Quote Originally Posted by Drago
I think if anyone knows of a Windows (oops!) utility to set the read speed of a cd-rom lower than max, that would be the best solution for me.
I just bought a DVD reader at Circuit City for $29 after rebates ($49 before). Why not get the extra functionality? AND, OfficeMAX has a DVD+-R/RW drive on sale for about $149, which will allow you to burn or read anything on the planet!!

I'm a newbie and installed Mandrake. It is very easy. But I still use Knoppix. The quality of help and participation on this forum beats anything I've seen anywhere else!! It all generalizes pretty well. If you're a newbie, it will probably be quite some time before you know enough for the distro to make a significant difference.