installation problems
 

im a 1st time linux user, i tried installing redhat and fedora core 4, but they failed 2 detect my hard disk. i finally installed elx-powerdesk, n its workin fine. does it matter which linux distro 1 uses? n i ve a really stupid q- wt r .rpm files? are they setup files? i tried opening 1, but it asks me which program 2 open it with?

yes rpm files are "setup" packages but if want a distro with a much less steeper learning curve try ubuntu or but i would recommend kubuntu, it uses KDE for the GUI.
if you are going to try it go here after you've installed it
http://easylinux.info/wiki/Ubuntu