probably a popular question, but i havnt found a good solid answer anywhere... where and how do i get linux without paying a bunch. i hear it's famous for being free, but i can't seem to find any free distros to use. I have XP now, and am somewhat experienced with samba and RH8. i would like to set up a new linux distro. What are some good free distrobutions and how do i use them from xp?

I just install Mandrake 10.0 Community.

Mirror sites to download the three cdrom .iso files can be found in the MandrakeLinux.com site.

They have a MandrakeMove cd that is a live-cdrom, that you might want to try first.

The 'free' distros are all around, you just have to download them.

As jschiwal recommended, you may want to start with Mandrake Move or Knoppix. This will allow you to 'play' with linux without actually installing it on your system. Each version is a CD that will boot to a fully functional Linux OS.

You can download them here:

ftp://mirrors.xmission.com/mandrake/iso/

http://www.knoppix.net/get.php


If you want a full blown installation of Linux on your system then you probably want to go with Mandrake or RedHat. Mandrake is by far the easiest version to use. RedHat has the widest user base, and therefore it is easier to find support on.

There are also some very good fee based versions for the new user. Some versions are Lindows (http://www.lindows.com), Xandros (http://www.xandros.com), Lycoris (http://www.lycoris.com), etc. You can find a more complete listing of your choices at http://www.distrowatch.com.

I'm not sure how to answer your question for "how do I use them from xp?" The only way that you can truly use them from XP is either through a remote desktop session, using MS Virtual PC, or using VMWare.

at the moment, i have RH8, and had two of the three .iso files for mandrake, so it seems i'm on the right track. thanks for the help.

i was wondering what to do with my .iso files now that i have them. do i just burn them to a disk? (they are saved on my xp partition)

Yup, just burn the .iso images to a disk and boot up with the first disk.

--Note: Be sure to burn each .iso image to a different disk, I have seen my friends try to burn them all to the same disk...doesent work that way.--

how exactly do i burn them? I have a file named "Mandrakelinux-10.0-Community-Download-CD1.i586.iso" from the mandrake page, and i used XP's (right click ->) Send To D: function, burned the cd, but i cannot get the
cd to boot, startup ignores it. (i do know how to set up a cd boot using bios etc.) any ideas to why it doesnt recognize, or suggestions to what else to try?

try to first put in the second cd , cd2 and boot the pc......... if it goes it will ask you for the first cd at some point.........

why don't you get Nero burning software instead? They offer a free demo on their web site, http://www.ahead.de/us/index.html. Nero is one of the best and easiest appls around. If you are using XP's burning soft it might not be able to burn .iso type files. That's Microcrap for ya...
In Nero you just start it up, choose the type and burn baby burn

Astalavista for those who know.

Go here:

http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm

Download the ISO burner powertoy for Windows XP. Once you have it downloaded and installed all you'll need to do is right click the ISO file and choose "Copy image to CD". Do this for each iso image, using a new CD for each.

This will burn the iso images correctly to the CDs for you.

The method you used previously would have burned the isos to the CD, but only the iso. This meaning that if you were to browse to each CD, you would only see the single iso file.

Once you've created the CDs correctly you will see multiple files and folders on each CD.

thank you, this is what i needed. ^_^

could you check that link please, metagore, or somebody, it doesnt load for me.

Just checked it, still working.

Search google for 'XP iso' and it'll show up as the first result.

As a newbie I like Libranet a lot,it's Debian-based, easy to use and not bloated or bugged. The free version holds on one CD, and though it may seem outdated it's a good start -- you can download new packages very easily. It's even easier to install than Windoz!

same for mandrake 10.

just that it is uptodate ;-)

Hi Thineonly,
I have installed Libranet 2.8 after playing with Knoppix. I choose those because they are Debian based. Libranet is availabel i n two versions, Rev. 2.7 and Rev 2.8.1. The difference is that 2.7 is free and with 2.8 (about $CAN50.-) you get excellent technical support. Dwnload from http://www.libranet.com.
JayGee