Preparing for the Install Process

The basic steps in installing Fedora are to plan, install, and configure. You have to decide how to boot to an install and how much room to devote to Linux. Then perform the install (a sample step-by-step installation is discussed in Chapter 3, "Installing Fedora") and afterward, configure your system to host new users and specific software services. Much of the initial work is done during the install process because the installer, Anaconda, walks you through partitioning, configuring the desktop, and configuration of any recognized network adapter.

There are many different ways to install Fedora Core, and selecting an installation method might depend on the equipment on hand, existing bandwidth, or equipment limitations. Here are some of the most commonly used installation methods:

• CD-ROM/DVD Using a compatible CD-ROM or DVD drive attached to the computer (laptop users with an external CD-ROM drive will need PCMCIA support from a driver disk image included under the first CD-ROM's images directory).

• DOS By using LOADLIN, you can boot to a Linux install by pointing LOADLIN to use a Fedora installation kernel and ramdisk. Run the DOS batch file, autoboot.bat, found under the dosutils directory on the first Fedora CD-ROM or DVD.

• Network File System (NFS) You can install Fedora from a remotely mounted hard drive containing the Fedora software. To perform this installation, you must have an installed and supported network interface card, along with a boot floppy with network support. (You learn how to make boot floppies later in this section of the chapter.)

• File Transfer Protocol (FTP) As with an NFS install, installation via FTP requires that the Fedora software be available on a public FTP server. You also need an installed and supported network interface card, along with a boot floppy with network support.

• Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) As with the FTP and NFS installs, installation via HTTP requires that the Fedora software be available on an accessible website. You also need an installed and supported network interface card, along with a boot floppy with network support.

• Installation via the Internet If you have the bandwidth, it might be possible to install Fedora via the Internet; however, this method might not be as reliable as using a Local Area Network (LAN) because of availability and current use of The Fedora Project or other servers on mirror sites.

• A hard drive partition By copying the .iso images to a hard drive partition, you can then boot to an install.

• Preinstalled media It is also possible to install Linux on another hard drive and then transfer the hard drive to your computer. This is handy, especially if your site uses removable hard drives or other media.

Note

More esoteric installations might be possible. Some Linux distributions support booting to an install via an Iomega Zip drive, via the Parallel Port Internet Protocol (PLIP), and even a nullmodem cable supporting the Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) or Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP). Browse to http://www.tldp.org/ and read Gilles Lamiral's PLIP Install HOWTO to see how to install Red Hat 7.0 using your PC's parallel port. After it is installed, you can then try to upgrade to Fedora. However, you need to be prepared for an uphill struggle!

After booting and choosing to use either a graphical or text-based install interface, the installation procedure is nearly the same for each type of install. Chapter 3 walks you through a typical CD- or DVD-based installation.

Preparing to Install from a CD-ROM

Installing Fedora can be as simple as inserting the first CD/DVD into your computer's CD drive and rebooting the computer. But if you choose this method, you should first make sure that your system's BIOS is set to boot from CD-ROM.

Entering the BIOS to make this change is usually accomplished by depressing a particular key, such as Del or F2, immediately after turning on the computer. After entering the BIOS, navigate to the BIOS Boot menu, perhaps such as that shown in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1. To boot to an install using your Fedora Core CD-ROM or DVD, set your BIOS to have your computer boot using its CD drive.