3.2 Start the Installation

To begin installing Linux, you must boot your system from the installation media. Most recently manufactured PCs can boot the Installation CD 1 Red Hat Linux CD-ROM. 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.

3.2.1 Creating a Boot Floppy

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 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 into your system's CD-ROM drive.
Click My Computer and then your CD-ROM drive. Navigate to the \dosutils\rawritewin directory. Double-click the program rawwritewin. The RawWrite dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 3-1. Specify the floppy drive and image file (images\boot.img or other), and click Write. It takes perhaps a minute or so for the rawrite utility to create the floppy diskette.

Figure 3-1. Using rawrite to make a boot 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 F of The Red Hat Linux 8.0 Installation Guide, available at http://www.redhat.com/docs, for details.

3.2.2 Boot the Installation Program

To start the installation process, insert Installation CD 1 of Red Hat Linux 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 start-up screen featuring a boot: prompt and a series of messages explaining how to invoke the graphical and text mode installation and upgrade facilities, 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.

Figure 3-2. The installation start-up screen

If you downloaded your installation media, you'll next see the screen shown in Figure 3-3. This screen lets you verify the contents of the installation CD-ROMs. Verification takes from 5 to 20 minutes per CD, depending on the speed of your system. However, by verifying your media, you can avoid problems that might otherwise be difficult to troubleshoot.

Figure 3-3. The CD Found screen

Figure 3-4. The Red Hat Linux Welcome screen

3.2.3 The Installation Program's User Interface

Like other modern Linux distributions, Red Hat Linux includes a graphical installation program that simplifies the installation and initial configuration of Linux. Figure 3-5 shows a typical screen displayed by the installation program. You won't see this particular screen until later in the installation process.

Figure 3-5. A typical installation screen

The installation screen includes the following elements:

A main window

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 cursor

The installation program also has an on-screen cursor that resembles a small arrow pointing up and slightly to the left. When you position the cursor above a control and click the mouse, you set the input focus to the selected control. 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 dotted rectangle outlining it or has a lighter color than otherwise similar controls. In Figure 3-5, the OK button has the input focus.

Dialog boxes

The installation program uses dialog boxes to obtain user input. In Figure 3-5, a dialog box titled Edit Partition 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 an installation dialog box.

Text boxes

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 3-5, the field labeled Size (MB) is a text box.

Checkboxes and radiobuttons

Checkboxes and radiobuttons 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 or radiobutton to toggle the option between its enabled and disabled states. In Figure 3-5, the control labeled "Force to be a primary partition" is a checkbox. The control labeled "Fixed size" is a radiobutton.

List boxes

List boxes let you choose an item from a predefined list. Two kinds of list boxes are used. One kind, called a drop-down list box, displays only a single item at a time. In Figure 3-5, the control labeled Mount Point is a drop-down list box. If you click the checkmark that appears at the right of a drop-down list box, other items in the list become visible. When you select an item by clicking it, the list reverts to its original form, showing only the selected item.

The second kind of list shows multiple items simultaneously. If this kind of list box has more items than can be shown, 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.

Buttons

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.

Online Help

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.

Graphical Install . . . What Graphical Install?

If you don't see the Red Hat Linux Welcome screen but instead see a screen with red and blue text areas over a black background, your system is not compatible with the Red Hat Linux graphical install. Perhaps your system lacks sufficient RAM or has an unsupported video adapter.

In that case, you can use a text-based installation procedure. To do so, reboot your system and respond to the boot: prompt by typing linux text and pressing Enter. Because this special installation procedure is text-based, you won't be able to use a mouse. Instead, use Tab to move from field to field, use Space to select fields, and press Enter to click a selected button.

If you need additional help using the text-based installation procedure, see Section 3.2 of The Red Hat Linux 8.0 Installation Guide, available at http://www.redhat.com/docs.

3.2.4 Use Virtual Consoles to Monitor the Installation

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 #7. If you like, you can use the indicated keystrokes to view a different virtual console.

