Learning Red Hat Linux: Chapter 3, Installing Linux

In this chapter, you'll learn how to install Linux by following a simple, step-by-step procedure. Most users will be able to complete the installation procedure without difficulty; however, the chapter includes a section that describes how you can obtain help if you encounter installation problems. Once you successfully complete the installation procedure, you'll have your own working Linux system.

3.1 Installing the Operating System and Applications

To install Linux, you follow a simple, step-by-step procedure that has three main phases:

Installing the operating system and applications
Configuring devices and services
Completing the installation

This section describes the procedure for installing the operating system and applications. The following sections describe the remaining phases.

WARNING: Although the Linux installation procedure is generally troublefree, errors or malfunctions that occur during the installation of an operating system can result in loss of data. You should not begin the installation procedure until you have backed up all data on your system and determined that your backup is error-free.

3.1.1 The Installation Program User Interface

Like other modern Linux distributions, Red Hat Linux includes a screen-based install program that simplifies the installation and initial configuration of Linux. However, the install program works somewhat differently than a typical Microsoft Windows application. For instance, it does not support use of a mouse or other pointing device; all input is via the keyboard. So that you can make effective use of the install program, the next three sections describe the user-interface controls used by the install program, present the special keystrokes recognized by the install program, and explain the use of Linux's virtual consoles.

3.1.1.1 User-interface controls

Figure 3.1 shows a typical screen displayed by the install program. This screen includes the following elements:

A main window

The install program runs in a full screen window. The upper right corner of the window displays the name of the current installation step. In Figure 3.1, the current step is "Setup filesystems." You cannot minimize or change the size of the install program's main window.

Dialog boxes

Like Microsoft Windows, the install program uses dialog boxes to obtain user input. The install program consists of a series of dialog boxes that accept information needed to install and configure your Linux system. In Figure 3.1, two dialog boxes are visible: one titled "Current Disk Partitions," and another titled "Edit New Partition." You dismiss a dialog by using its Ok or Cancel button. You cannot minimize or move an install program dialog box.

The cursor

Like Windows programs, the installation program has a cursor on screen. Unlike Windows, the cursor movement and cursor actions are keyboard, rather than mouse controlled. The location of the cursor is called the input focus. At any time, exactly one control has the input focus, which lets it respond to keyboard input. The install program displays a rectangular cursor that identifies the field having the input focus. In Figure 3.1, the "Mount Point" field has the input focus.

Text boxes

Text boxes let you type text that is sent to the install program when you dismiss the dialog box by using the Ok button. In Figure 3.1, the field labeled "Mount Point" is a text box.

Checkboxes

Check boxes let you specify that an option is enabled or disabled. An asterisk (*) indicates an enabled option; an empty checkbox indicates a disabled option. When a checkbox has the input focus, you can press the space bar to toggle the check box between its enabled and disabled states. In Figure 3.1, the fields labeled "Grow to fill disk" and "Allowable drives" are checkboxes.

A scrollable list

Scrollable lists contain other controls, such as checkboxes, or labeled text. Scrollable lists have an associated scrollbar that lets you page through a list of items that may be too long to display all at once. At any time, one line in the scrollable list is active, as indicated by a # character to the right of the line. When a scrollable list has the input focus, the Up and Down arrow keys let you choose a different active item.

If the active item is a checkbox and the scrollable list has the input focus, you can use the space bar to toggle the state of the checkbox. Labeled text controls work like text boxes with predefined contents; when they appear within a scrollable list they let you quickly choose an option from a group of options. If the active item is labeled text, you can press ENTER to select it. The contents of all selected entries with a scrollable list are sent to the install program when you dismiss the dialog box.

Buttons

When you press a button, the install program performs a corresponding action. For example, pressing the Ok button of a dialog box tells the install program to accept the dialog box inputs and proceed to the next dialog. Similarly, pressing the Cancel button of a dialog box tells the install program to ignore the dialog box inputs. Many dialog boxes include a helpful Back button that lets you return to the previous dialog box. When a button has the input focus, you can press it by pressing ENTER or SPACE.

