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Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce,comp.os.linux.help,comp.os.linux.admin,news.answers,comp.answers
From: mdw@sunsite.unc.edu (Matt Welsh)
Subject: Linux Installation HOWTO
Keywords: Linux, HOWTO, FAQ, installation
Summary: How to obtain and install Linux, the free UNIX implementation for
Intel 80386/80486 based machines.
Organization: Linux. It's not just for breakfast anymore.
Followup-To: poster
Approved: linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu (Matt Welsh)
Archive-name: linux/howto/installation
Last-modified: 1 Dec 1993
The Linux Installation HOWTO
by Matt Welsh, <mdw@sunsite.unc.edu>
v1.3, Last Modified 1 Dec 93
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This document describes how to obtain and install the Linux software.
It is the first document which a new Linux user should read to get
started.
0. Introduction
Linux is a freely-distributable implementation of UNIX for 80386 and
80486 machines. It supports a wide range of software, including
X Windows, Emacs, TCP/IP networking (including SLIP), the works.
This document assumes that you have heard of and know about Linux,
and just want to sit down and install it.
0.1 Other sources of information
If you have never heard of Linux before, there are several sources
of basic information about the system. One is the Linux FAQ,
available from sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/docs. This directory
contains many other documents about Linux, including the Linux
INFO-SHEET and META-FAQ, both of which are good introductory documents
about Linux. Also take a look at the USENET newsgroups comp.os.linux
and comp.os.linux.announce.
Another source of online Linux documentation is the Linux HOWTO
archive, on sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO. The file INDEX
in that directory explains what Linux HOWTOs are available.
The Linux Documentation Project is writing a set of manuals and books
about Linux, all of which are freely distributable on the net.
The directory /pub/Linux/docs/LDP on sunsite.unc.edu contains the
current set of LDP manuals.
The book ``Linux Installation and Getting Started'' is a complete
guide to getting and installing Linux, as well as how to use the
system once you've installed it. It contains a complete tutorial
to using and running the system, and much more information than
is contained here. This HOWTO is simply a condensation of some of
the most important information in that book. You can get
``Linux Installation and Getting Started'' from sunsite.unc.edu in
/pub/Linux/docs/LDP/install-guide.
0.2 New versions of this document
New versions of the Linux Installation HOWTO will be periodically
posted to comp.os.linux.announce, comp.os.linux, and news.answers.
They will also be uploaded to various Linux FTP sites, including
sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO.
0.3 Feedback
If you have questions or comments about this document, please feel
free to mail the author, Matt Welsh, at mdw@sunsite.unc.edu. I welcome
any suggestions, criticism, cheques, or money orders. If you find
a mistake with this document, please let me know so I can correct it
in the next version. Thanks.
1. Hardware Requirements
What kind of system is needed to run Linux? Any ISA, EISA or VESA
Local Bus 80386 or 80486 system will do. Currently, the MicroChannel
(MCA) architechture (found on IBM PS/2 machines) is not supported.
Any CPU from the 386SX to the 486DX2 will work. You do not need a
math coprocessor, although it is nice to have one.
You need at least 4 megabytes of memory in your machine. Technically,
Linux will run with only 2 megs, but most installations and software
require 4. The more memory you have, the happier you'll be.
Of course, you'll need a hard drive and an AT-standard drive
controller. All MFM, RLL, and IDE drives and controllers should work.
Many SCSI drives and adaptors are supported as well; the Linux FAQ
(see above) contains more inforamation on SCSI.
Linux can actually run on a single 5.25" HD floppy, but that's only
useful for installation and maintenance.
Free space on your hard drive is needed as well. The amount of
space needed depends on how much software you plan to install. Most
installations require somewhere in the ballpark of 40 to 80 megs.
This includes space for the software, swap space (used as virtual
RAM on your machine), and free space for users, and so on.
It's conceiveable that you could run a minimal Linux system in 10
megs or less, and it's conceiveable that you could use well over
100 megs or more for all of your Linux software. The amount varies
greatly depending on the amount of software you install and how
much space you require. More about this later.
Linux will co-exist with other operating systems, such as MS-DOS,
Microsoft Windows, or OS/2, on your hard drive. (In fact you can even
access MS-DOS files and run some MS-DOS programs from Linux.)
