Starting the Installation

If youre not excited yet, youll soon be as you slip your Linux CD-ROM into the drive and let the installation program start! Sticking your Linux CD into the drive and rebooting your system should automatically start the installation. If it does not, then you may need to change your systems BIOS settings to allow the CD-ROM drive to be the first drive to boot from. This is usually done by pressing the Delete key or F2 key when the system starts. In some instances, you may instead need to create a boot disk to begin the installation. Once the system boots from the Linux CD and the installation program begins, you can start using the steps on the following pages.

Basic Installation Setup

Almost all of the newer flavors of Linux begin with a very basic installation setup that allows you to choose your language, keyboard, and mouse settings. This is only for installation and wont affect your final setup.

Choose Custom Installation

Remember that all flavors of Linux are slightly different, but the essential steps are the same. In almost all cases you begin by having to choose from workstation, server, or custom. The latest Red Hat versions also include Personal Desktop, which is very basic and leaves out useful tools. Custom installation allows you to make changes as you go through the installation procedure. It gives you maximum flexibility. Workstation will simply leave off a lot of stuff you may want such as ftp, web server, telnet capability, etc. Server is a hard core installation that is strictly intended to give you a Linux server with high performance. In other words, using Server means there is very little else on the system except the core files.

I choose Custom all of the time, no matter who I'm installing for or what the purpose is, since it gives me the most control and flexibility.

File management system

Also referred to as simply a file system or filesystem. The system that an operating system or program uses to organize and keep track of files. For example, a hierarchical file system is one that uses directories to organize files into a tree structure. Although the operating system provides its own file management system, you can buy separate file management systems. These systems interact smoothly with the operating system but provide more features, such as improved backup procedures and stricter file protection.

Linux Create User Account

Q. How do I create create a new Linux user account ? How do update or modify default Linux new user information? Using the command prompt (shell) tools, how do I add a user to the system? What are command line options for adding a user? A. To create a new user account under any Linux distribution use command called useradd. The system administrator is responsible for creating account. Login as root user (or use sudo command).

useradd command syntax

Depending on command line options, the useradd command will update system files (/etc/passwd and /etc/shadow file with password) and may also create the new user's home directory and copy initial files.

Installing Software on Linux

One of the most difficult things to get used to in the Linux world is installing new software packages. In the world of Windows, every program comes with a Setup.exe program that asks you some very easy questions and takes care of the job for you. While Linux software can be almost that easy to install, you will sometimes find software that seems to fight every step of the way. I cant cover all the problems you might run into, but Ill try to give you the basics and a few pointers to help get you over the rough spots. Software tends to come in packages. In the Windows world a package is a Setup.exe or a program.zip file. On a Mac a package is a program.dmg or a program.sit file. In the Linux world, there are several kinds of packages, and each distribution has its own preferred package format. The standard Linux package format (according to the Linux Standard Base) is RPM. RPM is a packaging system originally developed by Red Hat and widely used in the Linux community. Distributions using it include Fedora, Mandriva, Red Hat (naturally), and SUSE. An RPM package file normally will be named something like program-version-other.rpm Another popular package format is DEB, the Debian software package. Debian packages and the Advanced Packaging Tool (APT) were the first to introduce several advanced features that are now common, such as automatic dependency resolution and signed packages. Debian packages are used by Debian GNU/Linux (naturally), and distributions based on it, including Ubuntu, Knoppix, and Mepis. A Debian package file normally will be named something like program-version-other.deb

Configure devices drivers

To configure Windows 98 or Windows Me to prompt you to install new drivers for a device even if a different driver has previously been used or associated with this device: 1. Configure Windows 98 or Windows Me to redetect your hardware: a. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.

b. Click the Device Manager tab, and then double-click the appropriate branch that lists your hardware to expand it. For example, if you want to change your modem driver, double-click the Modems branch to expand it. c. Click the entry for the hardware component needing the driver update, click Remove, click OK, do not restart your computer when you are prompted, and then quit Device Manager. For example, if you want to change your modem driver, click your modem, click Remove, click OK, and then quit Device Manager. 2. Configure your computer to prevent Windows 98 or Windows Me from automatically reinstalling the previous driver files: Right-click the desktop, point to New, click Folder, type oldinf, and then press ENTER. a. Click Start, click Run, type inf in the Open box, and then click OK. Note that this opens the Windows\Inf folder. b. On the Windows\Inf folder Edit menu, click Select All, and then click Cut on the Edit menu. c. Minimize the Windows\Inf folder, and then double-click the oldinf folder on the desktop you created in step 2a. d. On the Windows\Desktop\oldinf folder Edit menu, click Paste, and then close the oldinf folder. e. Restart your computer. f. When your computer restarts and prompts you for driver files for your device, install the correct or updated drivers. 3. After the correct drivers have been installed, return the files you moved to the oldinf folder on the desktop to the Windows\Inf folder: . Double-click the oldinf folder on the desktop, and then click Select All on the Edit menu. a. On the Edit menu, click Copy, and then close the oldinf folder. b. Click Start, click Run, type inf in the Open box, and then click OK. c. On the Windows\Inf folder Edit menu, click Paste, and click No or No to all if you are prompted to overwrite any files. .