Figure 3.1: A typical screen displayed by the install program

3.1.1.2 Common keystrokes

Several keystrokes let you direct the operation of the install program. For example, you can use the TAB key to move the input focus from one control to the next. Table 3.1 summarizes the keystrokes that the install program recognizes. You may want to keep this table handy as you work with the install program.

Table 3.1: Keystrokes Recognized by the Install Program
Keystroke	Meaning
ENTER	button: send a button press to the install program. scrollable list: toggle the selection state of the active item
TAB	move the input focus to the next field
ALT+TAB	move the input focus to the previous field
DOWN	move the cursor down
UP	move the cursor up
LEFT	move the cursor left
RIGHT	move the cursor right
SPACE	button: send a button press to the install program. checkbox: toggle the state of the checkbox
F12	accept the inputs of the current dialog box and move to the next dialog box

WARNING: You should press keys only when an installation program dialog box is active. Pressing keys at other times can send keystrokes to programs invoked by the install program, which may interpret your input in an unpredictable fashion.

3.1.1.3 Using virtual consoles

A console is a combination of a keyboard and a display device, such as a video monitor. A console provides a basic user interface adequate to communicate with a computer: you can type characters on the keyboard and view text on the display device.

Although a home computer system seldom has more than one console, Linux systems provide several virtual consoles. By pressing a special combination of keys, you can control which console your system's keyboard and monitor are connected to. Table 3.2 describes the virtual consoles used by the install program. The main installation dialog appears in virtual console #1. If you like, you can use the indicated keystroke to view a different virtual console. The contents of virtual consoles #2-5 can be useful in troubleshooting; however, you will not usually need to switch from one virtual console to another. Nevertheless, you may find it interesting to view the contents of the virtual consoles.

Table 3.2: Virtual Consoles Used by the Install Program
Console	Keystroke	Contents
1	ALT+F1	the installation dialog
2	ALT+F2	a shell prompt that lets you enter commands to be processed by Linux
3	ALT+F3	the installation log, containing messages from the install program
4	ALT+F4	the system log, containing messages from the Linux kernel and other system programs
5	ALT+F5	other messages

3.1.2 Starting the Installation

To begin installing Linux, you must boot your system from a floppy diskette containing the boot kernel. Creating the boot disk requires some special measures; you can't simply copy files onto a disk and then boot it.

To create the boot disk, perform the following steps:

Insert the Linux CD-ROM diskette in your CD-ROM drive.
Start an MS-DOS Prompt window by clicking on Start Programs MS-DOS Prompt.
In the MS-DOS window, change to the drive letter that corresponds to your CD-ROM drive, for example, m: (see Figure 3.2).
Figure 3.2: Using rawrite to make a boot diskette
In the MS-DOS window, type the command dosutils\rawrite and press ENTER.
When prompted, specify the file name of the disk image source as images\boot.img and press ENTER.
When prompted, specify the drive letter of your floppy drive, for example, a:.
As instructed by the program, place a formatted floppy diskette in your floppy drive and press ENTER.

It takes perhaps a minute or so for the rawrite utility to create the floppy diskette. Wait for the utility to complete and then restart your system using the floppy diskette. When you see the boot: prompt, press ENTER to begin the installation process.

The boot: prompt lets you enter various kernel options. Most systems can be started without using any kernel options. However, if you cannot successfully boot your system from a CD-ROM or floppy diskette, you should suspect that a kernel option is needed. Seek help as described in the section titled "Getting Help," near the end of this chapter.

If your CD-ROM drive is attached to a SCSI controller on your system's PCMCIA bus, you'll need to make a second floppy diskette, called the supplemental diskette. Repeat the procedure for making the boot diskette, substituting images\supp.img as the name of the disk image source in step #5.

3.1.2.1 Choosing a Language

Once the install program starts, it first displays the Choose a Language dialog box, shown in Figure 3.3, which asks what language should be used during the installation process. Use the UP and DOWN keys to move to the language you prefer and press ENTER to select it. The Keyboard Type dialog box appears.

Figure 3.3: The choose a language dialog box

3.1.2.2 Selecting a keyboard type

The Keyboard Type dialog box, shown in Figure 3.4, lets you specify the type of keyboard attached to your system. Use the UP and DOWN keys to choose "us" to specify a U.S.-style keyboard, or choose one of the other entries to specify a keyboard that provides special characters used by your preferred language. Press ENTER to dismiss the dialog box. If the install program determines that your computer supports PCMCIA devices, the PCMCIA Support dialog box appears; otherwise the Installation Method dialog box appears.

