PC help: Damn hard to find

I have found it impossible to obtain a copy of Damn Small Linux (DSL).

I re-read your article on the use of DSL and went to the indicated site to download a copy to save to a CD and make an ISO disc. The number of files presented on the download sites, the names and their extensions are meaningless to me. Can you give me a guide?

Michael Bottomley

It can be confusing to download Linux files because they’re often linked on the web using mirrors. A mirror is a copy of a file held on more than one website or server. Mirrors of DSL are located at universities and other institutions in the US, Europe and elsewhere. People can choose to download from any one of them – the end result will be the same.

This keeps costs down for the institutions but it also makes for faster downloads, as we’re all able to choose to download from the server physically closest to us.Take a look at the DSL download page. Under ‘Current full mirror list’ are locations in Austria and Belgium, which will be best for UK users. Click on one. When it’s loaded, click on the folder marked Current and you should see a list of files.

The DSL installation file ends with the current version number and ‘.iso’. At the time of writing, the file is called dsl-3.4.4.iso – click this and it will start downloading. You can then follow the instructions to create a CD from this file. You can order a CD with the file on it from America for a nominal fee of around £6.

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