In other words, when partitioning your drive for Linux, MS-DOS
or OS/2 live on their own partitions, and Linux exists on its
own. We'll go into more detail later.
You also need a Hercules, CGA, EGA, VGA, or Super VGA video card and
monitor. In general, if your video card and monitor work under MS-DOS
then it should work under Linux. However, if you wish to run
X Windows, there are other restrictions on the supported video
hardware. The Linux FAQ contains more information about X Windows.
In all, the suggested setup for Linux is not much more than is
required for most MS-DOS or MS Windows systems sold today. If you
have a 386 or 486 with at least 4 megs of RAM, then you'll be
happy running Linux. Linux does not require huge amounts of
diskspace, memory, or processor speed. I run Linux on a crappy
386/16 MHz (the slowest machine you can get) with 4 megs of RAM,
and am quite happy.
2. Getting Linux
2.1 Linux Distributions
Before you can install Linux, you need to decide on one of the
"distributions" of Linux which are available. There is no single,
standard release of the Linux software---there are many such releases.
Each release has its own documentation and installation instructions.
Linux distributions are available both via anonymous FTP and
via mail order on diskette, tape, and CD-ROM. The Linux Distribution
HOWTO (sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO/Distribution-HOWTO)
includes a list of many Linux distributions available via FTP and mail
order.
The most popular release of Linux is the Softlanding Linux System
release, or SLS. Most Linux users worldwide use SLS---it is one
of the most complete and easy-to-install releases available.
It consists of about 30 disks, divided up into a number of
disk "series" which contain differnt types of software. For
example, the c disk series contains compilers and programming
utilities, and the x disk series contains the X Windows software.
You pick and choose which disks and packages you want to install.
This document focuses on getting and installing the SLS release,
because it is so popular. Information on other releases can be
found in the Linux Installation and Getting Started manual from
the LDP. You can also find other releases of Linux on various
FTP sites, including sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/distributions.
See the Distribution-HOWTO (menutioned above) for details.
Why SLS? I have looked over the many other Linux distributions,
and frankly, SLS is the easiest to document. MCC Interim is a bit
outdated (0.99.pl10) and doesn't include X. Slackware requires you
to have a 3.5" floppy drive (not everybody does). Similar problems
exist with other distributions. I'm no big SLS fan, but, it's a
very complete and full-featured system without any unusual hardware
requirements. It's also quite up-to-date.
If you would rather install a distribution other than SLS (I
fully recommend the MCC-Interim distribution), check out
sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/distributions. Many other distributions
can be found there, and they include their own coherent set of
instructions.
The instructions here should be general enough to be applicable to
releases other than SLS. I hate to be biased towards a single
release, but I don't have time to keep up with them all!
2.2 SLS Space Requirements
The following series of SLS disks are available.
a1-aN: The minimal base system
b1-bN: Base system extras, like man pages, emacs etc.
c1-cN: The compiler(s), gcc/g++/p2c/f2c
x1-xN: The X-windows distribution (+idraw and doc)
t1-tN: TeX (document processing)
s1-sN: Source code for critical system components
d1-dN: Documentation for various things
You must get the "a" series diskettes; the rest are optional.
I suggest at least installing the a, b, and c series, as well
as the x series if you plan to run X Windows.
Approximate disk space requirements are:
Tiny base system: 15 Meg (Only a)
Main base system: 45 Meg (a, b and c)
Main base system + X11: 70 Meg (a, b, c and x)
Full system: 90 Meg (a, b, c, d, s, t and x)
2.3 Getting the SLS Release from the Internet
The SLS release of Linux may be found on any number of FTP sites
worldwide. The Linux META-FAQ lists several of the Linux FTP
sites; we suggest that you try to find the software on the FTP
site nearest you, to reduce net traffic. However, two of the major
Linux FTP sites are sunsite.unc.edu and tsx-11.mit.edu.
The SLS release may be found on
sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/SLS
as well as
tsx-11.mit.edu:/pub/linux/packages/SLS
2.3.1 Downloading the files
You need to download the following files. Make sure that you use
binary mode when FTPing these files!
