What You Need

To follow along with this book, you must install the software found on the accompanying DVD. To do that, you need a PC with the following general configuration:

• An Intel Pentium or compatible CPU, 200Mhz Pentium or better (for text mode); 400Mhz Pentium II or better (for GUI mode). Fedora Core 3 has been optimized for Pentium PRO processors. (Intel 486 computers will not work with Fedora Core 3.)

• At least 64MB of RAM. To run the GNOME or KDE desktop you need 192MB, although Red Hat recommends 256MB.

• At least 620MB of hard disk space (you have to select a minimal install). You need 2.3GB of hard disk space for a personal desktop install, 3.0GB for a typical workstation installation, and at least 870MB of space for a server installation. To install everything, you need about 6.9GB of space.

• A DVD drive. This is recommended for installation (since we give you the installation DVD), although you can install from CD, over a network, or from a local hard disk instead. For network and hard disk installs, booting installation from a 3.5-inch floppy disk drive is no longer supported (beginning with Fedora Core 2). Chapter 2 describes methods of launching installation if you don’t have a bootable DVD drive. Once the install is started, you need either an extra hard disk partition or another computer (that can be reached over the network) that has packages or images of the Fedora Core distribution on it. (I tell you how to do that later, in case you’re interested.)

  Note 

  For the price of shipping and handling, we will send you the full set of nine Fedora Core 3 installation CDs that contain the same binary and source code packages contained on the DVD. See the coupon at the back of this book for information on obtaining those CDs.

Not every piece of PC hardware works with Fedora. While there is no official hardware compatibility list as there was for Red Hat Linux (available at http://hardware.redhat.com/hcl/), overall hardware support should be improved in Fedora Core 3.

Cross-reference: 

See Chapter 27 for information on improved hardware support included in the new 2.6 kernel. I also describe hardware requirements in more detail during descriptions of Fedora Core installation in Chapter 2.