Every time I tried to install Ubuntu, it seemed, I would get stuck at a different point in the installation process. I clogged Google's servers trying to track down the problem; eventually, I found a few forums that warned that I had to pay attention to how I'd burned the Ubuntu installation CD. It turns out that you need to set your CD burner to work at its slowest possible speed in order to avoid any data-writing problems on the disc. After I did that, the OS installed perfectly.