| ==Installing Fedora==
| Basic Guide on installing Fedora including basic drivers.
|
| This tutorial explains how to freshly install Linux (Fedora)
|
What is Linux exactly?
Well, Linux isn't actually an OS. Linux is the kernel used by many different OSs that "make" it Linux. Linux was developed by Linus Torvalds as open-source (or OSS - Open Source Software) meaning it can be tinkered with, tweak, and generally screwed with to your hearts desire.
This is great for people wanting a fully customized system, or a system optimized for their specific hardware. There are a bounty of Linux "distros" (distributions) that you can choose from, the most popular being Ubuntu, Fedora, Gentoo, Mandriva, and openSuSE. There are others that have been popular for a while like Debian, and others that are also just gaining popularity like Arch that are also excellent choices.
[edit] Finding a Distro
Like I said above, there are many distros to choose from. It can be a little overwhelming at first deciding on what exactly you want the system to do, how you want it to look, etc. There is a great site called DistroWatch that is a compilation for every Linux/UNIX distro out there with details on every one, and links to screenshots and download sites. You can browse the different distros if you'd like, but now I will also give my personal recommendations. I have worked most extensively with 3 distros, those being Ubuntu, Gentoo, and Fedora. Ubuntu is considered the "easiest" distro for people new to Linux, because most of the hard stuff (and fun stuff) is done for you. You can get away with not using the command line at all (the command line lets you do just about anything you want) and use it just how you would Windows. Gentoo is the exact opposite. Gentoo is installed all via command line, and after the install completes, you have a black screen with command prompt. You install everything else you want after, making this the best distro for a lightweight, or fully customized OS. It is considered Gentoo isn't for people new to Linux, but it's also a great way to learn and become familiar with Linux. Finally, Fedora is a lot like Ubuntu, meaning it's a very friendly distro, and has the most compatibility and software being developed by the Red Hat team.
[edit] Getting your distro
Getting your distro is pretty straight forward. Go to DistroWatch[1] and download it from there, or go to the homepage of it and download it from there. You'll download a .ISO image file that needs to be burned to either a CD or DVD as an image file. You will probably have an option to do this on your burning software, but they are all different. I use Deepburner, which as an option when starting to "Burn ISO Image" (or something like that). Choose that option on yours. Navigate to the image you saved to your drive, and start burning. It is recommended that you burn it at the lowest speed possible to avoid errors, but if you can't control the speed you'll usually be fine. Then, wait for it's done, grab the CD out of the drive, and label it .
[edit] Installing
This section will only cover normal Install. A normal install will just erase everything or install on a fresh hard drive. WARNING, this procedure will erase everything on your hard drive
Once you have burnt your Fedora ISO to DVD:
[edit] Booting from the install disc
If it isn't already set to do this, change the boot order in your BIOS to CD, then Hard Drive, then whatever you want. Let it boot into the DVD, which will run the installer.
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/001_bootup_msg.jpg
Hit enter to install. (Don't worry that it also says upgrade, that's only if you have an older Fedora installed.)
[edit] Install media check
Run the disc check. This will make sure that you can actually use the DVD to install with. You don't want to format your hard drive, only to find out that the install can't complete because the DVD wasn't burned right.
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/002_test_install_media.jpg
If the DVD passes the disc check then everything is alright, and you can install. If not, then you'd better try burning another copy.
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/003_mediacheck_pass.jpg
At this time, if you have more than one install disc, you can check them also.
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/004_continue.jpg
If all goes well, you should get this screen:
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/005_fedora_screen.jpg
I have found that with a monitor connected to the DVI out, the installer had problems with the display. So use an SVGA monitor until you have the proper drivers for your hardware.
[edit] Language Selection
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/006_language.jpg
There are many many languages to choose from, and the installer will run in the language you select. (This will also become the default language for the installed system)
[edit] Keyboard Layout Selection
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/007_keyboard.jpg
The vast majority of people reading this will use the US English layout keyboard.
The US English keyboard has a '#' symbol over the '3', and no /special/ character keys. (e.g. ö,ä,å,)
The UK English keyboard has a '£' symbol over the '3', and the '#' next to enter,but no special keys.
[edit] Partitioning your hard drive
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/009_partition_setup.jpg
Select "Remove all partitions and create default layout", this will remove everything installed on your hard drive and create the standard partition layout. (There are other resources about partitioning your hard drive if you want to dual boot, but they are out of the scope of this article.)
[edit] Are you *really* sure?
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/010_warning.jpg
The message may be slightly different but the meaning is the same. If you click 'Yes', you will begin the irreversible process of partitioning and formatting your hard drive.
