. Anyway, thank you very much for ur help
 
when you installed the OS to the external hard drive did you test it by booting your installing computer from it?

loading harddrives via a usb port is something I do quite often and not had this problem, I cant figure why your having problems unless either the OS didn't load properly or a bad connection when you put it back in the tosh.
Sry for the late reply. Nothing worked. Tried different ways, but all failed. So at last I decided to install windows 7. It worked.
Somehow linux distros don't work on that laptop. I don't know why. Anyway, thank you very much for ur help
 
So at last I decided to install windows 7. It worked.
From a USB? Or a DVD?


Somehow linux distros don't work on that laptop.
Yes, they will. At least some of them will. There is nothing special about Toshiba that makes it incompatible with Linux. However you installed Windows (USB or DVD)... you can also install Linux.
 
^^^what @stan said^^^^

....and you would have the added bonus with Linux, of not having an OS(win 7) installed that does not receive security updates.
 
^^^what @stan said^^^^

....and you would have the added bonus with Linux, of not having an OS(win 7) installed that does not receive security updates.
Yeah that's true. So I thought i would not connect it to internet. But I know that's not gonna solve the problem.
 

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