so it has too be burned to a disc
so if i leave it on the computer overnight
i will still be able to boot xp right
it's midnight and my computer takes forever too burn shit

Also, once you download, make sure the md5sums match before you burn the image and verify the md5sum from the finished DVD/CD. Would save you a lot of heartburn.

700MB is the normal capacity for a CD. Using a DVD? check the instructions on the website where you downloaded the iso file.
cheers,
jdk

wtf is md5sums?

Hi Kevin,
Replace "wtf is" by "google" and you life will be much simpler.
cheers,
jdk

yeah i know i did that right after i posted
i just like talking
and then i downloaded i think it was winMd5sum from cnet.com

ok i tried the dvd r
didn't do shit
mandriva said dvd r would work
but my computer originally came with just a cd rw drive
so i'm going to try a cd r when i get some more

ok guys thanks for the help so far i think i found the problem
after burning about 12 discs i was starting too get pissed off
well instead of just reading the sticker that said 256 MB RAM
i looked into my comp's basic info and found out i only have 248
so i guess i won't be using linux until i can afford more ram
btw i've been looking into Unbuntu as well now because Google chrome says that it will be available soon on that ummm platform... (is that the right word???) of linux could someone give me some feed back as too stick with Mandriva or too go ahead with Unbuntu