Is The Checsum Necessary?
 

Hi,
Guys thanks for the previous replies,I just want to know whether the MD5 checksums Should match?I've downloaded 2 discs of SuSE and so far they haven't matched should i re-download them,cause my internet is really slow,Or is it ok if i burn them?
-Regards

If the checksum result does not match, make sure you're looking at the checksums for the right images (some distributions offer multiple sets of images). It is definitely not a good idea to burn an image with errors in it.

Checksums, at minimum, should match. If gpg ".sig" files are available, they should match too.

If either does not match, then "you have some kind of a problem" and you definitely should not proceed. Maybe what you have was improperly downloaded; maybe it's been altered; maybe it's not what you thought it was. In any case, do not proceed. (That's what a checksum is for, after all.)

I guess I take this as slightly different, but the two discs will have different checksums from each other, but each should match the checksum from the download site (there will be one checksum for disc 1 and one checksum for disc 2).

Each image will have its own checksum. If the checksum result you get does not match the checksum from the originating site, your image was corrupted during the download. Delete it, and start over. If a particular server consistently yields bad checksums, switch to another.

Bottom line, there's just no point in burning a CD if the checksums don't match. Unless of course you just need a set of new cocktail coasters :)