the install gets hung on the preparing for installation screen not sure if i should just wait it out to see what happens or if i did something wrong. Not sure if this a common problem or just my pc please let me know if there are certain things i need to do before i attempt install or settings i need to configure (im trying to install on a pc with no OS)
thanks for any help
Is the pc set to boot of the install media (USB or DVD drive)?
What application did you use to create the install media? eg. unetbootin? - perhaps the media is corrupt and/or the iso you have is a dud.
Is this an old system? - some older machines (non-PAE) dont like the common distros.
Piggy backing off @deejeta
What are you trying to install this on? (Specs?)
What is the boot medium? (CD, USB?)
How was the medium prepared?
One thing you can do is check to see if the ISO file you downloaded was not corrupted. You can do this by using the given checksum on the ubuntu download page (for your specfic download) and checksumming the iso itself with md5sum, or some other program.
i created a bootable usb using rufus
mobo- asus p5n-d
cpu- intel core 2 duo e8500 3.31ghz
ram- 2 super talent 2GB 800mhz sticks
hdd- seagate barracuda 250GB 7200rpm
gpu- asus radeon r9 270x dc2t
power supply- Nspire 500w
not sure what non- PAE is?
Are you installing on a new empty hard drive or a hard drive with something else on it?
a hard drive that had stuff on it but was formatted
One of the things I noticed about Ubuntu installer was that some times it does not erase everything off the drive before installing. you may need to use a program like GParted-live. http://gparted.sourceforge.net/ Use the Program to remove the Partition from the drive. Then try to install again. This is assuming the live cd will run on your machine.