INstallation Issues

[BEn]

This occurs with both Mandrake PPC, and Yellow Dog 2.3 Dayton. I can get the installation procedure to complete fine, the only thing of note is that near the end it starts to spit out i/o errors and hex digits. Once it gets past that I follow the prompt to install the bootloader, which according to the installation is performed fine. But then when i try to boot linux, i get to the firststage Bootstrap, strike L for linux, and then get "Loading second stage bootstrap" with a blinking question mark and mac os face. I assume its something simple and i apologize to those who feel this is a waste of your time to read, but i'd like to be a part of this community, and without an OS i'm SOL
here are the specs on my comp:
1ghz G4 Dual Mirrored Drive Doors
SuperDrive
Geforce 4 Ti
Pci Ethernet as well as onboard
Samnsung 20gb drive on the ata66 string.
any questions/help feel free to mail me direct and bypass the board discussion if you see so fit.
thanks everyone
Ben Schmidt