Figure 3.4: The Keyboard Type dialog box

3.1.2.3 Selecting PCMCIA support

The PCMCIA Support dialog box asks whether you require PCMCIA support during the installation process. If your CD-ROM drive is attached to a SCSI controller on your system's PCMCIA bus, you must enable PCMCIA support by selecting Yes; otherwise you should select No. If you select Yes, the install program will prompt you to insert the supplemental diskette you created earlier. When the install program has finished configuring PCMCIA support, the Installation Method dialog box appears.

WARNING: You need not select this option merely because your computer has a PCMCIA slot. You need to select the option only if Linux must recognize your PCMCIA card in order to find the CD-ROM drive. Normal PCMCIA setup will occur later in the installation process.

3.1.3 Selecting Installation Options

In the next phase of system installation, you select an installation method, specify whether this is a fresh install or an upgrade, and select the class of installation you desire (workstation, server, or custom).

3.1.3.1 Selecting the Installation Method

When the Installation Method dialog box (shown in Figure 3.5) appears, select the "Local CDROM" entry and press ENTER. The install program prompts you to insert the Linux CD-ROM diskette; make sure the diskette is in the CD-ROM drive and then press ENTER. The install program attempts to detect your CD-ROM drive. If it encounters difficulty, it may prompt you to specify whether your CD-ROM drive uses a SCSI interface (type SCSI) or a non-IDE, non-SCSI interface (type Other). Once the install program has successfully detected your CD-ROM drive, the Installation Path dialog box appears.

Figure 3.5: The Installation Method dialog box

If the install program fails to detected your IDE CD-ROM drive, you can restart the installation process and type the following option in response to the boot: prompt:

linux hdX=cdrom

Where X indicates the drive configuration, as follows:

a: Drive attached to first IDE controller and configured as master
b: Drive attached to first IDE controller and configured as slave
c: Drive attached to second IDE controller and configured as master
d: Drive attached to second IDE controller and configured as slave

3.1.3.2 Upgrading or installing

The Installation Path dialog box, shown in Figure 3.6, lets you specify whether you're installing a new Linux system or upgrading a system that already contains Red Hat Linux 2.0 or later. Unless you've previously installed Red Hat Linux, you should select Install and press ENTER. The Installation Class dialog box appears.

Figure 3.6: The Installation Path dialog box

3.1.3.3 Selecting the installation class

The Installation Class dialog box, shown in Figure 3.7, lets you choose to create a Workstation or Server system, or perform a Custom installation. You should choose Custom, because doing so gives you control over important installation options. This is particularly important if your system's hard drive already contains an installed operating system that you wish not to disturb.

Figure 3.7: The Installation Class dialog box

The install program next asks if your system includes one or more SCSI adapters, as shown in Figure 3.8. If so, select Yes and press ENTER. The install program will ask what driver it should try, as shown in Figure 3.9. Highlight the driver that corresponds to your adapter, select Ok, and press ENTER.

Figure 3.8: The SCSI Configuration dialog box

Figure 3.9: The Load Module dialog box

3.1.4 Creating Partitions

In the next phase of the installation procedure, you use the Disk Druid program to establish partitions on your hard disk drive. First, the Disk Setup dialog box (shown in Figure 3.10) appears. Most users should select Disk Druid and press ENTER; however, if you have extensive Linux experience, you may prefer to use the Linux fdisk utility to establish partitions.

Figure 3.10: The Disk Setup dialog box

3.1.4.1 Using Disk Druid

Figure 3.11 shows the Disk Druid display screen, which is titled "Current Disk Partitions." The top part of the display contains a scrollable list that describes each existing partition. The middle part of the display contains a scrollable list that describes each disk drive. The bottom part of the display contains buttons that control the operation of Disk Druid. You use Disk Druid to add, edit, and delete Linux partitions.

