graeme_p - 10:49 am on Nov 8, 2007 (gmt 0)

How large is your hard drive? I wonder if you might be running out of space.

Also, if you downloaded it and burnt your own install CD, have you verified that it has been burnt correctly?

Also, you can definitely install Linux on your PC: I have installed Ubuntu and Mandriva on several with similar specs, but you might be better off with a version of Linux tailored to older machines (Xubuntu, Vector, lots of others).