Preface

Table of Contents
An Overview of This Manual
Quick Start Information
Upgrading from a Prior Version of Red Hat Linux
A Word From the Developers
Notes from the Editor

Welcome! And thank you for your interest in Red Hat Linux We have what we think is the best Linux distribution on the market today, and we work hard to keep it that way.

Red Hat Linux 6.1 is the latest in a long line of software from Red Hat. We hope you enjoy using Red Hat Linux as much as we've enjoyed bringing it to you.

One of the difficulties many users new to Linux encounter is the necessary "learning curve," which accompanies any new experience. After all, many new users are accustomed to working "just so"; having to make some adjustments can cause a bit of frustration.

Have patience, and you'll begin to see the flexibility and power that millions of Linux users have already discovered.

Installing an operating system can take some time. The brains behind the brawn of your computer, an OS isn't exactly like installing a single application. Installing Red Hat Linux takes time, patience, knowledge of your hardware components -- and sometimes, a little luck.

We hope our installation and user documentation will help you throughout these important first steps. If this is your first time using or installing Linux, please read through this entire manual before attempting your installation. You might also want to make notes of your hardware components and refer to http://www.redhat.com/corp/support/hardware/index.html to make certain that your computer's hardware is compatible.

If you use another operating system, you should pay particular attention to partitioning details outlined in the Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide.

And please register your product as soon as possible. Registration of Red Hat Linux 6.1 entitles you to installation support, preferred FTP access and more. Sign up at www.redhat.com/now.

Thanks again for supporting Red Hat. We hope you have an enjoyable experience using Red Hat Linux.

An Overview of This Manual

This manual is organized to guide you through the process of installing Red Hat Linux with ease. Toward that goal, let's take a glance at each chapter to help you get acclimated:

Chapter 1:: contains information concerning new functionality that has been added to Red Hat Linux 6.1.
Chapter 2:: discusses tasks you should perform prior to starting the Red Hat Linux installation.
Chapter 3:: contains detailed instructions for starting the Red Hat Linux installation process.
Chapter 4:: covers start to finish instructions on installing Red Hat Linux from a CD-ROM using the new graphical interface.
Appendixes:: discusses Red Hat's support offerings and a tutorial on making boot disks.