To begin installing Linux, you must boot your system from the installation media. Most recently manufactured PCs can boot from the Disc 1 Red Hat Linux CD-ROM (obtain CD material online at http://examples.oreilly.com/redhat2). However, unless you generally boot from a CD-ROM—which is quite unlikely—you’ll need to reconfigure your PC’s BIOS so your PC is able to boot from a CD-ROM. To do so, enter your PC’s BIOS screen and look for a configuration item titled something like Boot Order or Boot Priority. Change the configuration so that the CD-ROM drive has the highest boot priority. Consult your PC’s documentation for details on entering and using its BIOS configuration screens.
If your PC can’t boot from a CD-ROM, you must create a boot floppy disk. Creating a boot floppy requires some special measures; you can’t simply copy files onto a disk and then boot from it. To create a Red Hat Linux installation boot floppy by using a PC that runs Microsoft Windows, perform the following steps:
Format a floppy.
Insert Disc 1 of Red Hat Linux (see http://examples.oreilly.com/redhat2) into your system’s CD-ROM drive.
Start an MS-DOS Prompt window by clicking on Start → Run, typing command, and pressing Enter (Windows 9x or NT) or Start → Programs → Accessories → Command Line Interface (Windows 2000).
In the command window, change to the drive letter that corresponds to
your CD-ROM drive, for example, d:
,
e:
, or some other letter (see Figure 3-1).
In the command window, type cd dosutils awrite to switch to that directory on the CD (see http://examples.oreilly.com/redhat2) and press Enter.
When prompted, specify the filename of the disk image source as imagesoot.img and press Enter.
When prompted, specify the drive letter of your floppy drive, for example, a, and press Enter.
As instructed by the program, make sure the formatted floppy diskette
is still in your floppy drive and press Enter. It takes perhaps a minute or so for the
rawrite
utility to create the floppy diskette.
If your PC requires one or more PCMCIA or unusual SCSI devices during boot up, you must follow a somewhat more complicated procedure. See Appendix E of the The Official Red Hat Linux x86 Installation Guide, available at http://www.redhat.com, for details.
To start the installation process, insert Disc 1 of Red Hat Linux (see http://examples.oreilly.com/redhat2)into your system’s CD-ROM drive. If your system cannot boot from a CD-ROM, insert the boot floppy you created and reboot your PC.
When the system reboots, you should see a welcome screen featuring a
boot:
prompt and a series of messages explaining
various installation options, as shown in Figure 3-2. This prompt lets you enter special parameters
to work around a variety of installation problems. Generally,
it’s not necessary to do so. Simply press Enter or wait about a minute and the
installation program will start.
For perhaps a minute, you’ll see text flashing by as the system boots. Then, you’ll see the Red Hat Linux splash screen, soon followed by the System Installer screen. Click Next to proceed.
Like other modern Linux distributions, Red Hat Linux includes a graphical installation program that simplifies the installation and initial configuration of Linux. Figure 3-3 shows a typical screen displayed by the installation program. You won’t see this particular screen until later in the installation process. The screen includes the following elements:
The installation program runs in a full-screen window that contains one or more child windows within it. The upper-left corner of each child window displays the name of the window. You cannot minimize or change the size of the installation program’s main window.
The installation program also has an on-screen cursor. 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 control that has the input focus has a rectangle outlining it. In Figure 3-3, the OK button has the input focus.
The installation program uses dialog boxes to obtain user input. In Figure 3-3, an untitled dialog box is visible. You can recognize it by the controls it contains, such as Mount Point and Size (MB). You dismiss a dialog box by using its OK or Cancel button. You cannot minimize or move an installation dialog box.
Text boxes let you type text that is sent to the installation program when you dismiss the dialog box by using the OK button. In Figure 3-3, the field labeled Size (MB) is a text box.
Checkboxes and radio buttons let you specify that an option is enabled or disabled or select a specific option from a list. A dark area indicates an enabled option; a light area indicates a disabled option. You can click a checkbox to toggle the checkbox between its enabled and disabled states. In Figure 3-3, the field labeled “Force to be a primary partition” is a checkbox; the item labeled Fixed Size is a radio button.
