The frustrations starts. I've downloaded Mandrake 8.2 and I'm trying to install on my second hard drive. Making boot disk was straight forward but the install program can not see the source files on the hard drive. Is this because it is in an NTFS format? If so, how do I get around it?

Did you download the iso files? Are you able to burn them to CD. This is probably your best bet. The boot disk for a Hard Drive install expects iso files anyway, and not the files contained on the install disks.

I've got all the files. The boot disk works. When it goes to look for the files on the "c" drive, it is unable to read the disk.

I am totally lost here, but a small question. Aren't you specifying c: in linux format? I mean something like /dev/hda1 ?
--Sarin.

Sorry to confuse you. I used the windows vernacular because that is what I'm used to. Please forgive me. I've gotten earlier versions of Linux to install on machines before but never to a really useable level and reverted to windows so I could get on with things. The boot disk works fine. The install program for Mandrake 8.2 can not find the files it need to go ahead and install. My question is either do I need to use a different windows version (FAT format vs. NTFS format) or is there something else that I'm failing to do so that the install program can see the files it needs to works with to install Linux on my second drive?

You may be right. I'm not sure that the Syslinux kernel used in the installer can read NTFS. If you can, try to burn each .iso that you downloaded to a CD so you don't lose anything that you downloaded. The really neat part with that is that you can use them again should you ever want to/need to re-install Linux.

My experience with trying to get Linux to see NTFS has been - I can't! It will recognize and mount just about everything else, but it draws the line at NTFS.

Actually new kernels see NTFS just fine (see, yes, write -- don't even think about it), but the installer doesn't use a kernel that thinks to much about other filesystems, AFAIK, and focuses instead on building the ram disk, looking for CD devices, and getting the installation software to do its thing.

O.K. so installing from a NTFS hard disk is out. What files do I need to burn to get started? The whole downloaded Mandrake 8.2 is just shy of 3.5 Gig.

Did you download .iso files, or individual files? (.iso being CD image files).

If you downloaded the .iso files, there should be three of them, then use your favorite CD burning software under Windoze to burn the three CDs.

I downloaded individual files. I guess I'll have to go find the .iso files.