Booting into live CD session

Before you begin, make sure you have everything ready for the installation:

1. You have downloaded and burned the Mandriva One .iso to CD.
2. You have allocated the required hardware resources (dual boot, second machine or a virtual machine).
3. (Optional) You have installed and configured the VMware Server and created a Mandriva virtual machine.
4. You know how to boot from CD (regardless of the installation platform).

If you have troubles with the above stages, you really should read the other Linux articles ...

Booting into the live CD session is made enjoyable by a soothing orange background of the new la Ora theme.

Mandriva differs from (K)ubuntu live CD by asking questions before you boot into the live session. This is very similar to PCLinuxOS, which is another distro that I intend to review later on (most of it has already been baked and sautered).

You are asked to choose your language, country, keyboard, time zone, date& time, and accept an EULA before you reach the desktop. All these steps are pretty straightforward.

Don't be alarmed by the change in the background; the orange will be back.





Now comes the License Agreement.









After a short while, you will reach the live CD desktop. For the Linux novices, the live CD is a very good way of getting familiarized with the new operating system and available applications - as well as a different desktop layout.

KDE desktop has a more Windows-like feel and look, save for the default single-click execution. GNOME is slightly different. Let's overview the basics.



Windows users will notice the taskbar (called simply panel) has moved to the top of the screen, something Windows users can do themselves if they fancy it. This panel consists of several menus, together which combine into what a typical Windozer would call the Start Menu. The Applications menu is similar to Windows Program Menu. The Places menu is a sort of a My Computer. The System menu is akin to Control Panel.



Next to the menu is the would-be Quick Launch toolbar. The System Tray is on the right.

The panel on the bottom of the screen allows you to switch between multiple desktops (four by default) and access open applications, much like the middle part of the Windows taskbar.

Note: I have intentionally cropped the image below to make it fit on smaller-resolution screens.



You really should not get confused navigating the GNOME desktop. It's simple, clean and friendly.

We are interested in the installation of the distribution. Double-click on the Live install icon to begin.