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	May contain 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

The contents of virtual consoles #1 through #5 can be useful in monitoring and troubleshooting; you will not generally 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.

3.2.5 Choose the Installation Language

Click Next to move from the Installation screen to the Language Selection screen. Figure 3-6 shows that 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.

Figure 3-6. The Language Selection screen

3.2.6 Select the Keyboard Type

The Keyboard Configuration screen, shown in Figure 3-7, lets you specify the type of keyboard attached to your system. The preselected choice is appropriate for most U.S. users. If you prefer another keyboard configuration, click the desired model or layout. Then, click Next to proceed. The Mouse Configuration screen appears.

Figure 3-7. The Keyboard Configuration dialog box

3.2.7 Select the Mouse Type

The Mouse Configuration screen, shown in Figure 3-8, 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 to the Installation Type screen.

Figure 3-8. The Mouse Configuration screen

3.2.8 Select the Installation Type

The Installation Type screen, shown in Figure 3-9, 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—Personal Desktop, Workstation, Server, and Custom—are described in Chapter 2. As explained, the appropriate choice for most users is Custom. Therefore, click the radiobutton next to Custom and click Next to proceed.

Figure 3-9. The Installation Type screen

The step-by-step procedure given in this chapter describes only the Custom installation type. The procedures required for other installation types 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 Red Hat Linux 8.0 Installation Guide.

3.2.9 Create Partitions

Druids in Red Hat Linux are analogous to wizards in Microsoft Windows. In the next phase of the installation procedure, you use Red Hat's Disk Druid to establish Linux partitions on your hard disk drive. Figure 3-10, the Disk Partitioning Setup screen, appears. Disk Druid is generally capable of automatically creating the necessary partitions.

Figure 3-10. The Disk Partitioning Setup screen

If you prefer, the installation program lets you manually partition your hard disk using Disk Druid. However, it's generally easier to allow Disk Druid to automatically partition the hard disk and then review and edit the results. No changes are made to the partition table until you accept the final results.

The installation program also 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.

So, you can generally click Automatically partition and click Next to proceed. The Automatic Partitioning screen appears, as shown in Figure 3-11.

Before the Disk Partitioning Setup screen appears, a 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. If the hard disk has never been used, its partition table won't be invalid. In that case, you can continue the installation; Disk Druid will write an appropriate partition table to the disk.

Otherwise, you may 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 on erasing all the data on your hard drive, you can click Skip Drive and continue with the installation.

Figure 3-11. The Automatic Partitioning screen

The Automatic Partitioning screen lets you choose how any existing partitions are treated. Three choices are available:

Remove all Linux partitions on this system
Remove all partitions on this system
Keep all partitions and use existing free space

If you want to preserve an existing operating system, you should not choose Remove all partitions on this system. If you want to overwrite an existing Linux installation, choose Remove all Linux partitions on this system. Otherwise, choose Keep all partitions and use existing free space.

The Automatic Partitioning screen also lets you specify the hard disks on which the installation program will load Red Hat Linux. You can prevent the installation program from using a hard disk by clearing the checkbox associated with the hard disk.

Finally, the Automatic Partitioning screen lets you specify whether to review the results of automatic partitioning. You should generally leave the associated checkbox set so that you can modify the results, if needed.

Click Next to perform automatic partitioning. If Disk Druid cannot find sufficient free space, you may see a dialog box announcing an error. In that case, you can use the Back button to return to the Disk Partitioning Setup screen and choose manual partitioning with Disk Druid. The following section explains how to review and modify the results of automatic partitioning, and also equips you to perform manual partitioning.

3.2.9.1 Manual disk partitioning

The Disk Setup screen, shown in Figure 3-12, lets you add, edit, and delete Linux partitions. The bottom part of the screen contains a list box that describes each drive and partition. The middle part of the screen contains buttons that control the operation of Disk Druid, the tool that carries out partitioning. The top part of the screen graphically depicts the partition structure.