List boxes let you choose an item from
a predefined list. If a list box has many items, it will have an
associated scrollbar that lets you page through the list. The
selected item, if any, is indicated by the item’s dark
background. In Figure 3-3, the item
hda
is the active item of the list box titled
Allowable Drives. You click a list box item to make the item active
or click the list box’s scrollbar to page through the list of
items contained in the list box.
When you click a button, the installation program performs a corresponding action. For example, clicking the OK button of a dialog box tells the installation program to accept the dialog box contents and proceed to the next step. Similarly, clicking the Cancel button of a dialog box tells the installation program to ignore the dialog box contents. Many installation screens include a helpful Back button that lets you return to the previous installation step. Most installation screens include a Next button that takes you to the next installation step.
The Online Help panel lets you view information that helps you understand what the current installation screen does and how to use it. If you don’t understand the installation procedure or if you’re curious to learn more, read the information in the Online Help panel.
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 3-1 describes the virtual consoles used by the installation program. The main installation dialog appears in virtual console number 7. If you like, you can use the indicated keystrokes to view a different virtual console.
The contents of virtual consoles 1 through 5 can be useful in monitoring and troubleshooting; generally you will not need to switch from one virtual console to another. Nevertheless, you may find it interesting to view the contents of the virtual consoles during the installation procedure.
Table 3-1. Virtual Consoles Used by Red Hat’s Installation Program
Console |
Keystroke |
Contents |
---|---|---|
1 |
Ctrl-Alt-F1 |
Installation dialog |
2 |
Ctrl-Alt-F2 |
A shell prompt that lets you enter commands to be processed by Linux |
3 |
Ctrl-Alt-F3 |
The installation log, containing messages from the install program |
4 |
Ctrl-Alt-F4 |
The system log, containing messages from the Linux kernel and other system programs |
5 |
Ctrl-Alt-F5 |
Other messages, including those concerning the creation of filesystems |
7 |
Ctrl-Alt-F7 |
The graphical window, which is the main window used by the installation program |
Figure 3-4 shows the Language Selection screen, which asks you to specify what language should be used during the installation process. Click the desired language and then click Next. The Keyboard Configuration screen appears.
The Keyboard Configuration screen, shown in Figure 3-5, lets you specify the type of keyboard attached to your system. The preselected choices are appropriate for most U.S. users. If you prefer another keyboard configuration, click the desired model or layout. If you like, you can type text in the box labeled Test Your Selection Here to see if it appears appropriately. Then, click Next to proceed. The Mouse Configuration screen appears.
The Mouse Configuration screen, shown in Figure 3-6, lets you specify the type of mouse attached to your system. The installation program generally determines the type of mouse automatically. If you prefer a different mouse configuration, click the desired mouse type.
Many graphical Linux programs are designed to use a three-button mouse. If your mouse has only two buttons, you should generally enable the Emulate 3 Buttons checkbox. Click Next to proceed. The Welcome screen appears. Click Next to proceed to the Install Type screen.
The Installation Type screen, shown in Figure 3-7, lets you choose whether to perform any of four types of fresh installations or an upgrade of your existing Red Hat system. The Install options—Workstation, Server, Laptop, and Custom—were described in Chapter 2. As explained, the appropriate choice for most users is Custom. Therefore, click the radio button next to Custom and click Next to proceed.
The step-by-step procedure given in this chapter describes only the Custom option. The procedures required for other options are similar, and you can probably complete a non-Custom installation with the help of this chapter. However, if you want a more detailed procedure for performing a non-Custom installation, see The Official Red Hat Linux x86 Installation Guide.
In the next phase of installation, you use Red Hat’s Disk Druid program to establish Linux partitions on your hard disk drive. Figure 3-8, the Disk Partitioning Setup screen, appears. Disk Druid can usually create the necessary partitions automatically, so you can generally click Automatically Partition and click Next to proceed.
