[Leaplist] Newbie needs help

[Bob Hicks]

To make a long story short, my Kubuntu distro is not working. When I had 
the computer built, I made it clear that I wanted a Linux machine with a 
windows backup for certain programs. The 1 TB drive was partitioned 750 
GB linus and 250 Windows. After I paid for the machine and having been 
told that the company could do what I wanted, I found out that they new 
little about linux. I settled for a dual boot because they could not get 
a virtual machine to work...that's when I knew I had a problem. Well, 
the system has worked somewhat (no sound) now for a little over a year. 
Now, Kubuntu won't boot. It begins, then reaches where it says Kernel 
Alive; Kernel direct mapping tables... There it freezes and goes no further.

I need to do something to get it to continue to boot, or to reinstall. I 
don't know how to make a live distro install on the proper partition. 
What should I look for to do this? I definitely do not want to disturb 
the Windows partition. I would like to know what to expect if I try to 
reinstall the distro. This is a desktop and is connected with another 
desktop is one of the reasons I do not want to pull it and take it to 
installfest.

Thanks for any suggestions (other than getting rid of Windows totally.)

-- 
Benjamin Franklin "The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either" 
Benjamin Franklin "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety".