dt2

Found a useful program (freeware!) for burning ISOs. Note that you can't just use Windows XP's "copy-and-paste" to burn an ISO...you need dedicated CD-burning software (and you have to select its "ISO" option).

If you're having trouble with your burning software or you don't already have a CD-burning software solution (e.g. Nero), you can download one for free here:

http://www.cdburnerxp.se/index.php

I just used CDBurnerXP to burn a Mandrake ISO and had no problems booting up the resulting CD. Note that, as mentioned above, whenever you burn an ISO you need to specifically choose "Burn ISO" from within your software -- this applies to CDBurnerXP, too.

Hope this helps...

----------------------

UPDATE: Here's a step-by-step walkthrough of the procedure. I tried it with the Mandrake 10.0 Official i586 ISO, using a Windows XP Home computer.

-- Instructions for using CDBurnerXP Pro (version 2.2.9): --

Place a blank CD-R (or CD-RW) in your CD burner. (I used a CD-R.) Open the CDBurnerXP Pro application (from the Start menu or desktop, etc.).

CDBurnerXP will start with a window (titled "New Compilation...") with five buttons on it. Click the one on the far right, named "ISO Tools."

CDBurnerXP opens a new window titled "ISO Writer 2." Confirm your CD burner is selected under "Drive." Confirm the Write Speed (I left mine at the default of "8 x 1200 kB/s"; yours may be different but the default will likely suffice).

Choose the ISO file you wish to burn by clicking on the "..." button under "Open ISO File To Burn." It probably ends in ".iso". After you've selected that file, you should see the file name in the box (to the left of the "..." button).

Under Data Options, I left "Mode2XA" unchecked since I'm using a CD-R. (I don't know what this does.) Unchecked was the default anyway.

Under Write Options, I left Finalize Disk checked and Test Write unchecked (again, these were the defaults). (If you select Test Write, it will go through the whole procedure and tell you if the test write was successful or not, but it won't actually burn anything to the disk. I tried it once, but I don't think it's necessary or worth your trouble unless something else goes wrong and you're trying to figure out what the matter is.)

Click the "Write ISO" button. It took me about 10 minutes or so to burn the whole CD.

-- Can You Boot That New CD? --

After you've burned the first CD, try popping it into your CD drive and reboot your computer. You should see the Linux installation program open.

If not, make sure that your BIOS is setup so that you can boot from a CD-ROM. This involves entering your BIOS and changing the boot order setting to something like "Try floppy first, then try CD-ROM, then try hard disk."

More details can be found at: http://www.pointandclicklinux.com/node/view/28

Dolda2000

That's a really great thing, dt2. Now we might have a canonical solution for people whose ISO burns won't boot.

However, would you mind giving some detailed usage instructions? I can't write any since I don't even have a Windows installation to try it on. I think it would be a good thing for when people can't find the "Burn ISO" option. ;-)

dt2

You bet. I'll update this thread when I go home tonight (only Linux at work).

dt2

I've updated the original post. All, please let me know if any of the above should be clarified, etc.

Hope it helps...

Dolda2000

Great! I'll set the topic sticky.

ThatFunkyMunki

another good one is burn4free

dt2

Perhaps...I didn't download burn4free because of the following:

From http://download.burn4free.com/

From http://www.download.com/Burn4Free-CD...-10297489.html

burn4free IS freeware, but this NavHelper crap is, in my opinion, too high a price to pay...

[Edited to add the cute "quote" tags.]

rathergoodman

dt2 has some good advice, and this is just my 2 cents...


ISO Recorder { http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm }

Its a "power toy" for windows XP, might work on others, have never tried anything else. After the install, it adds "Burn This Image" to the context menu (Right Click) when you click an iso file, and allows the making of ISO the same (right click CD drive, choose "make iso")

.. Just, another suggestion for this type of thing.




btw, its also free

dan@george

Wow, that's awesome! I've been trying to find one for Windows XP, but I never could until now. Thanks dt2!

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thisisfutile

Although dt2's post is useful for version 2.2.9, I've just downloaded version 3.x and the layout must be really different. For example, the opening screen only shows 3 options...(you'll need to click the far left button DATA/DVD) However, the help section was very errr, um helpful and I burned a bootable cd very easily. Hope this helps anyone with a later version.