Before the Disk Partitioning Setup screen appears, an untitled dialog
box may appear, announcing that Disk Druid has found a problem with
the partition table of one of your system’s hard drives. The
dialog box tells you how to resolve the problem. Generally, you need
to restart the installation and specify the geometry of your hard
drive in response to the boot:
prompt. Appendix C describes the most common options. If you plan
to erase all the data on your hard drive, you can click Skip Drive
and continue with the installation.
You may prefer to create Linux partitions by using Disk Druid manually. If so, follow the instructions in the next section; otherwise, skip ahead to Section 3.2.10 section.
The
installation program provides a third partitioning method, manual
partitioning via fdisk
. However, as the Disk
Partitioning Setup screen suggests, this program is suitable only for
experts. Unlike Disk Druid, fdisk
does not check
that your partitions have been properly defined. Unless you’re
familiar with fdisk
, it’s best to avoid
using it until you gain more experience with Linux.
You use Disk Druid to add, edit, and delete Linux partitions. Figure 3-9 shows the Disk Setup screen. The top part of the screen contains a list box that describes each existing partition. The bottom part of the screen contains a list box that describes each disk drive. The middle part of the screen contains buttons that control the operation of Disk Druid.
Whereas
Windows associates drive letters, such as D:
,
with filesystems, Linux associates directories—known as mount
points—with filesystems. At a minimum, you should establish the
following three Linux partitions on your system’s hard drive:
A
Linux native partition to hold the Linux kernel. This partition,
which has the mount point /boot
, should be at
least 50 MB in size. However, there’s no advantage to making it
larger than 50 MB.
A Linux native partition to hold the Red Hat Linux operating system.
This partition, known as the root partition, has the mount point
/
. It should be as large as you can afford.
A Linux swap partition to provide a work area used by Red Hat Linux to efficiently manage your system’s RAM memory. This partition, which has no mount point, should have a size two times the amount of your PC’s installed RAM. However, the swap partition should not be smaller than 190 MB or larger than 2000 MB. This partition is not mounted by Linux and therefore has no associated mount point.
To add a partition, click New, and the dialog box shown in Figure 3-10 appears.
To add the required Linux native
partition with the mount point /boot
, enter the
following values:
Select /boot
from
the drop-down menu. The mount point specifies the directory name by
which the partition will be known to Linux.
Select ext3
as the
filesystem type.[3]
Choose one or more hard disk drives on which to place the partition. If you select more than one hard disk drive, Disk Druid chooses a drive from among those you specify; Disk Druid never creates a partition that spans multiple disk drives.
Specify the
size in megabytes of the /boot
partition, which
should be 50 MB.
Specify Fixed Size.
Click OK to accept the input values, or if you don’t want to create the partition, click Cancel. The untitled dialog box disappears.
If you enter an inappropriate value, Disk Druid may be unable to create the requested partition. In such a case, it displays a dialog box that explains the reason the partition could not be created. Study the dialog box to determine what you did wrong and try again.
To add the required Linux native
partition with the mount point /
, click Add to
launch the new partition dialog box and then enter the following
values:
Choose one or more hard disk drives on which to place the partition.
Specify the size in megabytes of the /
partition, which should be at least 300 MB. More
realistically, the size of the partition should be at least 1.2 GB.
Specify “Fill to maximum allowable size,” so the Linux native partition will be as large as possible. If you prefer to restrict the size of the partition, select “Fill all space up to (MB)” and specify the maximum desired size in the immediately following text box.
Click OK to accept the input values. The untitled dialog box disappears.
To add the required Linux Swap partition, click New to launch the new partition dialog box. Enter the following values:
Choose one or more hard disk drives on which to place the partition. If you select more than one hard disk drive, Disk Druid chooses a drive from among those you specify; Disk Druid never creates a partition that spans multiple disk drives.
Specify twice the amount of RAM in your system. However, do not specify less than 190 MB or more than 2000 MB.
Specify Fixed Size.
Click OK to accept the input values. The untitled dialog box disappears.
If you wish to change one or more values associated with a partition, highlight the partition you wish to change and click Edit. Disk Druid launches a dialog box that you can use 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 re-create it.
If you wish to delete a partition, highlight it and click Delete. Disk Druid presents a dialog box that asks you to confirm the operation.
