i've completed my first build. i have ubuntu installed and i set the hard drive to boot first. BUT (we all have big buts) everything works perfectly except one tiny setting i cant figure out. i can't restart. i can shut it down and start it up and ubuntu comes on, but if i restart, i'll get the intel screen, then nothing. i have dual hard drives and dual dvd's if that has anything to do wiffit. but i'm sure it's a setting in the bios i'm not seeing.

the mother board is an intel D945GCNL. the intel screen has an intel logo and underneath says bios f2. and you are correct in the start/restart.

would kernel version be bios version? i read the ubuntu forum on intel, and i can't seem to locate the ACPI in my bios settings. i did all of this with your instructions you posted, thanks!

Your kernel version is what you usually see on the boot menu, or can be found by doing uname -r at the terminal prompt.

You might want to consider upgrading your BIOS, as that might provide fixes for the issue.

Also in the BIOS setup screen, you may also want to disable boot from network, as perhaps it's kicking into that mode for some unknown reason, although I can't imagine why.

Does the machine run fine for extended periods of time? If not, you should make sure that all your cooling systems are working effectively.

So to sum up:

1) Install all latest ubuntu updates with the update manager
2) Disable network booting in the BIOS
3) Upgrade your BIOS version with the flash utility from the manufacturer's website if necessary.
4) You could try changing ACPI to s1 state instead of s3... usually there's an ACPI 2.0 option.

i got it, i disconnected the second hard drive and second dvd drive. redid the bios and it works perfectly now. thanks again for your how-to series on building a computer