Unable to complete ubuntu installation

Question

I am not a computer expert and have no programming experience. I have downloaded Ubuntu 12.04 from the website using the Windows installer onto an admittedly old Toshiba Satellite Pro laptop. The download seemed to be fine.

When I try to startup the laptop and select Ubuntu I get a long series of messages starting:

"error: couldn't read file
[0.7392640 Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block (0,0)"

I have seen other entries on this messageboard with similar questions but to be honest, I can't follow the answers, which presume more knowledge than I have. I would be extremely grateful if anyone could suggest a solution.

Answer 1

Make sure that md5sum of ubuntu 12.04.iso file you downloaded, is mached or not, If not than the iso file which you are using is corrupted.

Answer 2

This sounds like a problem with Grub, the bootloader. You said "Windows installer" and "select Ubuntu", so it sounds like you're using the Wubi installer. Wubi is a great way to get started with Ubuntu, but I've experienced problem installs with it. The best thing to do since you're just getting started is to re-install.

IMPORTANT: Use Add/Remove Programs to delete the Wubi install. If you just delete the Ubuntu folder, you may not be able to boot the machine. If that happens, don't panic since it's easy to fix. See http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/20340/how-to-restore-the-wubi-ubuntu-bootloader/

Be sure you're using the same version (32 vs 64 bit) verion of Ubuntu that you have for Windows. Another problem with long-term use of Wubi is that the Ubuntu image is subject to fragmentation. It's easy to install (and remove if needed) Ubuntu into a partition alongside Windows. This is built into the Ubuntu installer and is self-explanatory. If you haven't defragged your Windows drive much, you may want to use the free (as in beer) MyDefrag to do that before installing Ubuntu, but it's not strictly needed.