I had an offline request to put this together. For those
of you who know this, either skip or read and see if you
can contribute. The steps for burning a distro (think a
version of Linux) to a CD are surprisingly simple--if you
know how.
1. Select a distro
2. Download the ISO file
3. Download a burner program
4. Use the burner program to create a disk
5. Set up your machine
6. Boot from the new CD
I wanted to give an overview first so you would know what
we are getting into. ANYBODY with a CD burner and
broadband connection can do this. Don't have broadband
but have a laptop or a friend with one? Do your downloads
at Buffalo Wild Wings or your nearest Wi-Fi free hotel lobby.
1. Select a distro. This one can be daunting. There are
litterally hundreds (thousands?) of Linux distros out there.
How do you know what to try? If you are coming from Windows
I always suggest Linux Mint. Hey, I am biased. That said,
send a note on a group like this telling what you want to
do and you will get several suggestions. An example note
might be:
"I just want to replace windoze. I am looking at Linux
but don't know where to start. I use my computer for
Yahoo IM, Facebook, digital photos, and I have an iPod."
You will find others that share your interest even if some
consider them obscure: "I want to integrate Ham Radio." I
recommend distrowatch.
hundreds of distros, a list of the most popular, and links
to download the ISO file(s). Read about the most popular
distros. Why the most popular? That means that more
people have recent, applicable experience with the distro.
Finding help is easier that way.
2. Download the ISO. This can be a few megabytes up to
several giga-bytes depending on your selection. Use
distrowatch.
and save the file to your hard drive. One thing to
do after the download is compare MD5 checksums. MD5 is
a checksum method that allows you to know that what you
downloaded is what it should be. Every distro I know
of also makes an MD5 checksum available. I have used
WinMD5Free (winmd5.com) to calculate the checksum then
compare that with the sum listed on the distro site.
3. Download a burner program. I recommend deepburner.
Google it. It is a simple, free program that will do
what you want. You might have gotten a free program
with your computer or CD/DVD burner program. Those
can work also, but not always. Some do not have the
ability to burn from an ISO.
4. Use the burner program to create a disk. In your
program, tell it you want to create a disk
from a file (ISO is mentioned as I remember). The
program has one quirk you might run into. Maximize the
program window, minimize and maximize the internal burn
window if you have issues. Use the button to locate your
ISO file. Change the max speed to about 1/2 of the max
speed of your burner. Shut off all IM, Browsers, Word
processors etc. At the bottom of the window, click
<burn>.
5. Set up your machine. Most modern machines allow a
one time special boot from the machine's inital screen.
Usually, I run into F11 or F12. On my netbook, it is
the number 0. If the screen does not list "boot menu"
or "one time boot" you might have to go through a
slightly more involved method. You have to go into
BIOS setup. "OMG, am I gonna break my machine?" Not
likely. What we are doing is very simple and has no
real danger. Most systems list the key you need to
press during boot. I find <F2> and <Del> to be the
most common, but you can watch and see it during boot.
Inside the BIOS screen, look for an option with the
words "Boot" or "Advanced" in the title. Select that
option. Change your first boot device to "CD/DVD" or
some wording like that. Make the second boot device
"Hard disk" or something like that. You don't even
need to change this again if you don't want. So long
as you don't have a bootable CD in the drive, the
computer will boot from the hard drive.
6. Boot from the new CD. Put the new CD in and boot.
Most distros offer a "Live CD" capability. This is
a good thing. You can boot from a Live CD without
installing anything to your hard drive whatsoever.
It will run slower than you are used to, but it will
run and you can see if you like the look and function
before installing. When you are done playing with
the distro and need to reboot into Windoze, remove
the CD and reboot.
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