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When you boot the NLD system, your computer initializes its hardware (such as the processor). Then a boot loader, a small program that resides on the root partition of your hard drive, begins to load the Linux kernel and passes control of the system over to Linux (in this case NLD). The boot loader program actually provides a text screen that allows you to select boot options such as a regular boot (Linux) or a boot to a floppy or failsafe boot, which provides a command line only. Key Term Boot The process where a computer system is initialized, and an operating system is loaded. The boot loader provides options for how you want the system to boot. NLD then communicates with the computer's memory and other hardware components as it readies the system for use. As these events take place, the kernel writes them to the screen, so you will actually see messages related to hardware initializations and other boot events. The NLD boot process is displayed as messages on the screen. Tip If you even bother to watch the boot messages you will probably find that they don't make compelling entertainment. However, you actually can get troubleshooting tips from these messages if there is a problem with your system. As the kernel displays a message for a particular boot task it then adds the "done" tag. In cases where hardware fails to initialize or other problems arise, a message will be followed by the "failed" tag. After the system is loaded, the Logon Manager appears. This is where you enter your username and password to log on to NLD. Enter your username and password in the NLD Logon Manager. However, before walking through the actual logon process (which is only a couple of steps), let's briefly explore the options that the Logon Manager provides. These options come in the form of three menus:
Note Typically, you will want to use your default Session setting; this provides the desktop GUI you use on a regular basis (GNOME, for example).
Other graphical greeters can be configured for the Logon Manager such as the Happy GNOME with Browser greeter. Whether you take advantage of any of the configuration possibilities provided by the Logon Manager menus is really up to you. This book discusses NLD in terms of the installation defaults. |
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