* READ.ME, RELEASE, and SLS.FAQ. These files are text files giving
up-to-date information on the latest release of SLS.
* a1.3 or a1.5. These are binary images of the SLS "a1" boot disk.
If you have a 3.5" boot floppy drive on your system, get a1.3.
If you have a 5.25" boot drive, get a1.5.
* rawrite.exe. This is an MS-DOS program used to create the SLS
a1 disk from the a1.3 or a1.5 image. On tsx-11.mit.edu, this
program is found in
/pub/linux/dos_utils/rawrite.exe
And on sunsite.unc.edu, it is found in
/pub/Linux/system/Install/rawrite2.exe
(Note that "rawrite2.exe" is a newer version of rawrite which is
faster, but doesn't work on all drives. If you have problems with
it, try the other version.)
* The files in the directories a2, a3, and a4. These files will
be copied later to MS-DOS disks; they make up the a2, a3, and a4
disks in the SLS series. When downloading these files, keep them
in separate directories; that is, don't mix the a2 files up with
the a3 files, and so on.
Make sure that you get the file "diska2", "diska3", and so on on
each disk. In FTP, if you use "mget *.*", you will probably
miss files without a "." in the filename. Therefore, use "mget *"
to get all files.
* Files in the directories b1, b2, etc., depending on what disk
series you are installing. For example, if you are installing the
'b' disk series, get the files in the directories b1 through b7.
As with a2-a4, above, be sure to keep the files in separate
directories when you download them.
2.3.2 Making the disks
Once you have the files downloaded, you need to create the install
disks. The a1 disk needs to be the type of disk that you boot from;
i.e., either a high-density 3.5" disk or a high-density 5.25"
disk. The disk must be MS-DOS formatted. Also be sure to use a
brand-new floppy if possible; bad blocks on the floppy will cause
you much trouble later.
To create the a1 disk, run the "rawrite" program from MS-DOS. It
will prompt you for the file to write to the disk (such as a1.3
or a1.5) and the disk to write it to (such as A: or B:).
After the disk has been written, it will no longer be recognized
by MS-DOS; it is complete overlaid with the SLS a1 image.
To create the rest of the SLS, disks, simply use the MS-DOS
"copy" command. All of the rest of the SLS install disks must
be of the same type (either HD 3.5" or HD 5.25"), but they do not
need to be the same type as the a1 disk. All of the disks must
be MS-DOS formatted before you begin.
For example, to create the a2 disk, simply copy the files from
the directory "a2" to the floppy, with the command
C:\> copy a2\*.* A:
Do likewise for every disk that you downloaded.
NOTE: It is possible to install SLS from the hard drive. If you
have all of the SLS disk images (a2, a3, a4, and so on) in the
directory "\install" on the MS-DOS partition on your drive, you
can install from there (and you don't need to copy all of the files
to floppies). For example, the a2 files need to be in the directory
C:\install\a2, the a3 files in C:\install\a3, and so on. However,
you do still need to make the a1 disk with rawrite, as explained
above.
2.4 Getting the SLS release via mail
SLS is available from the address below for a $3.50/disk US
($4.50/disk Canadian) copying charge. Add $1.00/disk for 3.5"
disks, and $15.00 for shipping and handling. Mail payment, either
cheque or money order, in advance, to Softlanding. Visa and
Mastercard are now also accepted, Because people keep asking about
prices, Softlanding has provided this commonly ordered configurations
price sheet:
NAME #DISKS SERIES 5 1/4 DISKS 3 1/2 DISKS
-------------------------------------------------------
TINY 4 a US $29.00 US $33.00
BASE 17 a,b,c,d,s US $74.50 US $91.50
MAIN 24 a,b,c,x US $99.00 US $123.00
FULL 30 a,b,c,x,d,s,t US $120.00 US $150.00
When ordering, ensure that you specify the bootdisk type (3.5 or
5.25). Softlanding is also now offering support subscriptions for
SLS. Individual support, (one user, one machine) is $100.00 per
year. Group support, primarily for resellers and corporate sites
is $1000.00 per year. CDROM ($99) and QIC-150 tape ($150) also
available.
