let me start from the beginning, to make sure you have all the details. i'm running a machine with two HD's, one has ubuntu and the other XP. i want to get rid of ubuntu and replace it with slackware.

i found a link for a torrent that was the slackware 13 dvd iso. i downloaded it and burnt it to a DVD. it named itself "SlackDVD" the contents of the DVD can be viewed here: http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2.../slackdisk.jpg my issue is i don't think it's a bootable disc. i checked my BIOS settings and they are correct. i even stuck the XP install disc in and it booted OK.

the problem i'm having is i try the DVD in both my top CD burner and my bottom DVD burner. in the DVD bay when my system reboots it doesn't even recoginze it's there, which is normal as my XP disc wasn't recognized in that player either. however when i put it in the CD tray when the system boots it hangs at a black screen with just a blinking cursor for 10-15 seconds. and then moves on booting the system as usual. i've tried typing or hitting enter or esc, but nothing. stranger still if i open the DVD in XP i can see there's a couple iso files that may allow me to boot from USB, however when i use Magic ISO to try and mount them so i can view their contents and copy them over the iso files don't give me the option to mount them or view them. they act as if they're not image files at all. i've even burned them back to my desktop and still no luck, nero won't even see them as iso files.

so what's wrong? is it not a bootable DVD? the hanging at boot up seems to make me think it is, then again i'm not sure, hence why i'm here. also bear in mind i'm just trying to switch to Linux so i'm not that familiar with the command line. if there's something i need to do if you could explain how to do it from XP that would be greatly appreciated. sorry if this was a little long, i've just been working on this for 3-4 hours and about at my limit. i'm hoping some sage could shine some light on this issue thanks in advance.

How did you burn the iso? Did you use the option "create a DVD from iso" or similar? Also, and it's been a while since I've needed it, there should be (in one of the folders) a set of tools to create a bootable USB key which will then kick off the DVD options.

yeah i burned the iso with nero, "create a DVD from iso". and yeah in the SlackDVD there's a iso called "usboot" that they say needs to be copied to a usb drive. but as i mentioned earlier when i go to open in and view/move the contents it comes up "not a valid image file" yet when i go to properties it reads "image files". you can see my frustration

::UPDATE::

i just tried the disc on my laptop and it worked! which means the disc is good. the only difference is i only have one drive on my laptop, it's a DVD/CD drive. it did the exact same thing, got to a blinking cursor hung, but then went into the boot screen. but why would my desktop take the xp disc and not the slackware disc.. maybe the XP one is a CD? i think that's at the root of the issue.

Is your CD tray purely CD or is it CD/DVD? If it's CD only it won't boot or read your DVD. In which case, you'd need to put it into your DVD drive and create the USB disk in Windows and then boot from it with the DVD in the DVD drive.

Alternatively, download the CD isos from Slackware and use Discs 1 & 2 to get to a basic desktop and download the rest of the files using slackpkg & mirrors.

GOT IT! just went in and disabled the CD drive so it had to load the DVD drive and it worked just fine. i'm half way through the install now. however, i know it's a bad time to realize this, but i'm HOPING when i did the install it was on the drive that had ubuntu on it. i just remember looking up at the partition screen and choosing the linux one, but then again the NTFS one wasn't listed. the program is smart enough to pick the linux drive, and it wasn't just telling me whatever drive it selected was going to be partitioned as linux? gulp

Glad to hear you figured it out. You will be asked where you want to put the install - you will be asked to manually bring up fdisk and specify your partition tables so it won't just install where it wants.

First, you want to get your dvd or cds from a reliable source like the official mirror list. This is the official torrent file.
I like this USA mirror and sometimes I'll use the Switzerland mirror. Both of them are very fast.
Using my DSL wireless connection I get the dvd in 3 - 4 hours.

Then you also need to get the md5 file for the downloaded iso file to check the iso file. Here's the official md5 file for the Slackware 13 DVD.
QuickSFV is a light hand tool for that check.
I have Nero 8 but rarely use it preferring IMGBURN.
7zip makes looking at iso file easy.
All of these are free and, I have found them to be rock solid programs.

I guessing that your cd burner is also a DVD ROM combo because a CD ROM can not read a dvd disk. In any case, you may want to check the jumper setting on your Optical Drives and make sure their set correctly, as well as, checking for updated firmware that maybe available for your Optical Drives. Also, check if your computer/motherboard has an updated bios available for it. If you can update the firmware/bios be careful: close all programs and windows that are open and make sure your not going to lose power in the middle of updating bios/firmware.

These are just some preliminaries that can lead to an easy install.

Looks like I took too long with this reply!