Figure 3.11: The Current Disk Partitions dialog box

3.1.4.2 Adding a partition

As a minimum, you must establish two partitions. One, a Linux native partition, will hold the Linux operating system. The other, a Linux swap partition, will provide a work area used by Linux to efficiently manage your system's RAM memory.

To add a partition, select the Add button and press ENTER (or simply press the F1 key). The Edit New Partition dialog box appears. To add the required Linux Native partition, enter the following values:

Mount Point: Type a forward slash (/).
Size: Specify the size in megabytes of the Linux Native partition, which should be at least 600 MB.
Grow to fill to disk?: If you specify that a partition is growable by checking the "Grow to fill to disk?" box, the size you specify is treated as a minimum size. Disk Druid will distribute any remaining free disk space among the growable partitions. If you want your disk drive to contain some free space for later use, do not specify any growable partitions.
Type: Select Linux Native.
Allowable Drives: Choose one or more hard disk drives on which to place the partition. If you select more than one hard disk drive, Disk Druid will choose a drive from among those you specify; Disk Druid will never create a partition that spans multiple disk drives.

Select the Ok button and press ENTER to accept the input values; or, if you don't want to create the partition, select the Cancel button and press ENTER. The Current Disk Partitions dialog box returns to the front of the display.

If you enter an inappropriate value, Disk Druid may be unable to create the partition. In such a case, it displays a dialog box that explains the reason why the partition could not be created. Study the dialog box to determine what you did wrong and try again.

To add the required Linux Swap partition, select the Add button and press ENTER to launch the Edit New Partition dialog box. Enter the following values:

Mount Point: Leave this field blank.
Size: If your system has 16 MB of RAM or more, specify the amount of RAM in your system; but do not specify more than 127 MB. If your system has less than 16 MB of RAM, specify 16 MB
Grow to fill to disk?: If this box is checked, uncheck it.
Type: Select Linux Swap.
Allowable Drives: Choose one or more hard disk drives on which to place the partition. If you select more than one hard disk drive, Disk Druid will choose a drive from among those you specify; Disk Druid will never create a partition that spans multiple disk drives.

3.1.4.3 Editing a partition

If you wish to change one or more values associated with a partition, highlight the partition you wish to change, select the Edit button and press ENTER (or simply press the F3 key). Disk Druid launches the Edit Partition dialog box, shown in Figure 3.12. You can use this dialog box to change the mount point of a previously existing partition or other options of a partition you've just created. You cannot use this dialog box to change the size, grow option, or type of a previously existing partition; instead you must delete such a partition and recreate it.

Figure 3.12: Editing a Partition

3.1.4.4 Deleting a Partition

If you wish to delete a partition, highlight it, select the Delete button, and press ENTER (or simply press the F4 key). Disk Druid presents the Delete Partition dialog box, shown in Figure 3.13, which asks you to confirm the operation. Select Yes and press ENTER to delete the partition or select No and press ENTER to leave the partition intact.

WARNING: Deleting a partition destroys all the data it contains. Exercise great care to delete only unneeded partitions.

Figure 3.13: Deleting a partition

3.1.4.5 Starting over

If you determine that you've made mistakes and want to abandon the changes you've specified, simply press the F5 key. Disk Druid resets all partitions to their original state.

3.1.4.6 Saving your changes

To save your changes and proceed with the installation, select the Ok button and press ENTER (or simply press the F12 key). Disk Druid completes its processing and the install program looks for active swap partitions. After it finds them, it presents the Active Swap Space dialog box, shown in Figure 3.14, which lets you initialize the swap partitions and check them for bad blocks. Check the swap partition you wish to use, check the "Check for bad blocks during format" option, select Ok and press ENTER.

Figure 3.14: The Active Swap Space dialog box

Next, the install program presents the Partitions To Format dialog box, shown in Figure 3.15. This dialog box lets you choose which Linux Native partitions to format. If this is the first time you've installed Linux on this system, you can safely format all Linux Native partitions. Check each partition and check the "Check for bad blocks during format" option. If you've installed Linux on this system previously, you must be more discreet: Format only those partitions that contain no important data. To authorize formatting (which the install program will perform later), select Ok and press ENTER. The Components to Install dialog box appears.

WARNING: Formatting a partition destroys all data in the partition. Be sure you format only partitions that contain no data you need.

