I was recently given a laptop that "just stopped working", the OS has been wiped from it and I've never gotten the chance to mess around with Linux at all so I figured this was the perfect opportunity. However, I cannot get the iso file for the distro I wanted to copy properly onto either a cd-r or dvd-r. I've been using iso-recorder but no matter what, the burn fails every damn time. Any tips? I am at a complete loss and would love some help.
http://www.freeisoburner.com/ If it fails using this software too, it's likely the ISO you are trying to use is corrupted.
Re-download the iso and use ImgBurn. Write at a lower speed (4x or 8x). What do you mean exactly by "the burn fails"?