problem with installation/internet

Hi,
I've tried unsuccessfully to use linux a few times before but I've never got it working to the point where i can use it over windows (as much as i want to :P), but yesterday i tried again, this time with mandriva.

I installed mandriva one, and i could connect to my network at my halls but not the VPN, so i couldnt get on the net, and i cant configure the vpn connection because it says it can't install the openvpn package (i guess because i dont have an internet connection?). I don't have any wireless networks here that i can connect to either. I tried to install openvpn myself but it says there isnt gcc installed (even tho there is, i've read other people saying this aswell).

I thought i might be able to do it if i downloaded the DVD version instead but when i tried to install it, it kept giving me errors about not being able to install packages, and was taking hours and hours to install so i don't know why that wasn't working :S

Sorry for writing so much, if anyone could help me out with this I'd really appeciate it cos I've been dying to make the switch to linux for ages now :P

may be you need to get latest version of gcc

had you tried urpmi gcc

i burnt the dvd again and tried with the new disk, i 'upgraded' mandriva with it, but it seems to be the same.

i tried urpmi gcc but it said it kept telling me to put the disk in, even tho it was :S