From Userful Support

Creating a Userful Desktop™ Install CD/DVD on Windows®

Copyright © 2006-2010 Userful Corporation. All rights reserved.
(Updated 2010.5.31)

Introduction

Below are instructions on creating a Userful Desktop Install Disc using Microsoft Windows.

If you are already using Linux, the program you use to burn your disc will be different, and is almost certainly already installed and ready to use. The general steps given below will be similar for Linux.

Download the File

Downloading a disc image to install Userful Desktop.

Download the file from Userful.com. It may take between 10 minutes and 4 hours depending on the speed of your connection and whether you are downloading the CD or DVD image.

Userful.com's download page gives you the choice between a CD image and a DVD image. Here are some things to consider when making the decision:

• Do you have a CD burner or a DVD burner installed in your computer?
• Do you have a blank CD-R or a blank DVD-R to burn to?
• Does the computer you wish to install on have a CD or a DVD drive?

Verify the File (Optional)

You can check that the file downloaded correctly using a checksum program. This step is optional but recommended. If you have a MD5 checksum program already, you can use it. Otherwise, you can download the free winMd5Sum program, and use it as outlined below.

Check the File

Use the appropriate .zip or .iso checksum for the disc image to check the integrity of the download.

Note: This procedure may not work with Windows 98.

1. Download winMd5Sum.
2. Install it by double-clicking the .exe file.
3. Click on Start > Programs > winMd5Sum > winMd5Sum.
4. Click the ... button beside the File Name box.
5. Find the downloaded .zip or .iso file that you want to check, and open it.
6. Get the appropriate .zip or .iso checksum from the Userful Desktop download page, then copy and paste it into the Compare box.
7. Click the Compare button. A download was successful if the checksums match. If they differ, you will need to download the file again.

If the file extension is .zip it is necessary to unzip the file. If the file extension is .iso proceed to the next step, Burning the Disc.

Unzip the File

The .zip file is an ISO file that is compressed and needs to be unzipped before use. Your computer may already have an unzip program, or you may need a program such as WinZip®, which includes a free trial period.

To unzip the file:

1. Double-click the .zip file. If you have other software to unzip the file, the file should be decompressed.
2. If WinZip is installed, WinZip is launched and you click Extract to unzip the file.

Burning the Disc

You use the ISO file to create an install disc. The ISO file must be "burned", onto a blank, recordable disc (CD-R or DVD-R). You may be able to use the CD/DVD burner software included with your computer. Or you can download Active ISO Burner, which is a free program for Windows, and follow the instructions provided below.

For the most reliable results, we recommend using good quality CD-R or DVD-R media and burning at low speed, for example less than 4x.

To create an install disc: (These instructions are specifically for the Active ISO Burner, but the steps are similar for other CD Burning software.)

1. Download the free Active ISO Burner (optional).
2. Install it by double-clicking on the downloaded IsoBurner-Setup.exe file.
3. Label a high-quality, blank, recordable CD or DVD "Userful Desktop" (plus the version number shown when you downloaded it), and place it in the optical drive (the "burner"). Make sure to use a CD/DVD-safe felt-tip marker to label the disc.
4. Launch the Active ISO Burner software.
5. Click the ... button.
6. In the window that appears, find and select the ISO file that you downloaded (most likely saved to your desktop), and click Open.
7. Click BURN ISO!. A progress bar appears while the burning proceeds.
8. When successful and the process is complete, close the Active ISO Burner program.

Once your disc is created you can install Userful Desktop from it. Please refer to the Userful Desktop ReadMe or Administrator Guide for installation and operation instructions.