If you determine that you’ve made mistakes and want to abandon the changes you’ve specified, simply click Reset. Disk Druid resets all partitions to their original state.
When you’re done, the Disk Setup window should look similar to the one shown in Figure 3-11. If you had existing MS-DOS or other partitions, these would be shown as well. To save your changes and proceed with the installation, click Next.
Next, the installation program presents the Boot Loader Configuration screen, shown in Figure 3-12. GRUB, the Grand Unified Bootloader, is a special program used to start Linux—or another operating system—when you boot your system. This screen lets you choose an alternative boot loader (LILO) or omit installation of a boot loader altogether. You can also specify the location where GRUB will be installed.
Most Linux users install GRUB on the Master Boot Record (MBR) of their PC’s primary hard drive. However, doing so poses some risk. For example, if your PC boots using System Commander, the OS/2 Boot Manager, or the Windows NT/2000 loader, installing GRUB on the MBR will prevent you from booting any operating system other than Linux until you specially configure GRUB. Moreover, some antivirus applications detect changes to the MBR and roll them back. The bottom line is that, for a few Red Hat Linux users, GRUB can present some headaches.
You can easily avoid GRUB in either of
two ways. First, you can boot Linux by using the boot floppy prepared
near the end of the installation procedure. Linux won’t boot as
quickly as it might, but you won’t face the prospect of
disabling your other operating system if you’re running a
dual-boot system. If booting from a floppy seems antediluvian, you
can use loadlin
, an MS-DOS program that can
start Linux. Appendix C explains how to use
loadlin
to boot Linux.
If you’re running Windows NT/2000 or using special boot
software, specify that GRUB should be installed on the first sector
of the Linux boot partition (/boot
) rather than
on the MBR. Then you can boot from a Linux boot floppy or configure
your special boot software to start GRUB, which will boot Linux. If
you’re not running Windows NT/2000 or using special boot
software, specify that GRUB should be installed on the MBR.
The Force Use of LBA32 checkbox is disabled by default. Some SCSI drives require this option. Most non-SCSI drives can boot—and will boot faster—if this option is disabled.
You can also specify kernel parameters. Generally, no special kernel options are needed. However, if you discover that a kernel option is required (for example, to access a CD-ROM drive with a proprietary interface), you can specify it here. At boot time, GRUB will pass to the kernel any options you specified.
The Boot Loader Configuration screen also lets you select the operating systems that GRUB will be able to boot. When it boots your PC, GRUB displays a screen that lets you select from among the configured operating systems.
The installation program preselects Linux as the default operating system. To specify a different default operating system, highlight the corresponding partition and click Default.
If you like, you can change the label associated with an operating system by highlighting the corresponding partition and typing the desired label in the text box labeled Boot Label. When you’ve completely specified the desired boot loader configuration, click Next to proceed.
The GRUB Password screen appears. If you want to prevent unauthorized persons from using your Linux system, you can use the GRUB Password screen to prevent someone from passing information to the Linux kernel that overrides security checks; however, this level of protection is rarely necessary. If you decide to create a GRUB password, check the Use a GRUB Password? box and enter a password in the space provided; then click Next to proceed.
After you’ve configured the boot loader, the installation program probes for a network card. If it finds one, the installation program presents the Network Configuration screen, shown in Figure 3-13. If your computer is attached to a local area network (LAN), you can use the Network Configuration screen to configure networking. If your computer is not attached to a LAN, click Next.
If your computer is part of a LAN, your networking situation falls into one of two categories: you connect to the Internet via a dialup connection or you’re on a LAN with a permanent connection to the Internet via a gateway. The Red Hat Linux network configuration procedure isn’t so different from that of Windows, which has a Control Panel that lets you identify and configure your network hardware. Windows has a separate utility, Dial-up Networking, for making actual modem connections. In Linux, you configure networking much the same way.
First you need to specify what kind of network connections you’ll be making (Ethernet and/or modem) and provide some basic information about the type of network you’re connecting to. Later, after you’ve set up your Linux system, you’ll use a separate program to actually make a dialup modem connection.