Figure 3-12. The Disk Druid screen

3.2.9.2 What to add

Whereas Windows associates drive letters, such as D:, with partitions, Linux associates directories—known as mount points—with partitions. Two such directories, / (the root directory) and /boot, are essential. In addition, a third partition is necessary to manage your system's RAM. This partition has no associated mount point.

During this step of the installation process, you should establish three Linux partitions on your system's hard drive:

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.
A Linux native partition to hold the Linux kernel. This partition, which has the mount point /boot, should be at least 75 MB in size. However, there's no advantage to making it larger than 100 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.

3.2.9.2.1 Create the swap partition

From the Disk Setup screen, click New to launch the Add Partition dialog box, shown in Figure 3-13.

Figure 3-13. The Add Partition dialog box

Enter the following values in the Add Partition dialog box:

Mount Point: Leave this field blank.
Type: Select 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.
Size: Specify twice the amount of RAM in your system. However, do not specify less than 190 MB or more than 2000 MB.
Additional Size Options: Specify Fixed size.
Force to be a primary partition: Set this checkbox if you want the swap partition to be a primary rather than logical partition. A primary partition is one that can be accessed by the BIOS and some old versions of operating systems. Because a hard disk can have only four primary partitions and the BIOS need not access the Linux swap partition, it's generally unwise to use a primary partition as a swap partition.
Check for bad blocks: If you want to verify the reliability of the partition, set this checkbox. However, checking for bad blocks can be time-consuming. Depending on the size of the partition and the speed of the hard disk, checking bad blocks may require as much as several hours.

Click OK to accept the input values. The Add Partition dialog box disappears.

3.2.9.2.2 Create the /boot partition

From the Disk Setup screen, click New to launch the Add Partition dialog box. Enter the following values:

Mount Point: Select /boot from the drop-down menu. The mount point specifies the directory name by which the partition will be known to Linux.
Partition type: Select ext3.
Size: Specify the size in megabytes of the /boot partition, which should be 75-100 MB.
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.
Additional Size Options: Specify Fixed size.
Force to be a primary partition: Set this checkbox if you want the swap partition to be a primary rather than logical partition. Because the /boot partition must generally reside within the first 1024 cylinders of the hard disk and be accessible by the BIOS, it should generally be allocated as a primary partition.
Check for bad blocks: If you want to verify the reliability of the partition, set this checkbox. However, checking for bad blocks can be time-consuming. Depending on the size of the partition and the speed of the hard disk, checking bad blocks may require as much as several hours.

Click OK to accept the input values; or, if you don't want to create the partition, click Cancel. The Add Partition 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.

3.2.9.2.3 Create the / partition

From the Disk Setup screen, click New to launch the Add Partition dialog box. Enter the following values:

Mount Point: Type a forward slash (/) to denote the root directory.
Partition Type: Select ext3.
Allowable Drives: Choose one or more hard disk drives on which to place the partition.
Size: 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 (1200 MB).
Additional Size Options: 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.
Force to be a primary partition: Set this checkbox if you want the swap partition to be a primary rather than logical partition.
Check for bad blocks: If you want to verify the reliability of the partition, set this checkbox. However, checking for bad blocks can be time-consuming. Depending on the size of the partition and the speed of the hard disk, checking bad blocks may require as much as several hours.

Click OK to accept the input values. The Add Partition dialog box disappears.

3.2.9.3 Editing a partition

If you wish to change one or more values associated with a partition, highlight the partition you wish to change in the Disk Setup screen 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 the Add Partition 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.

3.2.9.4 Deleting a partition

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.

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

3.2.9.5 Starting over

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.

3.2.9.6 Saving your changes

When you're done, save your changes and proceed with the installation, by clicking Next.

3.2.10 Configure the Boot Loader

Next, the installation program presents the Boot Loader Configuration screen, shown in Figure 3-14. GRUB, the Grand Unified Boot loader, 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.

Figure 3-14. The Boot Loader Configuration screen

Most Linux users install GRUB on their PC's primary hard drive. However, doing so poses some risk. For example, 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.

