every attempt has failed
 

How will I ever know what it's like using Linux? Every attempt at installation has failed.
This time I decided to have a go at Mandrake 10.....I spent 3 days downloading the 3 disc set. I created a Linux formatted partition at the beginning of my #2 hard drive. When I begin the install it terminates immediately with these lines:

invalid compressed format (err=2)
Kernal panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on ram3

I am not a stupid man, but I don't have a degree from MIT either.
What am I supposed to do.
_________________

Hi,

Sounds to me like you have corrupt CD images. Has happened to me before. You should verify the checksums with something like this tool: http://www.irnis.net/free.shtml

Also, grab the latest Knoppix or MandrakeMove. These will let you check hardware compatibility before you commit to a full install.

And finally, it is hard to help you unless you give full specs of the machine, though in this case I'm not sure it would tell us that much - RAM is just RAM after all.

HTH - TIM

which files
 

Where on the disc do I find the .sum files that I need to check with the utility?

The .sum files do not come on the disk - the point is they are distributed separately from the image in order to allow you to verify the image. You will find all 3 sums in a single file on the FTP site you used to download Mandrake - the file is 'Mandrakelinux-10.0-Community-Download.md5sums.asc'

TIM