OpenSUSE Install :: Would Like To Confirm That Problem Is -- In Fact -- A Bug?

So here's the deal: I'm "supporting" this older lady who's using an i386-type Compaq (Pentium III -- Coppermine) with 384MB of RAM. She says that the machine is being slow, and I decide that she needs a leaner OS than what she has (which is Ubuntu 09.10). OK, so I do some research and conclude that openSUSE is the best OS for both the machine and for the older lady. I use Bittorrent to download 11.3 and check the md5 checksum. In my own room I install on a machine that is identical to hers 11.3 and everything checks out (I ultimately conclude that GNOME is large for the machine and spend a number of days trying to swap it out with XFCE, but that's another story.). So I figure that everything's great and I use the same (GNOME) live disk to install 11.3 on her machine. As soon as GNOME fully boots up it crashes. I reinstall and it crashes again. I swap out hard drives (remember, these are identical machines that I'm "supporting", here) and as soon as GNOME is fully loaded 11.3 then promptly crashes. Finally, I swap out her entire MACHINE with the identical one that I've been working on in my room. The f---er crashes when GNOME is fully loaded! By now, I'm fully pissed (because by this time my regular machine has ALSO gone down (possibly because of openSUSE, but I cannot say definitively so at this time).

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