[edit] Setting up network
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/011_network_setting.jpg
If you know what your network setup should be, then fill in the information here. If not, then let it try to auto-configure your network.
[edit] Manual Network Setup
If you want to set the network up manually, you get these windows in which to put your IP address, hostname, etc.
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/012_network_interface.jpg
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/013_hostname_gateway_dns.jpg
[edit] Choosing your timezone
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/014_timezone.jpg
You can either find your timezone in the dropdown box, or find the nearest city on the map.
[edit] Setting up a root password
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/015_root_password.jpg
The root user is the system administrator. root can do *anything*, including deleting everything on your hard drive. Therefore, you should choose a strong root password that is difficult to guess. But don't forget it, because if your forget the root password, you will have a hard time trying to reset it.
[edit] Choosing your software
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/016_select_software.jpg
For the average user, only the Office and Productivity packages need to be selected. You can either choose to leave the Customization to later and have a default system, or choose exactly what software you want/need.
[edit] Customising your install
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/017_customize.jpg
If you choose to customise your install, you will have exactly the system you want, however, it does take longer.
[edit] Starting the install.
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/018_install.jpg
Click next, and the install starts...
While the install is completing, you will have a progress bar that lets you know what is being installed and where the install is overall.
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/019_install_process.jpg
During this time, you may want to get a cup of coffee, as this can take a while depending on how much you are installing.
[edit] Reboot!
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/020_complete.jpg
Click the reboot button and remove the disc from the drive. The PC should then boot from your newly installed Fedora Linux. You should see something like this: http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/021_grub_boot.jpg
before Fedora boots. If you had set up a dual boot system, this is where you could choose what OS you boot.
Step 11: Booting Fedora for the first time.
You should be presented with this screen:
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/023_welcome_screen.jpg
Click forward to move on to the next screen
This will bring up the license agreement...
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/024_license.jpg
The standard license that the software is released under is the GNU GPLv2. http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html
[edit] Setting up your firewall
We all know how important a well set up firewall is, so decide what you want to let through the firewall and close everything else.
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/025_firewall.jpg
By putting a tick in a box you are opening up that program's port in your firewall.
[edit] SELinux
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/026_selinux.jpg
Unless you know what you are doing, this should be left as default.
[edit] Date & Time setting.
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/027_date_time.jpg
This is where you check that the date and time are set correctly.
[edit] Setting up your user account
earlier you set up the root account. This should *only* be used for system administration tasks, otherwise a security flaw in a program may let a malicious user take over your PC.
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/029_create_user.jpg
Set this up how you want.
[edit] Setting up your sound card
This is generally easy, as the software does the work for you.
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/030_sound_card.jpg
After going through the login screen:
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/031_login_username.jpg
you will see your desktop. Unfortunately, for the first run, this will be in 800x600 screen resolution.
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/034_kde_desktop.jpg
http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/033_gnome_desktop.jpg
[edit] Using Proprietary Drivers
If you use an NVIDIA graphics card, or an AMD/ati card, you may want to use the proprietary drivers to get 3D accelleration/better screen resolutions.
[edit] Nvidia
[edit] Downloading the Drivers
- Download the driver package from http://www.nvidia.com/object/unix.html
Choose the correct drivers for Linux, and the correct driver package for your platform.
[edit] Logging in as root
When you have downloaded the driver package (remember where it's saved...)
press Control+Alt+F1 to switch to a console.
Your screen should now look like this: http://www.labtestproject.com/screenshot/fedora_7/images/035_text_login.jpg
use the login name 'root' and then root's password
You will then have a prompt that looks like this:
root@localhost ~#
[edit] Finding the Installer
Move to the directory where you downloaded the driver package
you can do this using cd.
Usually, this is in the home directory of the user who downloaded it.
for example, if your username is *bob*, then type the following:
cd /home/bob/
[edit] Going into single user mode
Type init 3
Some cryptic looking messages should scroll down the screen, the computer is now in runlevel 3, this means that the system does not have the GUI running-
Type clear to clear the screen, which will make the next part a little bit easier.
[edit] Running the Installer
Now you should type something like ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86-100.14.19-pkg1.run (This will change with different driver versions.)
The NVIDIA driver installation should begin installing. Follow the on-screen instructions.
If all goes well, you should get no error messages and the installation should have built a 'module' for the kernel.
It will then ask you if you want to change the xorg.conf file to use this module. Select 'yes', and the display config file will be changed to use the official drivers.
[edit] Returning to GUI mode
When you return to the prompt, type init 5; logout
This will switch back to runlevel 5.
You will get the NVIDIA splash screen and then your login screen should appear.
If this works, then congratulations, you have successfully installed the NVIDIA drivers!
