I am currently attempting to install Slackware 9.1 on my Sony Vaio PCG-R505JS. I'm having trouble, however, when it comes to selecting an install source, as 9.1 does not recognize the Vaio's dock (which houses the cdrom) I've tried the 3 scsi installation options (scsi.s, scsi2.s, scsi3.s) to no avail, and I am hard pressed to find a solution, as I would like to finally kick windows to the curb.
Saying that I am a newbie is an understatement, and I would try something along the lines of redhat or mandrake ( I hear the installations are much more user friendly), but Slackware came so highly recommended, I wish to attempt using this linux distro first.

[edit]
After much browsing last night, I found some suggestions from http://www.catalina.org/sonyvaio/ on installing linux to a Sony Vaio, and some familiar hardware specifications from http://www.returntonature.com/linux/laptop/ that suggest settings for my laptop after I get an installation running. It turns out that the dock is IEEE1394 (aka firewire aka i.LINK) and not scsi, as I had cluelessly assumed.

While I'm still poking around in the dark, I am still open to any suggestions on installation procedures or "next step" suggestions from people who have tried this before.