Same installation problem over and over again.

[ac]

elmo wrote:
  > A personal pet peeve.
  >
  > It seems that we're seeing the same thing over and over....someone 
has
  > downloaded the ISO and then burned (copied) it to a disk and the disk
  > doesn't work.
  >
  > What some instructions imply is that the ISO is the IMAGE and all you
  > have to do is copy the ISO to a disk and you'll have an IMAGE disk 
when
  > in fact what you have is a copy of a compressed version of the 
IMAGE in
  > a single file
  >
  > I speak from experience because I had the same problem when I started
  > working with ISO. I used a Nero CD burner to copy the ISO to a disk
  > because in several website instructions it said "copy the ISO to a 
CD"
  > and the result would be an IMAGE CD.
  >
  > It was only when I discovered by experimentation that the ISO is a
  > single file and by running it thru an extraction, you'd see several
  > files.  I then investigated my Nero and discovered a burner 
program that
  > is specific for creating IMAGE disks. What it does is simultaneously
  > extract and burn so the result is an IMAGE CD that has several 
files.
  > Which leads to a question.....if you first perform an extraction 
on the
  > ISO and then copy the resulting files to a disk, would that be an 
IMAGE
  > disk?
  >
  > Later, when I had a working UBUNTU, I discovered that it had the
  > burners, K3B and Brasero that had the ability to create an IMAGE disk.
  >
  > Instructions for creating an IMAGE CD should include a brief 
explanation
  > of the difference between an ISO and IMAGE and that a simple copy 
is not
  > the way to go.

I sympathise with your general point. However, I have only *very*
rarely seen an instruction to 'copy' an iso file to cd.

In general I believe the problem you find peeving arises because
people who have become used to proprietary software and its
constrained environment are almost never expected to have anything
quite so powerful as an iso! They will be expected to purchase a
retail pack in a box containing a CD.

As it happens I chanced upon one only a few days ago, and a quick
email to the site admin has got it quickly changed to 'burn'.

When you follow the links to download ubuntu
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download
and then you reach the download page, this contains the information
you want:
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/downloading?release=desktop-lts&arch=i386&mirror=http%3A%2F%2Fubuntu.linux-bg.org%2Freleases%2F&debug=&download-button=

this page includes:
======================
Need Help?
Here are some tips for ensuring a successful Ubuntu experience. You
may want to print this page for your reference.
      * Learn how to create a CD from your newly downloaded file:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto
======================

I also note that the download sub window (at least in Firefox) says
you are downloading a
'(filename.iso)
Which is a: raw CD image'

So there is information in the place you might expect, although I am
not sure from your posting which site you went to.
The internet is full of advice on such things and as you note some of
it is not as useful as you would hope.

I have generally found that the Ubuntu forums are friendly, patient,
and competent, and I commend these to you and others who may have
uncertainties.

-- 
ac