Bootdisk trouble

I hate Linux and when installing it on an old computer I remembered why. (Why did I install it then, you ask).

I have an old Win98 PC I tried to convert into a Linux computer (I almost never used that machine anyway, as I've a newer computer already), solely to see how my BlitzMax test programs would run under Linux.

But it didn't get far...

Everything in the installation went well until the bootloader had to be installed. It constantly results into an error, leaving me with the only option to cancel the installation. Of course the half-installed Linux is not really operative after that. None of the commands work, all that works is an error message on illegal commands.

It tells me to say if I want Linux or DOS as default. It doesn't matter which of those I choose, the error remains.

What could it be?
Remember it's an old PC I'm talking about (bought in 1999) and a Linux version from 1998 (Red Hat).

What kind of PC? Can it boot from CD? Are you trying to setup dual boot or are you intstructing RedHat to use defaults all the way?

If it's earlier than RedHat9 then I would throw it. RedHat9.0 is however the system BlitzMax is compiled on, just make sure to select X Windows development packages, legacy compiler package and you may need a whole heap of luck installing a graphics driver, that is once you've actually got it booting.

I don't know the exact version, since I received this CD by a book I let myself talk into. About the PC itself, I do not know much specifications, I do know it's from 1998/99, and that the harddisk is about 6GB. It can boot from CD. RedHat install automaticly assumes I want the possibility to boot Linux and DOS (and that's where it goes wrong), and I don't have details on the error itself, it only says that an error occured.

And where can I get RedHat 9, as cheap as possible? (I'm not really going to put a lot of money in it if it's only to test my BlitzMax apps)

http://www.linuxiso.org/distro.php?distro=7

Thanx a lot.
Linux is now installing on that PC, and I hope everything works out.