That's weird.... two things might be wrong:

Did you burn the CD as data rather than as an IMAGE (iso)? That was my mistake when I was first checking out Linux. I'm not assuming anyone else is as silly as I was, but just thought I'd mention it... the other issue might be that it's a "bad burn." The downloadable isos have something called a CHECKSUM that you can match against the recorded disk to be sure it downloaded correctly. The checksums for Ubuntu and Linux Mint isos are on their web sites.

If all of that checks out, try typing "startx" (without the quotes) when you get that command prompt.

Option Two (running Ubuntu from the CD) does not install Ubuntu and is not meant to install it unless you choose the "Install Ubuntu" option. For a "trial run," boot to the CD and run entirely from the CD.

On my old Dell, when you first power it up, there's a quick screen with the Dell logo on it and a "Boot Options, Press F12" message. This little screen appears only for the first few seconds after power-up. I quickly press F12 several times and then am presented with a choice of options, or "boot order." Choose "Boot from CD=ROM" and bingo, my 'puter boots into the Linux distro I have on the LiveCD.

That's how I do "trial runs" of Linux distros. On some 'puters you can load the Linux iso onto a thumb drive and boot from there, and it's usually much faster than running off a CD.

Hope that helps!

The other thing to remember is that if you're going to have 2 OSs on the same drive, make sure Windows is installed first. Installing Windows second tends to mess up an existing Linux installation. Much easier to install Linux after Windows than vice versa.

I suggest you post this in the Fedora section... different distros use different boot software, and another Fedora user will be familiar with it.

asedt wrote:

...

Kubuntu? Is it not a regular desktop release?

Mythbuntu and Ubuntu Studio on the other hand are more special purpose.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_%28operating_system%29#Variants

True, but I think I understand what Kira was aiming at... it's "special" because it isn't the "default" flagship distro from Canonical. I'm a Xubunter user and kinda sort feel it's "special" too.

But you're right, it's a "regular desktop" distro, not aimed at a special purpose or special use like "security," "sysop," or "education."

Clicky here[/url=http://www.linux.com/creating-articles] to learn about submitting articles. And yes, you can submit them in HTML too! Quote from the source above:

* Use the HTML Editor tool to enter HTML-formatted content. The simpler the HTML, the better.
* If you have images, link them from a source site, such as your own site or a third-part imaging site such as Flickr.

The more articles the better, I should think.

-Robin

Shy, maybe. I "lurk" without posting for a lonnnng time on most forums until I get a sense of how things go in that community. "Think before you speak," Papa always says.

Besides, it's always best to gather intelligence before launching an invasion, lol!

I hope I didn't appear too impatient in my previous posts... I think it would save authors a little frustration however, if their submissions were at least acknowledged as having been received and explaining that it may be days or weeks before an article is approved. Had I known that ahead of time I wouldn't have made any fuss, lol.

I put a new-and-improved version of my article on my personal blog and offered it to the editor(s) via e-mail.

Thanks for explaining things a bit!

-Robin

For kids (little kids, I mean, pre-teens) there's Qimo4Kids. I put it on some old throw-away 'puters and donated them to a children's charity. They love it!

It might be nice to get an e-mail or something when you submit an article or tutorial - some sort of acknowledgement that it has been received and is pending review, instead of leaving an author hanging for this long.

Blog posts appear instantly, so I don't understand why an article should take so long. It's been several days now and while two more articles have appeared on the site, mine has yet to even be privately acknowledged.

Perhaps I'll just stick to blog posts.