mherring

Don't know what Kooka is... You need some kind of scanner driver---eg SANE or VueScan. SANE is free, and VueScan is available as a free trial. According to their website, PSC 1315 is aupported. I have not checked SANE. -Mark

Just a quick thought---cant you do something with permissions so that key files can't be deleted? Or maybe, set up a script to mirror the key files to some hidden folder. OR.......maybe take a different tack and set up some kind of honor system wherein the kid enters into a contract to follow your rules? AND finally---keep in mind the old adage: Locks are for honest people (and alarms are a waste)---a pro is going to get your (car, boat, jewelry, etc.) no matter what you do. Corollary--if he wants [censored], he is going find it--you can maybe slow him down, but you'll never stop him.

most of the distro's web sites have hardware compatibility lists. Make sure you get a version for Athlon 64. I would look at Ubuntu and Fedora first.---Both are free, but Ubuntu installs with only one CD. Dont attempt Linux without broadband---there is always something to be downloaded/updated.

Another option---use a separate hard drive for the Linux---this minimizes the chances of screwing up the Windows install. You can get 40GB REALLY cheap.

I have NEVER seen a situation where Windows would not install after any number of iterations of Linux installs. Just let it re-format the drive and it should go fine...Push comes to shove, use fdisk or something like partition magic to delete ALL the partitions--then install Windows. Once you have Windows running, I would recommend a completely separate drive for Linux. Any of the better distros will find the Windows installation and set up the boot-loader.

New member jumping in.... First, start with a free distro. I recommend Ubuntu--partly because you only need one CD to install it---it gets the rest off the net. Don't even think about getting into Linux without broadband---there are too many situations where you have to go out and grab some kind of file.

New member jumping in..... To try Linux and see how it really works, get one of the free distros and INSTALL it--either dual-boot with Windows**--or on a separate machine. I would start with Ubuntu: it is free, only needs one CD for a complete install, and it seems to be VERY robust. The anxiety--free way to set up dual boot: Buy a separate hard drive for the Linux install---you can get 40GB REALLY cheap. If you have nay kind of problem, you can recover with the Windows install CD--using "restore MBR"--or something like that.