Knoppix - best hardware support and nearly 1500mb of softwarez in 1 cd, not dvd.
www.knoppix.net ==> Official Knoppix website
BTW, I haven't experienced any major probs while using knoppix. I have been using around 4-5 months
There is also a book called Knowing knoppix. You can search the forums for the same. (Book posted here by Tuxian)
BEST ALTERNATIVE AND IT HAS NO SUBSTITUTES.
That's Knoppix for ye ...
Did u check ur dvd for scratches ?
Try Ubuntu also. Its a good distro as far as I have heard.
You can also get free cds for UBUNTU from,
www.shipit.ubuntu.org or .com I think.
20 cds of which consists of 10 install cds and
10 live cds. No Shipping or any other charges.
Totally free of cost.