There becomes a time, in every computers life, when it works like crap.. Well I dont feel like doing a clean install of windows, how about switch to linux? BUT I have a problem, i have no CD burner..... Is there anyway I could just download it and do an install of the hard drive? If there's no way of that, ill buy a writer, just for the point of linux... Is there any place I could buy it cheap? cheap as in $20 BUCKS. If not, i have a pretty decent cable connectioon ill just download some ISO's... I heard there were free versions of linux, where can I get those? Well thanks for your attention, it has been nice meeting you... -Andrey

You don't need a writer just to have a GNU/Linux system. Distributions like Redhat allow booting a temp. system/installer from a bootdisk and install from the iso images placed on the harddisk. Or better yet, Debian and a few others allow booting into a temp. system from floppy and allow you to download and install only what you need (saves bandwidth). You have a long way to go in understanding what "free" means. First of all, "Linux" is what you get at http://www.kernel.org. Its a free as in "free speech" kernel of an OS, which means you can download the source for free and "hack" it, modify it, do whatever. If you want an OS, there are people combining Linux (kernel) with other free software to form a complete OS. These projects may be commercial or non-profit. The GNU GPL (license) can be found somewhere at http://www.gnu.org Some distributor links are: http://www.debian.org http://fedora.redhat.com http://www.redhat.com http://www.mandrakesoft.com http://www.knopper.org You may be interested in knowing that GNU/Linux systems aren't the only "free" Operating systems around. Check out: http://www.freebsd.org http://www.netbsd.org http://www.openbeos.org http://www.openbsd.org From now on, please try to find some info from the old archives before posting.

There should really be a small FAQ for this. To clarify, most distributions have a network install option. You can download just the boot image (like a floppy), boot from it, setup your network card, and proceed with the installation while pulling files from online servers. This is not recommended as a first-time installation. I would buy a distribution from a store like CheapBytes. I know, it is not to glamorous a site, but they are a reputable dealer. You might want to buy a liveboot distribution (Mandrake Move, Knoppix, etc. are examples). These configure themselves on boot, load into RAM, and do not touch the harddrive (unless you want to save something). I would go with something mainstream like Mandrake, Redhat (try PinkTie), or SuSE (which is not cheap, because but it has added configuration extras like NTFS partitioning). There are no big differences between these distributions - they are more like flavors. Also, CD-writers are very reasonable (try newegg.com), so you might think about getting a cheap one.

Do a google on discount linux Cds. It is edmunds enterprises. They have any type of GNU software you want. 99 cents plus 1.50 shipping per CD. Add 6 dollars to the order and you will see them in just a few days. I get mine in 2 days. They are in FLA I am in KY. They even have the update Cds so if you are on dailup you dont have to tie up the phone line all day to update your system. I have had nothing but excellent service from these people. I will probably place an order this week. They have the BSDs as well as OOo for windows and all the Live Cds as well. Good Luck