If your computer connects to a DHCP server, Red Hat Linux can automatically determine its network configuration when your PC boots. To specify automatic network configuration, simply enable the Configure Using DHCP checkbox.
You should generally enable the Activate on Boot checkbox. Doing so specifies that your computer’s network card should be activated when the system boots.
If no DHCP server is available or if you prefer to manually enter the network configuration, disable the Configuring Using DHCP checkbox and fill in the network configuration text boxes, using the information you recorded in Table 2-1 of Chapter 2:
A bitmask that specifies the portion of your system’s network address that uniquely identifies the network (for example, 255.255.255.0)
The network address of your system (for example, 192.168.1.0)
The broadcast address of your system (for example, 192.168.1.255)
The hostname of your system, including the domain name (for example,
newbie.redhat.com
)
The host address of the router your system uses to send packets beyond its local network (for example, 192.168.1.1)
The IP address of the system that provides hostname lookup services to your system (for example, 192.168.1.1)
The IP address of the system used to look up host names if the primary name server is unavailable (optional)
The host address of the system used to look up hostnames if the primary and secondary name servers are unavailable (optional)
When you’ve entered the desired network configuration, click Next to proceed. The Firewall Configuration screen, shown in Figure 3-14, appears. This screen lets you specify protection against threats originating across the network. Chapter 12 explains the firewall capabilities of Red Hat Linux in more detail. If you are not concerned about network security, you should select the Medium security option; otherwise, you should select High security. Make your choice and click Next to proceed.
After installation, you can use the lokkit
or
gnome-lokkit
program to change your firewall
settings, as explained in Chapter 12.
Next, the installation program presents the Additional Language Support screen, shown in Figure 3-15. You earlier selected the language used during the installation procedure; however, this screen has a different function. It doesn’t select the language in which system messages will appear during system operation; it merely lets you install support—including X fonts and spelling dictionaries—for one or more languages that you will use in working with your installed Red Hat Linux system. As the screen explains, multiple languages consume significant disk space, so select a single language unless you have extra room on your drive and intend to use other languages on your system. After you’ve made your choice or choices, click Next to proceed.
After you bypass or complete the Network Configuration screen, the installation program presents the Time Zone Selection screen, shown in Figure 3-16.
Select a time zone by clicking on the map or by clicking an entry in the list box that appears below the map. By default, the map shows North America. Click the list box labeled View to choose a different region.
If you want to set your system’s clock to UTC (Universal Coordinated Time), enable the System Clock Uses UTC checkbox. However, you should not enable this checkbox if your PC is set up to boot an operating system, such as Microsoft Windows 9x, that does not support setting the system clock to UTC.
After making your selections, click Next to proceed.
The
user who administers a Linux system is known as the root user, or
simply root
. To protect your system against
mischief and misadventure, you should protect the root user’s
login with a password. To enable you to do so, the installation
program presents the Account Configuration screen, shown in Figure 3-17.
Simply choose a password for the root user and type it twice: in the text field labeled Root Password and the nearby text field labeled Confirm.
Be sure to make a mental note of the password, because you’ll need it in order to log in once system installation is complete. If you must, write down the password, but if you do so, make sure the password is kept safe from anyone who might use it to compromise your system.
You should create at least one additional user account during system installation. You can use this account when not performing system administration, thereby avoiding unnecessary use of the root account, which might lead to a breach of system security or integrity. To create an additional user account, click the Add button. The Add a New User dialog box appears, prompting you to enter a user name, the user’s full name, and a password for the new user. You need to enter the password twice to confirm that it has been entered correctly. You can establish additional user accounts during system installation if you like, but it’s generally easier to establish them after system installation is complete.
Once you’ve specified the password for the root account and have set up an additional user account, click Next to proceed. The installation program shows the Authentication Configuration screen, shown in Figure 3-18.
Generally, the default options are appropriate: both Enable MD5 Passwords and Enable Shadow Passwords should be selected. MD5 lets you use passwords longer than eight characters; specifying shadow passwords hides encrypted passwords from ordinary users. Only in special circumstances would it be necessary or appropriate to disable either option.
