I didn't get very far!

[bstemp]

Ok so I downloaded the file and saved it to my desktop. From there I burnt it to CD using Nero. I did not have the option of making it a bootable disk, so just proceeded as a data disk.

In the BIOS, changed boot options to CD, but system booted straight into Windows.
Then I disabled the option to boot from HDD and rebooted.

This time I get the message "Boot from CD", but that's as far as it goes. Had to restore BIOS to get back to Windows.

I must be missing something simple.

Bill

[bstemp]

Forgot to add, that I couldn't read the installation FAQ as the server is apparently down.

Bill

[Harry Kuhman]

A couple of important steps:

One: Check the md5 sum of the file you downloaded. Trust me on this. There are plenty of tools on the web that will compute an md5 sum for you. If you don't already have one, use Google.

Two: What does burning it as a data disk mean to you? If you can see a lot of files and an entire directory structure when you look at the CD under Windows then you likely did it right. If you see one big ISO file on the CD then you did it wrong. We usually tell the new guy where to find the "Burn Image" option under Nero, but as you said that your software doesn't have an option for burning bootable CD's then I'm guessing that you're not using Nero. What burning software are you using, someone can likely tell you what option you need to use in it to burn iso files with it.

Three: You completely forgot about what I said in step one, didn't you? Trust me, you don't want to skip that step.

[bstemp]

The CD contains only one large iso file.

I did use Nero, but when I selected the 'make bootable disk' option, I was only given the option to select drive A:

The option at the bottom is to 'Record a disk from a disk image previously burned onto the HDD'. Should I try this option?

Bill

[Harry Kuhman]

The CD contains only one large iso file.

I did use Nero, but when I selected the 'make bootable disk' option, I was only given the option to select drive A:

The option at the bottom is to 'Record a disk from a disk image previously burned onto the HDD'. Should I try this option?

Bill

OK, you did it wrong. Here's the instructions for using Nero:

Check that md5 sum. I'm not kidding.

Once the md5 sum is verified, start up nero. Put an blank 700 meg disc in the drive (not 650 meg). Don't worry about the options for making something bootable, that is for when you want to make a bootable CD from scratch. For example, this evening I made a CD with a partition backup tool on it, as well as a backup copy of the main partition of a new system I'm working on. I used a Win98 boot floppy as the "Drive A image" (although there are other ways that Nero will let you do this, which do give you more room in your boot image). The end result is a CD that I can boot from, have DOS running, and restore my partition from whenever I want. But that's not what you want to do. The ISO image you have (hopefully) has all the information needed to make a bootable CD already on it. You just need to burn this image in a way that will place all of the files contained in the image on the CD as a full directory structure (not that one big ugly unbootable file). Close that splash screen Nero opens (Hit Cancel or just take the first option if you want, it doesn't matter). From the menu, under file pick the Burn Image ... option. A file selector box will pop up. Use it to locate your ISO file. Then burn it. And burn it nice and slow. I recommend 4x. I did a rough calculation based on the number of empty spindels and boxes I have around here, and I figure I have burned over 3000 CDs. I've learned the hard way that writing them fast doesn't pay in the long run. It's worth the little extra time it takes to burn it slow. So at least while you're still trying to get everything working, humor me and burn it slow.

[bstemp]

Easy when you know how.

I had Knoppix up & running in no time at all. I always thought I was pretty clued-up with a PC, but this is totally different; needs a lot of looking into.

Unfortunately I am posting this through Windows, as I could not get my ADSL connection fixed, but that's another story.

Thanks for your help (and I will check that md5 sum).

Bill

[Harry Kuhman]

and I will check that md5 sum)

Cart, Horse ......
But it's technology you will need anytime you download a Knoppix iso from an FTP or HTTP site (maybe not so much with Bittorrent), so I do suggest you get one of the tools and learn to use them (only takes a couple of minutes, really).