InstallationInstalling Xandros was simple as pie. Here's a complete list of the difficult stuff:

  1. Set your computer BIOS to boot from CD, or create a boot disk
  2. Give Xandros setup your network settings
  3. Know that you have to have a root and swap partition, minimally
  4. Think of a clever password
  5. Think of a clever name for your computer

Seriously, that's how simple it really is. Several simple steps and 20 minutes (let me repeat, only 20 minutes), and you can turn your empty, Windows, or Linux system into a lean, mean Xandros 1.0 system.One note about the installation options. I did not see options to do a few things I believe important:

  • Use ext3 (journalling) file system as a default file system (Xandros uses ReiserFS, which is also a journalling file system). I did not see an option to select ext3 at all
  • Create a non-standard (/usr, /usr/local/, etc. are examples of standard ones) partition, such as /myhugemp3collection
  • Split up a big drive into several partitions, ala disk druid or fdisk. While this may be possible, it was not obvious to me how I was to go about making more than one partition on a physical hard disk

These things aside, I can't stress enough how easy and fast the installation process is. Compared to all the other operating systems I've worked with, this was a pure joy. At no point was I unsure what I should do next, and this was using the 'Custom' installation option. Express installation is even easier.... I can't imagine anyone having trouble getting Xandros to install properly.Another amazing thing was that Xandros recognized and correctly configured my IDE CDROM and CD-RW drives. Now, while that may seem 'expected behavior', try it sometime with another Linux distro. You'll find yourself stumbling around configuration files, figuring out how to do the proper SCSI emulation of your IDE drives. Not with Xandros. Right from the get-go, both drives were recognized, configured and ready to roll for audio and data purposes.You might have noticed that I never installed any video or audio drivers. This is another absolutely beautiful part of Xandros. By the time the graphical desktop loads, the system has already installed and configured your video and audio drivers, including 3D video settings (defaults to AGPGART, for you Linux geeks), with NO intervention from you whatsoever! Too cool for words, and if you change audio or video cards, don't worry. During your next boot, all the magic will happen again.Once installed, you need to reboot (don't get used to this - Linux is not like Windows, you don't need to reboot after installing every little thing...), which brings you to the Xandros login screen. Select the user you created during setup, enter the password you assigned and you're taken to a 'First Run Wizard' which finishes up several installation options, including mouse and time zone settings. Once that's complete (about 1 minute), you're ready to roll!