Unless your PC is part of a network that uses NIS, LDAP, Kerberos 5, or SMB, you don’t need to specify options associated with these tabs. Otherwise, consult your network administrator to determine the appropriate settings. Click Next to proceed; the Package Group Selection screen appears.
To install an application under
Red
Hat Linux, you generally install a package that contains all the
files needed by the application. 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, the installation program lets you specify package groups you
want (or need) to install. A package group
is
simply a group of related packages.
The Package Group Selection screen, shown in Figure 3-19, lets you specify which packages should be installed. Simply enable the checkbox associated with each desired package group. The installation program has preselected several package groups for you.
Generally, you should select the following package groups, some of which may have been preselected for you:
Lets you print to a local or remote printer (selected by default).
A minimal graphical user interface (GUI) suitable for occasional use (selected by default).
Kernel support for PCMCIA and IRDA and related utilities and tools; you should select this package group if you will be running Linux on a laptop.
The GNOME desktop, the default Red Hat Linux desktop (selected by default).
The KDE desktop, an alternative to GNOME, which can coexist with GNOME.
Since this book covers use of both GNOME and KDE (see Chapters Chapter 5 and Chapter 6, respectively), you should select the KDE package group to be installed.
Support for audio cards, CD burning, and other multimedia functions (selected by default).
A variety of applications and tools useful when a system is attached to a network (selected by default).
A variety of applications and tools useful when a system connects to a network via a dialup modem (selected by default).
Applications for sending and receiving mail, browsing the web, and reading and posting Internet newsgroup messages.
In addition, you can choose from among the following package groups, according to your interests and the characteristics of your system:
The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) lets you perform graphic operations similar to those supported by Adobe Photoshop and several other graphics programs.
Support for serving Internet news articles (recommended only for Linux experts).
Support for sharing files via the Network File System (NFS).
An FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server (not recommended for beginners).
Lets you serve web pages to clients on your LAN or the Internet; this package group installs the Apache web server.
Programs and utilities useful when using a Linux system as a router or firewall.
Support for Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) utilities (not recommended for beginners).
Includes DocBook SGML/XML, TeX, and other authoring and publishing tools.
Source code for the Linux kernel and utilities required to build the kernel.
Lets you run native Windows applications or access MS-DOS files stored on your PC’s hard drive if you’re running Linux in a dual-boot configuration. In particular, this package group installs WINE, which is a Unix implementation of the Win32 libraries (http://www.winehq.com) that allows you to run Windows applications from within Linux.
Includes a variety of games, including X-based games if you choose to install the X Window System.
The Package Group Selection screen also shows the approximate size of the selected package groups in its lower-right corner.
If you don’t know which components to select, don’t worry; you can install additional components after setting up your Red Hat Linux system. If, on the other hand, you want to be able to select individual packages as well as components, enable the Select Individual Packages checkbox. When you’re satisfied with your choices, click Next to proceed. If you checked the Select Individual Packages checkbox, the Individual Package Selection screen appears. Select any desired packages. Then, click Next to proceed.
If you requested installation of individual packages, the Unresolved Dependencies screen may appear. You should generally accept the preselected option, “Install packages to satisfy dependencies.” Click Next to proceed.
Next, the installation program displays the Graphical Interface (X) Configuration screen, shown in Figure 3-20, which helps you configure X, the Linux graphical user interface. If the installation program was able to determine the type of video card associated with your computer, it will highlight the appropriate item in the X Configuration list box. If you prefer to specify a different video card, click the desired item.
If your video card is not listed, you may be able to use the Generic SVGA compatible entry. This will yield a basic, working X configuration. Later, you can follow the instructions given in Appendix D to achieve a better configuration.
You should 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 should 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.
When the installation program is ready to begin installing packages, it presents the About to Install screen, shown in Figure 3-21. Up to this point, the installation program has made no changes to your system’s hard drive. This is your last chance to terminate the installation procedure before any data is written. To abort the installation procedure, press Ctrl-Alt-Delete or press your system’s hardware reset button.