If you're among those bothered by GRUB, you can easily avoid GRUB. To do so 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. Switching from GRUB to LILO is unlikely to help, as LILO is vulnerable to the same problems affecting GRUB. The Boot Loader Configuration screen lets you select the operating systems that GRUB will be able to boot. When GRUB 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 Boot Loader Configuration screen also lets you specify a boot loader password. If you want to prevent unauthorized persons from using your PC, you can use a password to prevent someone from overriding security checks by passing special information to the Linux kernel. However, this level of protection is rarely necessary.

3.2.11 Configure Networking

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 3-15. 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.

Figure 3-15. The Network Configuration screen

If your LAN provides a DHCP server, Red Hat Linux can automatically determine your PC's network configuration when your PC boots. By default, the installer configures your PC to activate its network adapter and obtain its network configuration from a DHCP server whenever your PC is booted.

If you want to assign your PC a static IP address or if you don't want your network adapter to be activate when your system boots, click the Edit button. An Edit Interface dialog box, shown in Figure 3-16, appears. To specify a static IP address, clear the checkbox labeled Configure using DHCP. Then, enter the IP address and netmask in the proper text fields, using the information you recorded in Table 2-1. If you don't want your network adapter to be activated when your system boots, clear the checkbox labeled Active on boot. Click OK to save your changes.

Figure 3-16. The Edit Interface dialog box

If you want to assign your system a static IP address, you should select the radiobutton labeled Set the hostname manually in the Network Configuration Screen. You should also provide the following from Table 2-1:

Hostname: The hostname of your system, including the domain name (for example, newbie.redhat.com)
Gateway: The host address of the router your system uses to send packets beyond its local network (for example, 192.168.1.1)
Primary DNS: The IP address of the system that provides hostname lookup services to your system (for example, 192.168.1.1)
Secondary DNS: The IP address of the system used to look up hostnames if the primary name server is unavailable (optional)
Ternary DNS: 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 3-17, appears. This screen lets you specify protection against threats originating across the network.

Figure 3-17. The Firewall Configuration screen

Chapter 12 explains the firewall capabilities of Red Hat Linux in more detail. If you're especially concerned about network security, you should select the High security option; otherwise, you should select Medium security. If your system obtains its network configuration from a DHCP server, you should leave the checkbox labeled Allow incoming DHCP enabled. Make your choices and click Next to proceed.

After installation, you can use the Security Level tool to change your firewall settings, as explained in Chapter 12.

3.2.12 Configure the Language

Next, the installation program presents the Additional Language Support screen, shown in Figure 3-18. You earlier selected the language used during the installation procedure; this screen has a different function. It lets you select the default language in which the desktop is presented. It also lets you install support—including X fonts and spelling dictionaries—for one or more additional languages. As the screen explains, multiple languages consume significant disk space. So, select a single language if you're reasonably content doing so. After you've made your choice or choices, click Next to proceed.

Figure 3-18. The Additional Language Support screen

3.2.13 Configure the System Clock

After you bypass or complete the Network Configuration screen, the installation program presents the Time Zone Selection screen, shown in Figure 3-19. Select a time zone by clicking on the map or by clicking an entry in the list box that appears below the map.

Figure 3-19. The Time Zone Selection screen

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.

3.2.14 Configure User Accounts and Authentication

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 must 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 3-20.

Figure 3-20. The Account Configuration screen

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 establish 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 the account, click Add. Then, type the account name, user's full name, and the password (twice). 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 3-21.

Figure 3-21. The Authentication Configuration screen

Generally, the default options are appropriate: both Enable MD5 Passwords and Enable Shadow Passwords should be enabled. MD5 lets you use passwords longer than eight characters; 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, 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.

3.2.15 Select Packages

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 to install. A package group is simply a group of related packages.

The Package Group Selection screen, shown in Figure 3-22, 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.

