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Well, the first problem is that you have a Compaq... :-) FWIW, Compaq is notorious for giving problems with non CQP/HP add-in hardware (drives, memory, video cards, etc). And they do not play well with non-Compaq supplied operating systems! Dell, Acer, et al are a lot more "catholic" in their support for peripherals and operating systems which are not supplied by the box vendor. My advice is to get another system. In my case, I had a local white-box builder make me a system equivalent to the Apple Mac Pro (at a couple of $K less cost) that I am VERY happy with. The motherboard is an Intel S5000XVN with dual E5450 3Ghz processors, video is nVidia 8800GT, 4 Seagate 500GB SATA drives for user space, removable 320GB boot/sysystem drive (lets me have multiple systems without dual-booting), eSata backup drive, lots of RAM, dual Gb ethernet ports, and a 750W power supply. Linux LOVES this box!

Sometimes real fast is almost as good as real time. Remember, Google is your friend!

It's a good thing I don't often wear a coat and tie! I'm not sure mine still fit... My last personal Compaq was over 20 years ago when I had a Compaq Plus. They were very compatible with the then current "standards" for PC's. This has changed drastically over the years. I've heard a lot of horror stories regarding their distaste for non-Compaq branded peripherals. My wife has a Sony Vaio which has similar problems. This is called "vendor lock-in", so they can continue to make $$ when you want to upgrade their systems, for memory, additional disc drives, video cards, etc. So, avoiding the entire Compaq and BIOS kerfuffle (I have mostly been venting my distaste for proprietary systems, sorry!), please tell us which distribution of Linux you have tried? Also, do you have to use some particular flavor, or can you install whatever works best for you? Also, please specify the particular configuration of the system that you have, such as amount of RAM, CPU type/speed, video card, amount of disc space. That would help determine which distribution might work best for you. The nice thing about Linux is that if you have the time, you can experiment with different distributions and options for the cost of downloading the image and burning a CD. At about 50c USD per disc and 15 minutes to a couple of hours per disc image (depending upon your internet speed), you can try a whole bunch of systems in a couple of days. I usually stage this process by downloading the images I am interested in, then burning all the CDs with them, then trying them out one at a time from the one I am most interested in to the least. At least that way there is some method and structure to my madness. I have been doing that a lot lately as I have been investigating distributions that I can install on thumb drives. So far, I have tried about 15 different ones...

Sometimes real fast is almost as good as real time. Remember, Google is your friend!