Figure 3.15: The Partitions To Format dialog box

3.1.5 Selecting and Installing Packages

To install an application under Linux, you install a package, which contains all the files needed by the package. If you like, you can specify the individual packages you want to install; however, the large number of available packages makes it tedious to specify them one at a time. Instead, you can specify components you want to install. A component is simply a group of related packages.

3.1.5.1 Selecting components

The Components to Install dialog box, shown in Figure 3.16, lets you choose which components you want to install. Simply select each desired component and press SPACE to mark the associated checkbox. The install program has pre-selected several components for you. If you don't know what components to select, don't worry; you can install additional components after setting up your Linux system. If, on the other hand, you want to be able to select individual packages as well as components, check the Select Individual Packages checkbox by selecting it and pressing SPACE. When you're satisfied with your choices, select the Ok button and press ENTER.

Figure 3.16: The Components to Install dialog box

3.1.5.2 Selecting packages

If you checked the Select Individual Packages check box, the Select Packages dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 3.17. This dialog box works like a table of contents, letting you call up a dialog box that lets you select from a group of individual packages. To use the dialog box, select a group and press ENTER. Or, if you prefer, you can highlight a group, select the Edit button and press ENTER.

Figure 3.17: The Select Group dialog box

The Select Group dialog box, shown in Figure 3.18, appears. To use the Select Packages dialog box, select the package or packages you wish to install, by moving the cursor to the associated checkbox and pressing SPACE. You can view a description of the currently highlighted package by pressing F1.

Figure 3.18: The Select Packages dialog box

When you've selected all the desired packages within a group, select the Ok button and press ENTER. Or, if you want the install program to ignore the selections you've just made, you can select the Cancel button and press ENTER. In either case, the Select Group dialog box returns to the front of the screen.

When you've selected all the desired packages, you can exit the Select Group dialog box by selecting the Done button and pressing ENTER. Some packages work independently of others; but many packages depend on other packages, which provide files or services they need. After you've selected the packages you desire, the install program checks whether any additional packages are needed. If it finds that additional packages are needed, it presents a list of unresolved dependencies. You can, and should, select an option that causes the install program to automatically install the missing packages.

When the install program is ready to begin installing packages, it presents the Install log dialog box, shown in Figure 3.19. This dialog box informs you of the location of a list of installed packages, which will be helpful to you in maintaining your system. Note the location of the log file and then select Ok and press ENTER.

Figure 3.19: The Install log dialog box

The install program now formats any partitions you earlier specified for formatting. It may require several minutes to complete this step. When formatting is done, the Install Status dialog box appears and the install program begins installing packages. This dialog box displays the name of each package as it is installed, and presents a progress bar that shows the relative progress of the installation process. When all the packages have been installed, you're ready to configure devices and services.

3.2 Configuring Devices and Services

To help you configure devices and services, the install program presents a series of dialog boxes that let you configure:

If you're unable to configure one or more devices or services during installation, you'll be able to configure them later.

3.3 Completing the Installation

Once you've skipped or completed the printer configuration dialog, you're ready to complete the installation of Linux. This involves:

3.3.4 Configuring X Windows

If you specified that X should be installed (package XFree86), the install program launches the Xconfigurator utility, which helps you configure X. The utility first attempts to identify your video card, as shown in Figure 3.41; if it fails to do so, it presents a list of video cards from which you can choose. Simply highlight the appropriate card and press ENTER.

If your video card is not listed, you may be able to use the "Unlisted Card" entry; however, you'll need to know the video chipset employed by your card.

Figure 3.41: The PCI Probe dialog box

The utility next attempts to identify your video monitor, as shown in Figure 3.42. Again, it presents a list of supported devices. Simply highlight the appropriate monitor and press ENTER.

WARNING: An apparently similar monitor model may have capabilities in excess of those of your monitor. Failing to select the appropriate monitor, or selecting an inappropriate custom setup, may result in permanent damage to your monitor. If your monitor displays a scrambled image, turn it off promptly and recheck your configuration.