Figure 3-22. The Package Group Selection screen

Generally, you should select the following package groups, some of which may have been preselected for you:

X Window System: The graphical user interface (GUI) used with Red Hat Linux (default option)
GNOME Desktop Environment: The GNOME desktop, the default Red Hat Linux desktop (default option)
KDE Desktop Environment: The KDE desktop, an alternative to GNOME, which can co-exist with GNOME
Graphical Internet and Text-based Internet: Applications for sending and receiving mail, browsing the Web, and reading and posting Internet newsgroup messages (default option)
Office/Productivity: Applications for creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and so on (default option)
Sound and Video: Support for audio cards, CD burning, and other multimedia functions (default option)
Graphics: The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program), which lets you perform graphic operations similar to those supported by Adobe Photoshop, and several other graphics programs (default option)
Administration Tools: Tools for administering user accounts and setting configuration options
System Tools: Tools for backing up large data sets, monitoring the network, and using network shares
Printing Support: Lets you print to a local or remote printer (default option)

In addition, you can choose from among the available optional package groups, according to your interests and the characteristics of your system. Peruse the install program's list to see what's available. The Package Group Selection screen shows the approximate size of the selected package groups in its lower-right corner.

If you don't know what package groups to select, don't worry; you can install additional package groups 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 package groups, 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.

When X Is Obstinate

Sometimes, the installation program can't configure X to work properly. Generally, this is due to video hardware that's not compatible with X. If you find yourself in this situation, you can click the Skip X Installation button. The installation will then proceed, but X will not be installed. After system installation is complete, you can try to achieve a working X configuration. To do so, follow this procedure.

First, read the following:

Then, perform the following steps:

Boot your system and access virtual console #1.
Log in as the root user.
Reconfigure your system to boot into run level 3 rather than run level 5.
Use redhat-config-xfree86 to attempt to reconfigure X to work with your hardware.

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.

3.2.16 Install Packages

When the installation program is ready to begin installing packages, it presents the About to Install screen, shown in Figure 3-23. 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.

Figure 3-23. The About to Install screen

The installation program now formats any partitions you earlier specified for formatting. Depending on the size of your system's hard drive, it may require several minutes to complete this step. When formatting is done, the Installing Packages screen, shown in Figure 3-24, appears and the installation program begins installing packages.

Figure 3-24. The Installing Packages screen

The Installing Packages screen displays the name of each package as it is installed and presents a progress bar that shows the relative progress of the installation process. You'll likely be asked to insert other installation CDs during the installation process. When all the packages have been installed, you're ready to create a boot diskette. Click Next to proceed.

3.2.17 Create a Boot Floppy

The installation program next gives you the opportunity to create a boot floppy, by presenting the Boot Disk Creation screen, shown in Figure 3-25. 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.

Figure 3-25. The Boot Disk Creation screen

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.

3.2.18 Configure Video

Next, the installation program displays the Graphical Interface (X) Configuration screen, shown in Figure 3-26, 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 PC, 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.

Figure 3-26. The Graphical Interface (X) Configuration screen

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.

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.

3.2.18.1 Identifying your system's monitor

The installation program next presents the Monitor Configuration screen, shown in Figure 3-27. 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 will highlight the appropriate item in the Monitor Configuration list box. If you prefer to specify a different monitor, click the desired item.

Figure 3-27. The Monitor Configuration screen

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. If you do so, the installation program will suggest 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.

3.2.18.2 Selecting custom graphics options

The Custom Graphics Configuration screen, shown in Figure 3-28, 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 will consume 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 if you can Read This Text; if so, click Yes to accept the current setting or No to reject it and try another setting.

Figure 3-28. The Custom Graphics Configuration screen

Check the Graphical radiobutton, which specifies that your Linux system will start in graphical mode. Graphical mode lets you use your system's mouse and is therefore more familiar and comfortable for those unaccustomed to the Linux command-line interface than is Text mode. When you've completed the X configuration, click Next to proceed.

3.2.19 Complete the Installation

The installation program then presents its final screen, shown in Figure 3-29, which explains that Red Hat Linux has been successfully installed.

Figure 3-29. The Congratulations screen

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.