i decided that it would be a fun project to put linux onto a compaq laptop. i was running originally runnin XP on it and then Fedora. i dont like fedora at all so im switching to another distro. im new at the whole linux thing so i could use some help installing/setting up one or more OS on this machine. thanks

setup the hard drive partitions first http://sourceforge.net/project/show... download & burn the iso. boot the cd and use gpart to partition the drive. 1st partition - linux swap (approx 1 GB) 2nd partition - linux (ext2, ext3, etc..) 3rd partition - windows (fat32, ntfs, etc..) then install windows 1st, then linux. You can create additional partitions if needed, for data or programs, etc... If your laptop still has 256 mb of ram, you need the swap partition. Maybe this is why you didn't like fedora. larry

Fedora was an odd choice. Try Linux Mint or Simply Mepis & you may wanna try running it off the Live CD before actually going thru the hassle of installing it.

i have 768 mb of ram and an 40gb hard drive

thats enough to run any distro out there. If you run linux mint, as jam suggested, your dvd will be able to play movies, "out of the box", assuming the sound works. Try the live cd, as jam suggested, to check if the sound will function. You should still create a swap partition, if you decide to install. larry

so ive been trying to record the iso file to disk using ImgBurn and also Active Iso Burner, but when i use either it fails recording. could the problem with the CD-RW im using (should they be CD-R?) or write speed?? ive downloaded both distros suggested but they both fail when i record them! any thoughts? im using 700MB Office Depot 12x CD-RW with HL-DT-ST RW/DVD GCC-4244N CD Drive. the error message is "E 16:04:41 Failed to Write Sectors 97728 - 97759 - Reason: Write Error "