Softlanding Software
910 Lodge Ave.
Victoria, B.C., Canada
V8X-3A8
Quite a few people distribute SLS and other Linux distributions
via mail for other prices; watch comp.os.linux.announce for
details.
3. Installing the Software
3.1 Repartitioning
Before you can install the Linux software, you need to repartition
your drive to make space for Linux. On most systems, your drive
is already dedicated to partitions for MS-DOS, OS/2, and so on.
You need to resize these partitions in order to make space for
Linux.
The problem with resizing partitions is that there is no way to
do it (easily) without deleting the data on those partitions.
Therefore, you will need to make a full backup of your system before
repartitioning. In order to resize a partition, we simply delete
the partition(s), and re-create them with smaller sizes.
NOTE: There is a non-destructive disk repartitioner available for
MS-DOS, called FIPS. Look on sunsite.unc.edu in the directory
/pub/Linux/system/Install. With FIPS, a disk optimizer, and a little
bit of luck, you should be able to resize MS-DOS partitions without
destroying the data on them.
If you're not using FIPS, however, the classic way to modify
partitions is with the program "fdisk". For example, let's say
that you have an 80 meg hard drive, dedicated to MS-DOS. You'd
like to split it in half---40 megs for MS-DOS and 40 megs for
Linux. In order to do this, you need to run "fdisk" under MS-DOS,
delete the 80 meg MS-DOS partition, and re-create a 40 meg
MS-DOS partition in its place. You can then format the new partition
and reinstall your MS-DOS software from backups.
Use of MS-DOS "fdisk" should be self-explanatory. The mechanism
used to repartition for OS/2 and other operating systems is similar.
3.2 Creating partitions for Linux
After repartitioning your drive, you need to create partitions
for Linux. Linux will require at least two partitions on your
drive: one for the software itself, and one for swap space.
(You can create multiple filesystems for Linux, each one on its own
partition. If you have previous UNIX experience, you will know how
to creatively partition your drive. However, most users simply use
one large root filesystem for all of the Linux software.)
In order to create these partitions, first boot the SLS a1 disk.
At the "LILO" prompt, press <ctrl> or <alt> to get a boot menu.
Follow the instructions there. In mose cases, all you need to
do is press <return>, unless you want to boot without the ramdisk.
After the system boots, login as "root" (no password). If you login
as "install" instead, you will be given an installation menu,
which will basically let you execute the steps below. However, for
this document, we will show you how to run the same commands by
hand.
3.2.1 Using fdisk
After logging in as root, run the command
fdisk <drive>
where <drive> is the name of the drive that you wish to create
Linux partitions on. Hard drive device names are:
/dev/hda First IDE drive
/dev/hdb Second IDE drive
/dev/sda First SCSI drive
/dev/sdb Second SCSI drive
...and so on. For example, to create Linux partitions on the
first SCSI drive in your system, use the command
fdisk /dev/sda
If you use "fdisk" without an argument, it will assume /dev/hda.
Use of fdisk is simple. The command "p" displays your current
partition table. "n" creates a new partition, and "d" deletes
a partition.
To Linux, partitions are given a name based on the drive which
they belong to. For example, the first partition on /dev/hda is
/dev/hda1, the second is /dev/hda2, and so on.
NOTE: You should not create or delete partitions for operating
systems other than Linux with Linux fdisk. That is, don't create
or delete MS-DOS partitions with this version of fdisk; use MS-DOS's
version of "fdisk" to do that. If you try to create MS-DOS partitions
with Linux fdisk, chances are MS-DOS will not boot correctly.
Here's an example of using fdisk. Here, we have a single
MS-DOS partition using 61693 blocks on the drive, and the
rest of the drive is free for Linux. We will create two Linux
partitions; one for swap, and one for the root filesystem.
First, we use the p command to display the current partition table.
As you can see, /dev/hda1 (the first partition on /dev/hda) is
a DOS partition of 61693 blocks. (1 block == 1024 bytes).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/hda: 16 heads, 38 sectors, 683 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 608 * 512 bytes
Device Boot Begin Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 * 1 1 203 61693 6 DOS 16-bit >=32M
Command (m for help):
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Next, we use the n command to create a new partition. The root
partition will be 80 megs in size.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Command (m for help): n
Command action
e extended
p primary partition (1-4)
p
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A primary partition is simply one of the 4 partitions on your drive.