Figure 3.42: The Monitor Setup dialog box

If you can't find your monitor listed, you can highlight Custom and press ENTER. This causes the install program to provide a series of dialog boxes that ask you about your monitor's characteristics. As the dialog box shown in Figure 3.43 explains, you'll need to know the vertical sync rate (also known as the vertical refresh rate) and the horizontal sync rate of your monitor, which you can generally obtain from the owner's manual or from the manufacturers' web site. If you can't find this information there, try the file /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/doc/Monitors. If you fail to find the information there, you can try some conservative values that are unlikely to damage all but the oldest of monitors. For example, try setting the horizontal sync to Standard VGA, as shown in Figure 3.44, and the vertical sync rate to 50-70, as shown in Figure 3.45.

Figure 3.43: The Custom Monitor Setup dialog box

Figure 3.44: The Custom Monitor Setup (Continued) dialog box

Figure 3.45: The Custom Monitor Setup (Continued) dialog box

Next, the utility asks you to specify the amount of video memory installed on your video card. Specifying a value that is too large will probably prevent X from starting. If you followed the procedure given in Chapter 2, you may have learned the amount of video memory installed on your card; otherwise consult your video card's documentation to determine the proper value. If you can't locate the information, select a conservatively low value; choosing a value that's too low will prevent you from using high-resolution video modes but won't damage your monitor.

If the utility suspects that your video card may have a video clockchip, it presents a list of clockchips. Choose the "No Clockchip" setting, because X can generally detect the proper clockchip automatically.

Finally, the utility announces that probing is finished, as shown in Figure 3.46, and proposes a default video mode in which X will operate. A video mode is associated with a video resolution, which has exactly the same meaning under X and Windows, namely the number of horizontal and vertical dots (pixels) that comprise the display area. For example, 800 � 600 means that the display has 800 horizontal dots and 600 vertical dots.

Figure 3.46: The Probing Finished dialog box

A video mode also specifies a color depth, which refers to the number of colors that can be displayed:

A color depth of 8 bits (per pixel) yields 256 colors, a mode Microsoft Windows video drivers often refer to as 256-Color.
A color depth of 16 bits (per pixel) yields 65,536 colors, a mode Microsoft Windows video drivers often refer to as Thousands of Colors or High Color.
A color depth of 24 bits (per pixel) yields about 16 million colors, a mode Microsoft Windows video drivers often refer to as Millions of Colors or True Color.

If you want to enable video modes other than the one proposed by the utility, you can select the Let Me Choose option, which launches the dialog box shown in Figure 3.47. Simply select each mode you want to use and press SPACE. Then select Ok and press ENTER.

Figure 3.47: The Select Video Modes dialog box

The install program now asks to start X in order to test your configuration, as shown in Figure 3.48. Select Ok and press ENTER.

Figure 3.48: The Starting X dialog box

When X starts, you'll see a small dialog box that asks you whether you can read its message. Click on Yes to dismiss the dialog box. You'll need to do so within 10 seconds, or Xconfigurator will assume that X failed. This time limit is intended to avoid damage to your video hardware if the configuration is incorrect; however, some hardware can suffer damage even during such a brief interval.

A dialog box pops up, asking whether you'd like to automatically start X the next time you boot your system. Answer Yes nor No, according to your preference. If you don't specify that X should start automatically, you can start X at any time, by using commands described in Chapter 7, Configuring and Administering Linux.

The install program then presents its final dialog box, shown in Figure 3.49, which explains that Linux has been successfully installed. If you configured LILO, follow the instruction to remove any floppy diskette from your system's floppy drive; otherwise, ignore that instruction and insert your boot diskette in your system's floppy drive. Press ENTER to boot your system. If your system successfully boots Linux, you're ready to move on to Chapter 4, which shows you how to begin using your new Linux system. If your system fails to boot, consult the next section, which tells you how to get help.

Figure 3.49: The Done dialog box

3.4 Getting Help

If your system fails to boot, or if you're unable to complete the Linux installation process, don't despair. The help you need is probably close by, in one of these sources:

The following sections describe these sources and explain how to access and use them. You should generally consult them in the order specified.


	Learning Red Hat Linux By Bill McCarty 1st Edition September 1999 1-56592-627-7, Order Number: 6277 400 pages, $32.95, Includes CD-ROM

Learning Red Hat Linux

Chapter 3 Installing Linux