Getting DesktopBSD

You can obtain DesktopBSD using a BitTorrent client such as uTorrent. You can also obtain it using Metalink, or via plain old FTP. Select your version of choice on the Download Page, your preferred install media (CD/DVD) and click on Download. You can also optionally select Only Display Link to allow you to copy and paste a link into your BitTorrent client or Download Manager.

DesktopBSD provides a lot more software on the DVD version, and will tend to focus more development towards the DVD. If you have a DVD/RW drive, this version is recommended. CD versions will tend to be Release Candidates that may have quirks but will otherwise work fine. Consult the Forums for any issues

Checking MD5

It's optional but recommended to verify the MD5 checksum of your downloaded file before you burn it to disc.

Windows

As Windows does not come with MD5 functionality built in, we must first download and install an application that will handle this. We recommend DigestIT. Once installed, right click on the ISO file that you have downloaded and choose digestIT > Verify MD5 Hash. Copy and Paste in the appropriate MD5 checksum number from the DesktopBSD download page, and if the checksums match, you will see: “Digest matches. Verification succeeded.”

Linux/BSD

In your terminal of choice, type md5sum isoname.iso. If that does not work (likely if you're on a BSD system), you could also try md5 isoname.iso

E.g
[rawiri@loki /usr/home/rawiri/Downloads]$ md5 DesktopBSD-1.6RC3-i386-CD.iso
MD5 (DesktopBSD-1.6RC3-i386-CD.iso) = 1bcb16c3d930fb24138045765c897bd2

Calculating MD5 checksums can be quite CPU intensive - don't be alarmed if your computer seems sluggish while working on MD5 calculations

Burning DesktopBSD to disc

Windows

If you are using WindowsXP and you're burning the CD ISO of DesktopBSD, you can use ISORecorder to burn the ISO to disc simply and quickly. You can also use ISORecorder to burn the DVD ISO of DesktopBSD from within Windows Vista.

Alternatively, you can use the excellent and free CDBurnerXP Pro. Install and run it, selecting Click Here To… Create a new Data-CD/RW, Data-DVD/RW…, then click on the File Menu and select Write Disc from ISO File… Browse to the location of the ISO file, double click on it and then click on the Write Disc button.

Linux/BSD

For users using the KDE interface, using K3B, click on Tools > Burn CD Image… or Burn DVD ISO Image… depending on which .iso file you have obtained. Navigate to where you saved the .iso file and click on Start. That should be it!

For users of GNOME, you can use GNOMEBaker. Open the Actions Menu and select Burn CD Image or Burn DVD Image (depending on which ISO you have). Locate your ISO file, click OK and then Start. After a few minutes, GNOMEBaker will present you with a freshly burnt disc!

For further help, please refer to the documentation of your chosen CD/DVD burning tool, or ask for help in the DesktopBSD Forums