I am pretty new to Unix/linux and have been itching to use a linux os for a while. And after some research i found that Mandrake was the best for someone like me. I need to know what files i need to download to make a boot disc(s) to make my laptop run only linux. The laptop runs around 200-500mhz though Im not sure, with a 4GB hardrive. So if anyone has the exact files that need to be burned etc.

I tried before with mandrake but couldn't make a linux formatted floppy to help installation. version 10.0
I also tried knoppix which I would rather use. But after installing my screen got scratchy and would freeze. If you know of a way to do the previously listed with knoppix that would be awsome, but whatever.

Mandrake 10.1 Official Edition just got released 2004-12-06.
You can download the installation ISO (disk images) from the Mandrake website. It usually consists of 3 iso images. Which amounts to about 2.1GBs of data you can download. Its not necessary to download all 3. But if your going to download them, might as well.

You can download the ISO's here;
http://distrowatch.com/?newsid=02133#0

There are also bit torrents for this release as well.
http://qa.mandrakesoft.com/torrent/?C=M;O=D

The CD's are bootable, so you should not need a floppy, unless your machine is unable to boot from a CD. If it doesn't boot from the CD, and is not very old, then you might just need to change the boot order in the BIOS.

Alright, I just download 10.1 Disc 1 ISO which took me 6 hours for some odd reason... Going to try it now. And my machine is pretty old. Which kinda presents another problem, the bios never loads on startup...It just says its their in my control panel. I know this is not windows forums so I won't go itno it. As for the ISO's Im just gonna try the one first...Cause the site said I only need one. Will let know if it works.

Well no dice...After creating the boot disk and running it, it just asks for a floppy with extra drivers. But the autorun menu for mandrake is unresponsive...So I think Im just gonna give up on that and shoot for unix. Thanks for your help though.

Uh...yeah....Didn't work. So Im just gonna try UNIX...But shamefully I don't know where to download it...So if anyone could help me out there...

Dont give up on Linux just yet. Try if your laptop is mentioned on http://www.linux-on-laptops.com

UNIX costs money, Unlike GNU/Linux, for the most part it is not freely offered and can be quite expensive. And may not be the best to learn on considering its cost. What if you pay a license fee of (SCO was asking about $1,500 Per CPU License -thats another story) say the $1,500 and still cant get it to work?

I have installed Slackware Linux on an older Compaq Armada 7800 (300Mhz CPU) some time ago, just finished replacing the LCD CCFT and inverter this weekend. But for a laptop running X it does fairly well.

On the ISO's you burnt for Mandrake-Linux, there are floppy disk images included, usually you need to run the included 'rawrite' program to create the boot disks.

Instead of using GNU/Linux, you could give one of the free *BSD's a try. If you can't get an OS on the laptop, then you have not tried NetBSD. It may be harder to install if your new to the *nix platforms, than a GNU/Linux distro, but it runs on just about anything with a cpu.

The BIOS would have to load, your just not seeing its output. You must have a Compaq, which usually displays a splash screen. You might need, if it is a Compaq, a specific floppy disk to access your BIOS settings.

http://www.netbsd.org