The installation program now formats any partitions you earlier specified for formatting. Depending on the size of your system’s hard drive, this step may take several minutes to complete. When formatting is done, the Installing Packages screen, shown in Figure 3-22, appears, and the installation program begins installing packages. This screen displays the name of each package as it is installed and presents a progress bar that shows the status of the installation process. When all the packages have been installed, you’re ready to create a boot diskette. Click Next to proceed.
The installation program next gives you the opportunity to create a boot floppy, by presenting the Boot Disk Creation screen, shown in Figure 3-23. This floppy is not the same as the one you may have created and used to start the installation procedure. You should take the opportunity to create the boot floppy, because it may enable you to boot your Linux system even if the boot loader fails to install properly or the system boot information is damaged. You must create a boot floppy if Windows NT/2000 is installed on your system; in that case, you won’t be able to boot your system without the boot floppy.
To create a boot floppy, click Next. The installation program will prompt you to insert a blank floppy in your system’s floppy drive. Insert the diskette and click OK. The installation program may take several minutes to create the boot floppy.
Earlier in the installation, you specified the make and model of your system’s video card. The next two screens guide you in completing the video configuration.
The installation program next presents the Monitor Configuration screen, shown in Figure 3-24. The Monitor Configuration screen includes a list of supported video monitors. If the installation program was able to determine the type of monitor associated with your PC, it highlights the appropriate item in the Monitor Configuration list box. If you prefer to specify a different monitor, click the desired item.
Don’t select a monitor that has an identifier merely similar to that of your monitor. Similarly identified models often have quite different characteristics. Failing to select the appropriate monitor may result in permanent damage to your monitor, particularly if your monitor is an older, fixed-frequency model. If your monitor displays a scrambled image, turn it off promptly and recheck your configuration.
If you can’t find your monitor listed, don’t despair: you can select the Unprobed Monitor entry or a monitor type from the Generic hierarchy. If you do so, the installation program suggests horizontal and vertical sync (also known as vertical refresh) rates or ranges. You should compare these with the characteristics of your monitor, which you can generally obtain from the owner’s manual or from the manufacturer’s web site; adjust the rates of ranges if necessary. If you fail to find information describing your monitor, you can try some conservative values that are unlikely to damage all but the oldest of monitors. Low values are safer than high values. For example, try setting the horizontal sync range to 50-70 kHz and the vertical sync rate to 60 Hz.
Once you’ve selected your monitor or specified its sync rates, click Next to proceed. The Custom Graphics Configuration screen appears.
The Customize Graphics Configuration screen, shown in Figure 3-25, lets you specify several X-related options. You can choose the color depth, which determines the number of colors your system will display. You can also choose the screen resolution, which determines the number of pixels your system will display. Larger resolutions result in greater detail; however, your system’s video adapter and monitor may not operate with all possible settings. Moreover, specifying a high resolution consumes additional system resources, such as RAM. You can click the Test Setting button to see that a given setting works and what it looks like. When testing a setting, a small, untitled dialog box appears asking whether you can read its text; if so, click Yes to accept the current setting or No to reject it and try another setting.
If, as suggested, you installed either the GNOME or KDE desktop, use the proper radio button to select the desired default desktop. You shouldn’t select a default desktop other than one you specified for installation. For example, if you selected to install only GNOME, don’t select KDE as your default desktop, because it won’t be available. If you’re uncertain about which desktop environment to choose, select GNOME. Also check the Graphical radio button, which specifies that your Linux system will start in graphical mode. Selecting Graphical mode will start X when you boot Linux, allowing you to use one of the desktop environments (GNOME or KDE), as well as your mouse. If you’re not familiar with the Linux command line, you should select graphical mode as your login type. When you’ve completed the X configuration, click Next to proceed.
The installation program then presents its final screen, shown in Figure 3-26, which explains that Red Hat Linux has been successfully installed. If you installed GRUB on your system’s MBR, follow the instruction to remove the installation media before rebooting your system. However, if you installed GRUB on the first sector of the Linux boot partition, you must boot from a Linux boot floppy until you configure your boot manager to boot Linux.
Try booting your system from its hard drive or a Linux boot floppy, as appropriate. If your system successfully boots Linux, you’re ready to log in to your Red Hat Linux system.