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Silvy · 12-23-2003, 01:26 PM

To answer the question I think is missed:

As I understand it you have 2 PC's
one (your mother's) with Windows XP on it, on which you are currently downloading linux.
second: a "spare" pc without any OS installed.

Yes, you can burn a linux image to CD without causing any harm to XP. possible harm starts when you're installing. If, as you said, you're installing on the OS-less PC, there is nothing to lose and no harm will be done.

If you want to install linux on a PC with XP on it, it usually works just fine with any recent linux distribution. Most will recognize the existing OS and give a suggestion as to what to do with it. Read carefully, but almost no linux distro will default to removing the existing OS.

Distributions I recommend:
Fedora (f.k.a Red Hat Linux)
Mandrake

Distributions that don't even need installing (just boot from the CD-rom)
Suse Live Eval CD
Knoppix (highly recommended)
(these are so-called live-cd's that run directly from CD. put the cd in the drive, reboot. And linux boots right away. Does NOT write to your harddisk (unless you specifically ask it to), and thus nothing is damaged. If you're done with these Live-cd's you remove the CD-rom, reboot and your original OS boots again.)

In short: download knoppix to try linux

P.S. let us know what you did with our replies, as this evaluates our responses

P.P.S. in response to your edit: the Live-CD's run from the CD only. They look for harddisks but they do not use them. If there is no disk, or it is unusable, the Live-CD's will work just fine.)

12-23-2003, 01:26 PM	#6 (permalink)
Silvy paranoid Location: The Netherlands	To answer the question I think is missed: As I understand it you have 2 PC's one (your mother's) with Windows XP on it, on which you are currently downloading linux. second: a "spare" pc without any OS installed. Yes, you can burn a linux image to CD without causing any harm to XP. possible harm starts when you're installing. If, as you said, you're installing on the OS-less PC, there is nothing to lose and no harm will be done. If you want to install linux on a PC with XP on it, it usually works just fine with any recent linux distribution. Most will recognize the existing OS and give a suggestion as to what to do with it. Read carefully, but almost no linux distro will default to removing the existing OS. Distributions I recommend: Fedora (f.k.a Red Hat Linux) Mandrake Distributions that don't even need installing (just boot from the CD-rom) Suse Live Eval CD Knoppix (highly recommended) (these are so-called live-cd's that run directly from CD. put the cd in the drive, reboot. And linux boots right away. Does NOT write to your harddisk (unless you specifically ask it to), and thus nothing is damaged. If you're done with these Live-cd's you remove the CD-rom, reboot and your original OS boots again.) In short: download knoppix to try linux P.S. let us know what you did with our replies, as this evaluates our responses P.P.S. in response to your edit: the Live-CD's run from the CD only. They look for harddisks but they do not use them. If there is no disk, or it is unusable, the Live-CD's will work just fine.) __________________ "Do not kill. Do not rape. Do not steal. These are principles which every man of every faith can embrace. " - Murphy MacManus (Boondock Saints) Last edited by Silvy; 12-23-2003 at 01:28 PM..