Linux-Mandrake (Super Newbie in trouble)

[Concrete Cormasta']

I have recently downloaded linux mandrake and properly burnt the iso's onto cd's. I've been using various help guides and they've all told me the same things.

It autoruns some menu with a penguin and two help guides and a boot disk creator. I've tried creating a boot disk and it still won't work I"m really, really at loss. In one of the help guides it showed me a picture of the window that should have popped up. It was a dark scheme and said to press f1 to install or enter.

My question is how do I get this window to pop up? Please help. I use Win98.

Cormasta' :confused:

[bdg1983]

Mandrake 8.0 and you set your boot order to CD first and rebooted with the Mandrake install CD in the drive.

I don't use Mandrake, but the install should take off and give you the option of what kind of install you want to do.

[Concrete Cormasta']

How would I set my Boot order??

Why wasn't any of this mentioned in the README!? :mad:

[stepdad]

I take it that you are putting the Linux Mandrake CD in the drive while Windows 95/98 is still running.

Linux Mandrake is an operating system all it's own. While it shares some similarities with windows, it also has many differences.

In order to get Linux Mandrake up and running you will need to install it on your system. There are two ways you can do this with Linux Mandrake.

On the Mandrake installation CD is a program named Lnx4win.exe. You can run this program from Windows and it will walk you through installing Linux Mandrake under windows. This is a good option if you are brand new to Linux and want to test it out before you actually decide to switch to Linux.

What it does is install Linux Mandrake in an image file under windows, basically creating a little Linux machine on your system without disturbing any of your drive partitions.

You must keep in mind that Linux running under Windows will not be quite as fast, or as stable as the real thing. But this is a nice, easy way to get a feel for the OS without going through a full install process, since partitioning the hard drive is the step that most folks that are new to linux have the most difficulty with.

When you do decide it's time for a full installation, simply put the Install CD in the CD-Rom, shut off your machine and turn it on again. The CD will boot to Linux all by itself, and all you have to do is follow through the installation menus to complete process.

If you plan to keep Windows on your machine at this point, I highly recommend you backup any critical files you might have before you run this install, and read a bit about how to partition a hard drive to be used by both Linux and Windows.

You can find more information about how to install Linux Mandrake in a variety of way's here. The documentation is for 7.1, but it is basically the same as 8.0 in this regard:

Booting Linux Mandrake (http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/demos/Demo/Mandrake7.1/Install/pages/install.htm#cd)

This walks you through how to make boot disks, boot from the CD Rom or run the install from Windows 95/98.

Another option when you are ready for the full installation you might wish to investigate is the Automated Install:

Automatic Install Linux Mandrake (http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/demos/Demo/Mandrake7.1/Install/pages/install6.php3)

It states that it will automatically install and coexist with windows, though when I installed mine on a dual boot system I used the expert mode so I cannot verify that this is as easy as it sounds.

Either way, hope that helps.

Stepdad

[Concrete Cormasta']

:D :)

Thanks a lot, Stepdad! I'll go try that right away.

;) :D :D :D :D :D

[Concrete Cormasta']

It doesn't work.
Arg. The lnx4win.exe doesn't exist on either CDs, and rebooting and shutting down doesn't do anything at all. Do I need to partition my HD before attempting to install?

:confused:

[bdg1983]

Go into the bios and change the boot order to CD first.

Try the expert mode install as it might give you the ability to resize/partition your drive.

[antitrustworthy]

if you want to run Mandrake from Windows, just click on the 'install Mandrake' button on the window that appears when you autorun the CD. It will walk you through the process. I did this when I was first introduced to Mandrake, but it is advised to format your drive and install linux from the CD once you are comfortable with it. You have to go into your BIOS and change the boot order to boot from CD ROM first. If you choose expert install, you will have the prgram DiskDrake at your command to format, partition, and create swap space. The graphical installer is very simple to understand even in expert mode. You shouldnt have any more problems once you boot from the CD. Mandrake is cool!! :D

[Concrete Cormasta']

BIOS,
that would be ReBoot then press Delete Right?
Ok, I can do that. I know my way around that place.

Thanks again for the help. I really appreciate it.

[Concrete Cormasta']

OMG.....

It worked...

THANK YOU!!

yEAH!! (caps error intended)

[bdg1983]

Glad to hear it. Your quite welcome.

[heega1]

I love a happy ending!!!!