I have been trying to install Ubuntu on some hardware (Netcom NC-499 board that contains a Vortex86DX processor). I am trying to install to a compact flash card attached to the board via an IDE adaptor, the aim being that the board will boot up and simply treat the compact flash like a normal hard drive. The processor vendor claims support for Ubuntu 10.04 but I am having problems installing it onto the card. I have been trying using a USB CD-ROM drive and the standard .iso image from the ubuntu site (md5 checksum works out fine so no problem there) but I have had no success at all. I have been able to do this with Ubuntu 8.04 but with no other version (9.04 and 10.04 desktop and alternative discs all fail).

My question is what other options are available to me to try and install this? I have googled myself apart trying to find out but other than a few sites describing USB based installs using flash memory sticks for very specific hardware, I have found no useful info at all. Any suggestions will be gratefully received.