OS, 2 computers, 1 disk, many problems...

#1) An OEM restore/reinstall disk typically will be configured to revert a given machine from a specific machine family (ie: same make, series, and model) to as-produced-and-shipped condition, including machine-specific drivers and settings, along with machine-vendor-specific software. BIOS and motherboard issues may - often but not always will - render such a disk unsuitable for use on any other machine than one of the same series and model as that for which the disk was intended. An additional consideration is that OEM-installed Windows operating systems are not intended or licensed to be installed other than on the original machine.

The short version - could work, often does, sometimes takes a little fiddling, and sometimes won't work at all - you might find the install routine either will not initiate or will procede only so far before stalling and/or aborting, or, perhaps worse, will install but will fail validation, registration, and activation.

#2) Linux is gotten on to any machine the same as any other OS is gotten onto any machine; it is loaded from a bootable install disk.

#3) Commercial, packaged, pre-made releases of Linux, such as Debian, Mandrake, and Redhat, while not free are readilly available through retail outlets both online and brick-and-mortar, and come "ready-to-install" - just pop in the disk, open it or reboot, select "Install" and follow the prompts. Commercial versions also typically come with manuals and have at least some official support from the licensing vendor. A variety of versions, some purporting to be identical to commercial versions, are available for free download, but generally require a bit of fiddling before they're ready to be burned as a bootable install disk. If you wanna go the download route, research your options well before making your choice, and be aware no vendor support will be available; you're pretty much gonna hafta resort to the boards and foriums of the Linux community for help and advice.

Be advised also that apart from game compatibility issues of which you apparently already are aware, it can be quite entertaining to track down Linux-compatible device drivers and peripheral-specific software - you could be in for a bunch more fun than you might suspect.

#4) Release Candidate 1 of Windows Vista is available for download - big download, mind you - but once properly burned as a bootable disk it is a fully functional Operating System (if such may be said of anything based on any Windows platform :wink: :wink: ). It will require registration and activation once installed, and the free activation license will expire shortly after the scheduled release date (Q1 '07) for the final retail version of Vista, requiring that you obtain and enter a paid activation key to permit continued use and necessary updating/patching of the Operating System. When necessary, the required final release key can be obtained via eMail - for a fee, of course, but if its any consolation, the fee will be discounted compared to purchasing the full, packaged version.

If you want to go the linux route, I would look up Kubuntu. It's very easy to install and has a library of drivers. Most devices will work fine without hunting down drivers. That being said... Windows and Linux are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. The two OS's are not compatible. Windows software will not run on any linux machine. You can use an emulator, but it will degreade performance quite a bit. That being said, there are analogs to most windows software available for linux.

Timber is right though, most likely, your Dell CD won't work correctly in a custom built computer.

I have downloaded Kubuntu, but some genious decided to make it a magic ISO file so i can't burn it directly... ya, the dell cd didn't work (huge suprise )...

my system is just sitting there with no usable OS installed (stupid microsoft and it's overpriced software)...so i'm going to try extracting all the files from the ubuntu iso and burning them to a disk...i hope to god it boots itself, if not my system just bluescreens lol.

on a second note, if i have games, like cd version...does that mean they will not be compatable with linux? i mean, most downloaded software has option for linux users...but cd games don't...or do they?.

No genious involved; things like Operating Systems typically will be delivered as ISO images. Now, while Windows' built-in burning capability ain't gonna do ya any good, most 3rd-party burning apps will do just fine.

Here - have a look at this Help Burning CD-ROMs from ISO Disc Image Files

For more than just burning an ISO, I find ISOBuster is real Swiss-Army-Knife app (great at datsa recovery, too). Some folks like UltraISO - I'm not that fond of it, but mebbe thats just me.


Many CD games will not work under Linux ... some will, some will kinda-sorta, some just plain won't. There are Windows Emulator shells for Linux - but whether your games will perform to your satisfaction in an emulator environment is hit-or-miss.