Hi thought I would set the record straight, I have cleaned installed XP Professional many times and can even go into the system BIOS to enable certain things like ethernet and USB's etc...Thanks to everybody for helping me decide, and where to look, really helpful. 3kings

OK--I actually tried Xandros--30-day free trial:

Home AMD XP2400, 1GB, 2 ea 250GB SATA-II drives:
During installation, I told it not to install the bootloader--so it could simply add an entry to the main GRUB menu. Could not boot up--despite double-checking the config file. Noticed that initrd was compressed, and did gunzip. Never got it to boot---will now have to reinstall WITH the bootloader. (Installer give not option to put grub on a floppy.)
BUT--the installer does seem to be nicely laid out......

Work HP Compaq nc8000 laptop:
Unlike Ubuntu, it did not detect the wireless during install (not a huge issue, since it eventually worked fine.) Once it was up, it was set at 1600x1200. Trying to set to lower res caused crash. After reboot, edited the xorg.conf file. Again--crashed when changing res.

Ubuntu 6.06 went on to BOTH of these machines with ZERO issues......

OK. I can't say I've actually tried it, but I will one of these days, Ad says it installs in 4 clicks ... Is that the kind of install you did?

I'm about ready to dump my 32-bit Debian, since OpenOffice and Flash (Gnash) are available for the 64-bit. When I do, I'll try Xandros. If the folks there answer a couple questions correctly, I'll even buy it.

The main question I have is whether the "activation" means I'll have a problem if I want to take it off one computer and install it on another. If that's not an issue, I could reuse it many times on the computers of people who want a tightly integrated dual-boot with Windows as an introduction to Linux.

??? Almost every initrd I've seen is compressed. I don't think you can uncompress them with gunzip either, because they're normally a cpio archive.

Regardless, your bootloader should have no problems with it, as long as you have it correctly specified in the config file as the initrd for the kernel you're trying to boot.
That seems like a drastic measure to me.

EDIT--10/20: I have now confirmed on 2 machines that I cannot simply add the appropriate entries to existing grub.conf file and have it boot Xandros. I will put some more details in a new thread...


OK--now I have the Xandros free demo running at home. It has some very good qualities--and I definitely see the benefit for the Windows convert. There is only one possible scenario in which I would see it as easier to install than popular free distros---if you select "express install", you have very few choices to make: It takes the whole drive, installs the bootloader to the mbr, and everything just works. If, however, you want any options along the way, then it is not any easier than the free distros.

OTHER COMMENTS:
Not installing the bootloader: My home system runs 10+ distros for testing, evaluation, etc. I usually install something new without the bootloader, and then add the appropriate entries to the exisiting config files. This usually works, but not with Xandros.
My observation about the initrd was that I had never seen an initrd file with the .gz extension. Since the thing would not boot, I tried gunzipping the file on a hunch.
I had one other distro that would not boot when I installed it without letting it put in its own loader. Never figured out that one either....

When I installed Xandros with its bootloader, it did not detect ANY of my other linux installs--only Windows. (Maybe because it uses lilo???)

I did read the reviews of Xandros and I do agree that they are making a good pitch to the "joe six-pack" Windows convert who will see "install in 4 clicks" as a benefit. On average, however, I would not see Xandros as easier than the better freebies. In certain situations--it is harder. (eg my laptop)