An extended partition allows you to create multiple logical partitions
within it; this allows you to go over the four-partition limit on
the drive. In most cases, you should only use primary partitions
unless you need more than 4 partitions on a drive.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Partition number (1-4): 2
First cylinder (204-683): 204
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (204-683): +80M
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The first cylinder should be the cylinder AFTER where the last
partition left off. In this case, /dev/hda1 ended on cylinder 203,
so we start the new partition at cylinder 204.
As you can see, if we use the notation "+80M", it specifies a
partition of 80 megs in size. Likewise, the notation "+80K" would
specify an 80 kilobyte partition, and "+80" would specify just an
80 byte partition (not really possible since partitions must be
at least 1 block in size).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Warning: Linux cannot currently use 33090 sectors of this partition
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you see this warning, you can ignore it. It is left over from an
old restriction that Linux filesystems could only be 64 megs in
size. However, with newer filesystem types, that is no longer the
case... partitions can now be up to 4 terabytes in size.
Next, we create our 10 meg swap partition, /dev/hda3.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Command (m for help): n
Command action
e extended
p primary partition (1-4)
p
Partition number (1-4): 3
First cylinder (474-683): 474
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (474-683): +10M
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Again, we display the contents of the partition table. Be
sure to write down the information here, especially the size of
each partition in blocks. You need this information later.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/hda: 16 heads, 38 sectors, 683 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 608 * 512 bytes
Device Boot Begin Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 * 1 1 203 61693 6 DOS 16-bit >=32M
/dev/hda2 204 204 473 82080 81 Linux/MINIX
/dev/hda3 474 474 507 10336 81 Linux/MINIX
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note that the Linux swap partition (here, /dev/hda3) has type
"Linux/MINIX". We need to change the type of the swap partition to
"Linux swap" so that the installation program will recognize it.
In order to do this, use the fdisk "t" command:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Command (m for help): t
Partition number (1-4): 3
Hex code (type L to list codes): 82
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you use "L" to list the type codes, you'll find that 82 is the
code corresponding to Linux swap.
To quit fdisk and save the changes to the partition table, use the
"w" command. To quit fdisk WITHOUT saving changes, use the "q"
command.
3.2.2 Rebooting the system
After running fdisk and creating Linux partitions, reboot the system
(again with the SLS a1 disk), and login as root. It is important to
reboot after modifying the partition table, because the kernel only
detects partition sizes at boot time.
3.3 Creating filesystems and swap space
After rebooting the system, you need to prepare the filesystems and
swap space on the new partitions.
3.3.1 Using mkswap
First, the swap space. For this we use the command
mkswap -c <partition> <size>
where <partition> is the partition name, such as /dev/hda3, and
<size> is the size of the partition in blocks.
For example, if you created a swap partition on /dev/hda3 of
size 10336 blocks, use the command
mkswap -c /dev/hda3 10336
The -c option tells mkswap to check for bad blocks on the
partition when preparing the swap space. If you see any "read_intr"
error messages during the mkswap operation, this means that
bad blocks were found (and flagged). So you can ignore these errors.
To enable swapping on the new device, use the command
swapon <partition>
For example, for our swap space on /dev/hda3, we use
swapon /dev/hda3
We should now be swapping with 10 megs of extra virtual RAM on
/dev/hda3.
3.3.2 Using mke2fs
Next, we need to prepare the root filesystem, using the command
mke2fs. This creates an "ext2fs" type filesystem, which is just one
of the several types of filesystems available. ext2fs is the most
flexible and popular filesystem type to use; it allows filesystems
of up to 4 terabytes in size and 256-character filenames.
Several other filesystem types are still in use, such as the Minix
filesystem and the extended filesystem. However, because of the
limitations on these filesystem types, ext2fs is the most popular.
The syntax of the mke2fs command is
mke2fs -c <partition> <size>
For example, if we are creating a filesystem on /dev/hda2 with a
size of 82080 blocks, we use the command
mke2fs -c /dev/hda2 82080
Again, the -c switch tells mke2fs to check for bad blocks on the
partition.
