Guideline for New Linux Administrators: Part XI

Before Linux Installation 

Linux Installation problem

If your computer can boot from the CD drive (older computers cannot), you don't need a boot diskette to install Linux. Have a look at your BIOS setup; the boot sequence can often be set up there (the default is often floppy followed by hard drive).  My computer has the CD drive specified as the first boot device in the BIOS yet still cannot boot from the CD drive. So the BIOS setup does not necessary reflect the capability of your machine.  If you can boot from the CD drive, just insert the RedHat CD into the CD drive and reboot the computer to enter the RedHat Linux installation program.

See also:-Guideline for New Linux Administrators: Part X

If you don't know how to access your BIOS setup, read this paragraph. The BIOS setup can typically be entered at boot time by pressing the proper key at the right moment (often when a prompt is briefly displayed).  Most often, it is the
key.  Here is a list of key combinations used by popular BIOSes:  Acer notebooks: during Power-On Self-Test (POST). American Megatrends (AMI):
during Power-On Self-Test. Award:
, or . Compaq: after the square appears in the top right corner of the screen during boot-up. Dell: . DTK: during Power-On Self-Test.  IBM Aptiva 535: while the square with the wavy lines is displayed in the upper right corner during power-on. IBM PS/2:
, then
when the cursor is in the top right corner  Mr. BIOS: during Power-On Self-Test. Packard Bell: For some models, or during Power-On Self-Test. Phoenix: or , or .

If your computer cannot boot from the CD drive, make an install boot diskette from under DOS or the MS Windows DOS mode. (You have go to to "Shutdown" and "Restart in MS-DOS mode", not just run a DOS window).

It is important that you have a perfectly good floppy (without even one bad cluster). The program that makes the diskette does not check if the floppy was written properly. Also, don't count on the DOS FORMAT utility finding a faulty floppy--it probably won't.  If I were you, I would make two or three boot floppies at once--you may be surprised how many diskettes have problems. For me, the third floppy worked!  If your install diskette does not boot, make another one--it definitely should boot.

Here are the commands. To make the boot floppy run:

F:\dosutils\rawrite.exe -f F:\images\boot.img -d a: -n

To make the supplemental (optional) diskette run:

F:\dosutils\rawrite.exe -f F:\images\supp.img -d a: -n

This assumes your CDROM is the DOS "F:" drive, and your floppy is "A:", adjust the commands if the drive letters are different on your system.

The commands above run the utility "rawrite" and specify the input file  ("disk image", after the option "-f") and the destination drive (after the option "-d"), and suppresses the prompt to insert a floppy (option "-n"). You may find it easier to run rawrite without any argument--it will interactively prompt you for the input image (pick the file name as in the commands above) and the destination drive letter.

From under Linux, you can make a boot floppy as follows.

If the floppy needs low-level formatting, you can format it under Linux using:

fdformat /dev/fd0H1440

Mount the RedHat CDROM:

mount /mnt/cdrom

cd /mnt/cdrom/images/

Write the floppy image to the floppy:

dd if=boot.img of=/dev/fd0

[The ``dd'' command copies files. The above command specifies that the input file ("if") is ``boot.img'' and the output file ("of") is /dev/fd0, which is the first floppy drive, i.e. the floppy drive number zero (if you want to write to your second floppy drive, use  /dev/fd1). ]

To verify that the disk image was written to the floppy correctly, you can use one of the following four ways:

[1st way]

cmp boot.img  /dev/fd0

[2nd way]

diff boot.img  /dev/fd0

[3rd way]

md5sum boot.img

md5sum /dev/fd0

[compare if the two returned md5 checksums are identical]

[4th way]

sum boot.img

sum /dev/fd0

[compare if the two returned sums are identical]

In addition, some one asks: "Can I have MS Windows and Linux installed on the same computer?"

Yes, you can. Many Linuxers use a dual boot. This is typically achieved by installing MS Windows on one hard-drive partition and Linux on another partition.  Linux comes with a boot manager called GRUB (some, particularly older distributions may contain another boot manager called LILO).  The boot manager will let you select, at boot time, the operating system you boot.  Install MS Windows first and Linux only afterwards or else the MS Windows installation program will disable your access to Linux.  Have a Linux boot floppy ready if you need to re-install MS Windows--MS Windows will surely disable your access to Linux and you will have to boot Linux from the floppy and then re-run the command lilo to be back in business.  The best is to use MS Windows 95 because it interference with Linux is unsophisticated and workarounds are well known.  Installation of the latest MS Windows offering is sure to introduce trouble into your dual booting system (obviously on purpose), e.g., insist on its own boot manager that will surely refuse to run Linux.  Although it is amazing that a convicted monopolist (Microsoft) can keep interferring with another operating system, one may need to learn to live with it.

From under Linux, you will be able to read from and write to your MS Windows drive partitions so that the data exchange between MS Windows- and the Linux-based program is seamless.  You will also be able to use your existing MS Windows-based resources:  sound files, backgrounds, pictures, fonts, etc. (First check if it does not violate your license agreement though, smile. For products that are on rent to you from Microsoft, it probably does. With my Linux computers, I can be proud to have no pirated software on my system whatsoever.)

[thanks networkdictionary]

MS Windows will have no notion that Linux exists on your computer--it will just see that

• a boot manager is present,
• a non-Microsoft partition(s) is present on the hard drive.

MS Windows does not interfere with neither of them during normal operations (but mendles badly during installation, hard-drive re-partitioning, etc.)

You might like also:-Guideline for New Linux Administrators: Part VIII

                             Guideline for New Linux Administrators: Part I