In this evening's class each student is going to conduct a RedHat 7.3
installation. Although it is quite different than a Windows
installation, the RedHat installation process is very intuitive and
possesses very few difficulties when installed on a PC meeting the
hardware requirements listed in Chapter 2 of the textbook.
Of course, the hardware list isn't for a very exciting PC. When
you pursue information on additional hardware you can find all that is
needed from the links provided below.
There are several types of installion methods listed in Chapter
2. We're going to use the Quick Installation method. This
method requires us to use a straightforward approach of putting CD 1 in
the drive and rebooting the system. When working through the
installation remember that if an incorrect choice is made during the
installation process, it can be corrected in the post installation
process. If not, you can conduct a reinstall. To avoid
incorrect choices in the installation process, the instructor is going
to provide the information for the student to make good choices and
explanations.
- Obtain and review the Pre Installation Mini HOWTO. This HOWTO can be found at linuxdoc.org. Ask your instructor for assistance in locating this document.
- Identify and record the hardware in your computer. In this class you'll determine the hardware in your computer using the Knoppix distribution. Windows could also be used for this task.
- Determine the hardware compatibility of your system hardware. Your instructor will provide some insight in this area. Please ask questions you may have about systems that you have at home or work.
- Conduct the Installation. During the installation you are asked several questions about your hardware and the network connection. When answering these questions, write the question and your answer on a separate sheet of paper. Be neat because these sheets will be collected. To guide you through these questions, they are listed on pages 20-21 of your textbook. Since we are all new to Linux please make any notes you will feel you'll need for later.
- Setup networking and test. If a computer has an older Etherlink III NIC the card will not be automatically recognized during the RedHat 9 installation This shortcoming is corrected by using the Intenet Configuration Wizard. To start this wizard follow the path: GNOME footprint-->System Tools-->Internet Configuration Wizard. Your instructor will provide you with some additional steps to test the network connection and correct problems. Make notes of these for later reference.
- If you have older sound cards a post installation of these sound cards will be necessary using the Legacy Sound Card Procedure. The hardware resources are provided in the procedure.
- Place the emergency boot disk in the correct drive and reboot the system. This test will determine if the boot disk is usable. It's better to determine before we need it. Upon determining its quality, it should be put in a secure place (Your resource book) because you will definitely need it later. You might be wondering what one does if they loose this emergency boot disk. Don't worry because one can be created at a later time from your system using the procedure defined in the "Creating a Floppy Disk in Linux" or "Creating a Disk in DOS" on page 60 of your textbook.
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- Review the installation files created on the hard drive. These files are listed in the section entitled, "Troubleshooting your Installation" on page 70 of your textbook. You'll also notice the command line configuration utilities available to make changes when necessary.
- Review the Post Installation Mini HOWTO. This HOWTO can be found at linuxdoc.org. Ask your instructor for assistance in locating this document.