If you are using more than one Linux filesystem, you will need to
use mke2fs for each one.
3.4 Installing the software
Installing the SLS release is simply a matter of using the
doinstall command. Before you begin, make sure that you have
a blank, high-density MS-DOS formatted diskette on hand. This
diskette will be used to create an SLS boot disk after the
installation procedure is complete; therefore, the diskette
must be of the type (either 3.5" or 5.25") that you will boot
from on your system (like the a1 disk).
To install the software, use the command
doinstall <partition>
where <partition> is the name of the Linux root partition.
For example, if your root partition is /dev/hda2, use the command
doinstall /dev/hda2
doinstall will prompt you for the install media (such as floppy,
or hard drive), and other information (such as what packages you
wish to install). The rest should be self-explanatory.
If you are using more than one filesystem for Linux, you need
to specify extra parameters to doinstall. For example, if your
root filesystem is on /dev/hda2, and your /usr filesystem is
on /dev/hda4, use the command
doinstall /dev/hda2 /dev/hda4 /usr
3.5 After installation
During installation, you will be given the option of either
creating a "boot floppy" (which you can use to boot Linux),
or to install LILO on your hard drive. LILO (which stands for
``Linux Loader'') is a boot loader program capable of booting
Linux and other operating systems on your hard drive. You select
the default operating system when installing LILO and can override
the default at boot time. More on this later.
If you created a boot floppy, you should be able to boot from it
and you will be running your very own Linux system. Login as
"root", and off you go.
If you installed LILO, you should have been prompted with a
number of options to define the operating systems that you wish
to boot from LILO. With LILO installed on your hard drive, you
should be able to boot from the hard drive and the default
operating system will start up. To override the default OS at
boot time, hold down <shift> or <ctrl> (or press <caps lock>)
while the system is booting; you will be presented with a boot
menu. At this menu, type "tab" to see a list of choices; just
type the name of the operating system that you wish to boot.
If you have a strange configuration (i.e., you're running OS/2's
Boot Manager, or something along those lines) then you may not
wish to install LILO at first (this automated installation procedure
has to make certain assumptions about your system, which may not be
correct if you have something like OS/2's Boot Manager). Instead,
you can modify the LILO configuration scripts yourself to suit
your needs; the main file is /etc/lilo/config. The LILO FAQ on
sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/docs/faqs should explain some of the
rudiments of editing this file; the lilo(8) man pages should also
help. LILO is not very difficult to configure.
After booting your system and logging in as root, one of the
first things you should do is create an account for yourself.
The "adduser" or "useradd" commands may be used for this
purpose, and should be fairly self-explanatory. After that, the
system is all yours... have fun!
4. Miscellaneous
I don't like to be biased towards the SLS release, however, in
order to document multiple releases of Linux, this file would be
much, much longer. It is simpler and more coherent to cover the
specific instructions for a single release of Linux. The book
``Linux Installation and Getting Started'' will in the future
cover releases other than SLS. However, because the installation
procedures are so varied, covering them all would be very confusing
both to myself and to the reader.
However, the basic concepts in this document still hold, no matter
what release of Linux you choose. For example, all releases require
you to run fdisk, mkswap, and mke2fs. The only real difference is
the method used to create the installation disks (if needed) and
the analogue to the "doinstall" command. If you choose to use a
release of Linux other than SLS, the READMEs and installation
instructions that come with that release should be easy to understand
in the context of the material presented here.
Some distributions of Linux have an automated installation program
which takes care of most of these details for you!
If you would like a more complete discussion of Linux installation
(instead of the "quick" examples given here), read the book
``Linux Installation and Getting Started", from sunsite.unc.edu
in /pub/Linux/docs/LDP. This document is intended only to get
new users started with Linux without a great deal of background.
The book, on the other hand, contains a complete discussion of
Linux, from start to finish, including tutorials on how to use the
system once you have installed it.
Please mail me (mdw@sunsite.unc.edu) if any part of this document
is confusing or incorrect. I am open to any suggestions and comments.
I also like to help answer questions about Linux installation, if you
have any.
Best of luck with your new Linux system!
Cheers,
mdw