I am having a few issues with my set up of dot net nuke

I now realise that I am effectively trying to set up a the equivalent of a hosting environment for it

Are there any specific set up instructions for ISP/host who wish to provide DNN to their customers - even if that is me!!

Yes I have but I have found the DNN documentation but to be honest it is a little lacking for the un initiated

Its seems comprehensive enough but it looks to have been produced by people who know what they are doing as in they understand DNN and so suffer from the common problem of seeing the product with fresh eyes.

This is a common problem in all software documentation and IMHO the DNN documentation seems to overlook that there may be naiive, inexperienced users looking at the product as opposed to enthusiast .NET web developers. Dummy's guides do have their place and though I understand the tediousness of working through them for experienced users they are of use.

I like you have access to my server and file system, I however do not have the knowledge of DNN which I am trying to redress as quickly as possible.

Currently I have spent a 2 days playing with skinning, a day and a half trying to work out what the difference between parent and child portals and setting them up, and a day playing with Menu CSS to control its appearance. I then have to try and work out how to present my xml site navigation (use the module and have to play with the modules appearance or just put it in the skin code) and look at making modules to present my site content and advert images.

I may be gone some time...

Dave

You can do so much with DNN that I think even an expert .NET web developer needs a good deal of time and experience to become thoroughly familiar with its many possibilities.  However, a "plain vanilla" installation is a much simpler matter.  To get up and running quickly with it you can spend a few dollars for a host with a one-button installation and then you're able to focus immediately on questions like what you describe...skinning, etc.

You'll need to stick with it for a bit.  Don't underestimate the value of these forums, whenever you run into a specific challenge you can search these forums, or the older archives at forums.asp.net, and quite likely find an answer.  Otherwise post the specific question and it can often save you hours of time.

In addition, besides the documentation available on the downloads page, have you looked at the other resources on the dotnetnuke.com site?  There are videos here:

http://www.dotnetnuke.com/tabid/810/Default.aspx

There is a good, but by no means comprehensive list here:

http://www.dotnetnuke.com/tabid/468/Default.aspx

There are also some training videos available for purchase here:  http://www.snowcovered.com

If DNN were so simple that anybody could "get it" in minutes, it would not be a professional-grade framework.  However I don't know of any other CMS which does as good a job as DNN of providing help and resources to make it as easy as possible for the uninitiated, while also providing the flexibility and power to sustain an ever-growing community of professional developers.  I know it takes time, but I encourage you to stick with it, the benefits are unparalleled!