So I've been trying to start using Linux for a while, last Christmas I even repartitioned and put slack on, but I never really got around to learning enough to use it full time. So now I bought The Complete Linux Handbook 2 and it came w/ Mandrake 9.2. if I just install Mandrake over my slack installation and learn on Mandrake, will I be missing out on anything? or is mandrake just as good as any other for a newb?

it's all linux under the hood, some distro's just have more chrome on them than others

that's what i figured, thanks

mandrake has a bit of an easier learning curve than slack as well. though i would suggest giving it another look when you feel comfy with mandy. slack is not so newbie friendly and gui wizard oriented, but is one hell of an os, as i'm sure you will hear around here a bunch.

okay, LILO seems to be getting in the way of my laptop from booting from the DVD / CD-RW drive which has a bootable DVD in it w/ mandrake, can i get around this?

this is more likely a bios configuration than lilo. go into your bios and check the boot sequence. make sure that your cdrom comes before your harddrive. as a security note though, you should probably change this back when you are finished.

might have to modify the bios setting to list cdrom first in the boot order, or some laptops have a key to hold down at power up to allow you to choose which drive to boot off of. f2 on my toshiba for example.

f10 on hp pavilion zt1000 series

Well, yes and no. Remember that their are distinct types of linux - like desktop types which might include mandrake and Suse and the big names, and there are server types, with some overlap. But there are also specialized types for specific purposes, lke mini distros or rescue or things like smoothwall...

In the major desktop types they all have a slightly different feel and different levels of ease. So picking what is right for you can be ticky and may take a couple of tries.

when does this happen, on the (in my case) Hp pavilion initial screen.
(2) the blanking
(3) the lilo prompt
(4) inside/between two service?

between which of these?

(e.g)
the screen goes black for 1 minute after the lilo prompt and before init.
--this is not my case, but it's just a example.

Read your laptop manual to know for sure. Some commond keys that enter the CMOS setup program are Del, F1, F2, F10, F12, and Esc. You need to press whatever key your laptop requires to be pressed BEFORE Lilo Loads.

apparently my combo drive is not working properly, it doesn't always autorun, even when windows or linux for that matter is running, i think something is wrong w/ the motor. so i have to take it in since i'm not really comfortable with cracking the case on my laptop, it's like working on a small sports car

get refund, or try the hardware section of LQ

LILO is like a stain that's difficult to remove. I would suggest using a newer distro than Mandrake 9.2 (it came out in 2003, I think). I'm sure something more recent could overcome the LILO you've got on there. (assuming it's not a hardware problem)

I'm a Debian user; so, naturally, I'm now going to try to sell you on that. I've heard that a good introduction to Debian Sarge is GenieOS, which can be downloaded from http://www.piorek.net/pub/LINUX_DISTROS/GenieOS/
Note, from the GenieOS site, only the first primary download site (UCSB Department of Chemical Engineering) has the latest version, that being 0.5. (or, forget the intro of GenieOS and dive right into Debian, with a either a network install, or from a downloaded install CD.)

Granted, even Sarge is started to show its age. Etch (the next Debian) will be released in November. Complete upgrades of the entire Debian OS are a snap.

Other distros I've heard good things about are SuSE, PCLOS, Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandriva, Vector Linux (based on Slackware), Mepis, and (of course) Debian. My own slant is toward either Debian, or Debian based ones like Mepis, or Ubuntu. Anyway, good luck and have fun.

I second mark_alfred on that.
Debian based systems are nice. I use Ubuntu personally (currently)...