How to get Mandriva

So how do you get and install Mandriva. There are several ways to get Mandriva. The easiest  way is to order a cd from the Mandriva web site. But there is an easy way to install Mandriva without a cd. First you need to download a free program called unebootin. Unebootin is a program which allows you to install a boot loader for different operating systems which you can then use to install the new operating system when you restart your computer. Unebootin can also load the installer onto a USB pen drive which when formatted correctly and has the right amount of space( I would say roughly 2 GB should do for a full install of Mandriva).  Unebootin is available for both the linux and Windows operating systems though I had a lot of problems trying to get the linux version to work. The Windows version was much easier. Unebootin comes with many linux operating systems pre-installed on a menu so that all you have to do is pick a distribution, what version for example Mandriva 8.1 and where to place the boot loader- hard drive or pen drive. The pen drive option was not for me. You have to make sure your drive is formatted correctly and then you have to have a computer which can boot from the usb drive on restart. I could not get it to work on my old dell dimension 2400. The hard drive install worked for me. Another tip. When you
install a linux system always try one that has a net install option. For example Mandriva 8.0 net install. Pick hard drive as the destination for the boot loader.
When I first used Unebootin a couple of months ago I installed Mandriva 8.1 using the net install option on my hard drive. That doesn't seem to work anymore. Now the most current version of Mandriva on the menu that works is Mandriva 8.0. Mandriva 8.0 is just too outdated. When I installed Mandriva 8.1 the system itself advises you upgrade to the most current edition and will do so for you. Mandriva 8.0 doesn't do that. Though I must say even though Mandriva is an operating system which can be upgraded to the a more current version every time you do so you may encounter problems. The best way to install Mandriva is identify the version you want say Mandriva 2010.0 and install it as new installation. So how do you do that if the newest version on the Unebootin menu in Mandriva 8.0?
It took me a while but I finally figured it out. Unebootin also has an  option to use a pre-loaded iso image instead of something already on the Unebootin menu but you have to know what you are doing to make it work. Here is how to do a hard drive net install of basically any version of Mandriva. I will install Mandriva 2011 the current stable version(that's what I'm using right now) but for older computers with smaller ram you can use this method to install Madriva 8.1 or Mandriva 9.0 which are both pretty functional and can be upgraded.
First go to the Mandriva distribution mirror list here.  Now I will give the steps I used to install Mandriva 2011 which runs pretty well on my Dell Dimension 2400 with just 512 MB of ram. Once on the mirror page click Mandriva 2011. A sub menu appears. Now click on Packages Repositories. Now pick your continent I picked North America. Next pick your country I picked the United States. Now a couple of states appear with the http and ftp mirror addresses to download the boot.iso image, Pick the state closest to you I picked New York. Now pick your mirror I picked this one:
ftp://mirror.cc.columbia.edu/pub/linux/mandriva/official/2011/i586

When you click on your mirror you will go to the index of your mirror with all of it's folders. Mine was located here. Now follow this path carefully to locate the boot.iso file you need for Unebootin. First click on the install folder now I am here:
ftp://mirror.cc.columbia.edu/pub/linux/mandriva/official/2011/i586/install/

Now click on the images folder and now you see the boot iso file. Mine was located here.
ftp://mirror.cc.columbia.edu/pub/linux/mandriva/official/2011/i586/install/images/
Now right click on the boot.iso file and download it to a folder on your computer. Remember where you download it to. Here's another tip. In the same images folder is a file called all.img which you can also use the same way as the boot.iso file.
Now to summarize the iso file needed to install Mandriva with Unebootin is located in the mirror of the distribution in the install/images folder. The full path for the mirror I selected was 
ftp://mirror.cc.columbia.edu/pub/linux/mandriva/official/2011/i586/install/images/

Now that you have your boot.iso or all.img file for your desired Mandriva distribution here is how to use it with Unebootin. Look at the Unebootin picture above. Towards the bottom is the disk image option check that box. Underneath that is something that says type select hard drive. Now find the boot.iso file you downloaded and add it where it says disk image. There is a box on the far right which brings up your computer directories to select the file. When the name of the file appears on the line click ok on the bottom of the page and unebootin will install the boot loader onto your hard drive. Now when unebootin is finished it will tell you to restart your computer. Now when I restart my computer I press the f12 keys to bring up the load options. Press the appropriate key on your computer to bring up the boot options. You see something like this(see figure above of the boot menu). Choose option 7 Boot to a utility partition. Now you see this;
Windows
Unebootin
Click on the unebootin option and the installer should start. Just follow instructions on the installer but remember that that when they ask you what kind of install select net install not hard drive. The ftp mirror addresses appear automatically just select a HTTP or FTP address for your distribution and you are good to go. It takes a while to install so be patient. Here is another tip. If your using a older computer with smaller ram install Mandriva with a lightweight desktop like LXDE not Gnome or XDE. During the install process you will have a chance to select your packages(programs) to install. When it asks for what kind of desktop you want select custom to see the light desktop options like lxde or icevm. Remember the more packages you select the more memory will be used on your computer and the longer it take to install. When it gets the end you will have a choice to load Mandriva alongside Windows or remove Windows entirely and create a whole new boot loader for Mandriva. I erased Windows since I only have a total of 40 GB on my hard drive.