System installation is stalled on Compaq Presario R3000
Solution 1:
You can't install Ubuntu on a Compaq Presario R3000 because it doesn't meet the minimum systems requirements for installing Ubuntu. There is only one currently supported *buntu iso file that meets the minimum systems requirements for installing it on a Compaq Presario R3000 and that is Lubuntu 14.04 32-bit. Lubuntu 14.04 desktop requires a Pentium II or Celeron system with at least 128MB of RAM and at least 5GB of disk space.
Every other currently supported *buntu iso file requires at least 512MB RAM and some of them require more RAM than that. Lubuntu 14.04 is similar in look and feel to Windows XP, so it looks like it could be a good replacement for Windows XP, but Lubuntu 14.10, 15.04, 15.10 and 16.04 require at least 512MB RAM too.
When Lubuntu 14.04 reaches end of life in April, 2017, the Ubuntu Minimal CD will still be compatible with your hardware, if you select the command line install. The command line install of the Ubuntu Minimal CD installs nothing but the core packages required to run Ubuntu text-only from a text-only console.
After booting the Ubuntu Minimal CD, follow these instructions:
- You need a wired Ethernet connection.
- At the "boot:" prompt, press the Enter key.
- Select "Command Line Install".
- Select your language and country.
- Select your keyboard layout.
- Specify hostname for your system (for use on the network).
- Choose your archive mirror for downloading the base system from.
- Partitioning - Most will simply want Guided - use entire disk.
- Updates - Select No Automatic Updates.
- Let it install GRUB onto the disk.
- Other than that, just answer the questions as you are asked.
When the installation is complete, it will reboot to a text-only console. Login to the console with your username and password, and then run these commands:
sudo apt-get install lightdm xorg fluxbox eterm hsetroot xloadimage fbautostart fbdesk fbpager wm-icons
sudo reboot
Update: The fbdesk package has been discontinued in Ubuntu 16.04, so instead of fbdesk just install wm-icons.
The reason why I recommend the optional add-ons to fluxbox that appear after fluxbox in the above apt-get install command is to provide additional functionality to fluxbox window manager while keeping the systems resources usage low.
This will give you a very basic desktop experience, so that you can continue to use Ubuntu on your laptop for years to come. By "basic desktop experience" I mean that you get to use the mouse, instead of only the keyboard, use menus for selecting things, and if you want to use applications you will have to install them yourself.