This is probably a trivial and dumb question, but here goes: What's the best way for me to upgrade from Mandrake 8.0 to 8.1? Should I do a clean format and partition? Can I run the installation from my windows partition (i.e I don't have a CD-burner)?

Thanks in advance ya' hackers!

Best way is a clean format, assuming you don't mind re-setting-up the system settings that got wiped, eg ISP etc. You can (obviously) copy your home directory to your windows partition to save your personal files.

From the user manual/install guide:
"hd.img: use this image in the case where you were not able to perform the install from a CD-ROM. You just need to copy the content of the CD onto the hard drive (either on a FAT ext2fs or reiserfs partition), and boot with the floppy containing that image."

So yeah, you can install using files on your windows partition, but you need to mount the iso images under windows, copy the files out, and make a floppy boot disk first.

Umm..o.k. Mount the ISO images under Windows, copy the files out, and make a boot disk. Where's that "Running Linux" book...

LoL, thanks for your help, but I think you need to come down to laymens terms. That or maybe I'm a lost cause and should just go out and buy a burner!

If this is too much, I'll understand. I just need to do some more reading first I guess. This Linux stuff is pretty complex! I will get it eventually though- I like a good challenge.

Fair enough...

You can do it in windows or linux.

Here's a random windows shareware app to open up the iso image:
<A HREF="http://www.tucows.co.nz/system/preview/195652.html" target="_new">http://www.tucows.co.nz/system/preview/195652.html</A>

Under Linux:
(you may need to be root for this)
mkdir /tmp/cdimage
mount -o loop cd.iso /tmp/cdimage
The contents of the iso will be in /tmp/cdimage

Once you can open it, you can then copy the files to a folder on your windows partition (C:\Mandrake thru Windows, or /mnt/windows/makdrake thru Linux, or whereever).

Then you run rawrite.exe (which you would have copied out of the iso image) and tell it to use hd.img, and a: drive. This will create the floppy boot disk.

Under Linux, the command would be something like:
dd if=hd.img of=/dev/hd0
to make the floppy image

Boot from that, and when the time comes, tell the installer where the extracted files are.

Hope that helps.