On Tue, 30 Oct 2001, Lorry wrote: > There is just too much wrong with my computer at this point, and I've > decided to burn the few files I really need onto a CD, clear everything > and start over. I won't go into it here since you're a newbie, but if linux has taught me anything, it's that you *NEVER* need to do this. If it's broken in linux, it can be fixed. Give it time, lots of re-installs, lots of beer, little sleep, you'll come to this conclusion some day. > 1) Is this too much for me to handle alone? I *really* want to do this > ASAP. Without going into too many details, suffice to say I am not > happy at all with the way it is now, and every passing day makes me > unhappier. So if I can do this today I will do it today. Back up your data and all you'll lose is time. You may go a few days without linux running perfectly, but you don't start to appreciate the guts of linux until you install it a lot. Time, patience, and lots of caffeine for those late nights. Otherwise, go ahead and do it yourself. Sounds like you've installed Windows and are comfortable with it, so installing linux shouldn't be much of a shock. > 2a) If above answer is no, can anyone give me a few pointers? I didn't > install slack myself so I really don't know anything about the process. Mandrake installs well. Otherwise I've got the RH7.2 discs, I can zip you off a copy and bring them to you (I'm in St. Cloud all day Tues). The newer distros have a nice Windows-like installer. Debian's a great distro but lacks in a setup program for newbies. If you're in for the challenge of installing a distro, realizing you didn't want certain options, discovering certain things are missing, deciding at 11 PM that sure, you have time to re-install, giving up at 4 AM because you have class at 8 AM, then featureless installers are wonderful. That's how I learned to install it. If you want your linux box back quick, use Redhat or Mandrake. If you can take some time to putz around and really learn the installer and and learn more about how linux works from the very beginning, Debian is awesome. -Brian