Linux - NewbieThis Linux forum is for members that are new to Linux.
Just starting out and have a question?
If it is not in the man pages or the how-to's this is the place!
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
Absolute beginner, would like to change to Linux. Downloaded Mandrake Linux 10.1 and transferred the three files to DVD. Have tried to change boot sequence on laptop and desktop (Windows XP) to read from CD/DVD drive first. Selected 'save and exit' but both machines still start up Windows XP. Can anyone help in plain language please?
Open the DVD in Windows Explorer. If you see three *.iso files, you burned the disc incorrectly. Typically you need to "Burn Disc from Image" with whatever burning software you're using instead of just dragging the files to a data CD.
EDIT: also, you'll only be able to put one image on a disc unless you go through a complex procedure to combine them. Try downloading the DVD from here.
Thanks, that worked. But now I have an error message in partitioning! It says 'I don't know how to format sda6 in type ext2:vfat' Any clues?
During the install, I assume that you are being prompted for how to set up partitions and to format them. The normal practice is to have a menu of choices for the format. ext2 and vfat would each be a choice, but they make no sense together.
Can you tell us more about the choices you were given during install?
yes, partition prompting. The DrakX Partitioning wizard offered - 'use existing partitions', 'Erase entire disc' and 'Custom disk partitioning'. The first of these brings the error message (now ' I don't know how to format sda15 in type ext2:vfat'). If I try 'custom' and 'Auto allocate' it says 'nothing to do'.
Well, for linux, you don't want to format anything vfat for base system. Linux doesn't live on vfat partitions. Most people use ext3. Now if you're dual booting with Windows, you will want a vfat partition to share files with windows, but you can create that later.
Sometimes it is necessary--maybe even desireable--to "wipe" the disk before setting up a new configuration. One popular tool for this is DBAN: http://dban.sourceforge.net/
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.
