Hi, If I have mandrake 8.2, does that include the powerpack edition? If not is there somewhere to download an iso image if it is freeware. The other part of the question is do I need it. or is it on the third disc of 8.2 that did not load in during install. Thanks for any help.

you can't download the powerpack, that's what you get when you give them money. and no, you don't need it at all... actaully I don't believe there's anything on it you can't download anyway, bit by bit.

After a "veritable plethora" of distasters since I've been trying to learn this mandrake 8.2 thing, I have had to reload it 4 or 5 times after making a total balls up of my install.

The third disc only seems to be required if you tell the system to install everything (and judging by the stuff that you can select in the software manager, it still doesn't load "everything")(when it did tell me to put the third disc in, it only seemed to load about a rizla's worth of whats actually on the disc!).

I would say that you should keep the 3rd disc handy, beacuse I have had to install various things from it in my quest to learn about firewalls (though due to my lack of IT training/knowledge, I have only managed to sus out that they are easier to install under window$, better, but harder to sus under linux and things in the roof space of terraced houses!).

regards

John

Yep, in regards to the 3rd disc, during my stint of "reinstalling" Linux using Mandy 8.2 over and over the 3rd disc only came into play to install flight simulator, and a few other things. But just as John said, after the install, I used it for many of the programs that didn't get installed during the "full" install.

Just to give you a hint on a true FULL install, click the "choose individual packages" and then ok, and click the star in each main category, this will select all packages in each subcategory and in turn, ALL packages. This will include international packages of KDE and such that you will NEVER ever need, but this would of course be a true "full install".

As for the PowerPack, you are looking at very few programs that would actually be of use to you that you couldn't get by via a free (as in beer) download. It might include staroffice, and possible a worked up version of wine. A few other programs, but really, most of the programs it would contain that aren't on the download iso, just as Chris said, are available via download from the program's homepage.

Cool