Step 5 - Can You Install Using the Red Hat Linux CD-ROM?

Although there are several methods that can be used to install Red Hat Linux, this manual only focuses on installing from the CD-ROM. For instructions on alternative installation methods, refer to the Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide on the Documentation CD.

Installing from a CD requires that you have purchased a Red Hat Linux 7.0 boxed set (or have a Red Hat Linux CD-ROM) and have a CD-ROM drive. Most new computers will allow booting from the CD-ROM. With this method, you can easily use the Red Hat Linux CD-ROM to boot the installation program and perform a local CD-ROM installation.

Alternative Boot Methods

There are alternative boot methods available, if you cannot boot from the CD-ROM drive.

Local Boot Disk

You may need a local boot disk or a PCMCIA boot disk, if you cannot boot from the CD-ROM drive.

Included in your Official Red Hat Linux 7.0 boxed set is a local boot disk. However, if you do not have a local boot disk (for example, you downloaded Red Hat Linux rather than purchasing an official boxed set) you can make one. Refer to the section called Making Installation Diskettes for those instructions.

PCMCIA Boot Disk

You may need a PCMCIA boot disk if you are using a PCMCIA device to install Red Hat Linux. If you need a PCMCIA boot disk, you must create one. Refer to the section called Making Installation Diskettes for those instructions.

Here's a checklist to help you determine if you'll need to create a PCMCIA boot disk:

You will install Red Hat Linux from a CD-ROM, and your CD-ROM drive is attached to your computer through a PCMCIA card.
You will use a PCMCIA network adapter during the installation.

The PCMCIA boot disk image file is pcmcia.img, and is located in the images directory on your Red Hat Linux/Intel CD. Refer to the section called Making Installation Diskettes for more information.

	Please Note
	Although not required to boot your installation, you may occasionally find that a driver disk is needed for you to continue with the installation. The Driver Disks appendix in the Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide (on the Documentation CD) explains why a driver disk may be necessary for your installation, and how to obtain one if needed.

Making Installation Diskettes

It is sometimes necessary to create a diskette from an image file; for example, you may need to use updated diskette images obtained from the Red Hat Linux errata page or you may need to create a boot disk.

An image file contains an exact copy (or image) of a diskette's contents. Since a diskette contains filesystem information in addition to the data contained in files, the image file is not usable until it has been written to a diskette.

To start, you'll need a blank, formatted, high-density (1.44MB), 3.5-inch diskette. You'll need access to a computer with a 3.5-inch diskette drive, and capable of running an MS-DOS program, or the dd utility found on most Linux-like operating systems.

The images directory on your Red Hat Linux CD contains the boot images for Red Hat Linux/Intel. Once you've selected the proper image, transfer the image file onto a diskette.

Making a Diskette Under MS-DOS

To make a diskette under MS-DOS, use the rawrite utility included on the Red Hat Linux CD in the dosutils directory. First, label a blank, formatted 3.5-inch diskette appropriately (such as "Boot Disk" or "Updates Disk"). Insert it into the diskette drive. Then, use the following commands (assuming your CD is drive d:):

C:\> d:
D:\> cd \dosutils
D:\dosutils> rawrite
Enter disk image source file name: ..\images\boot.img
Enter target diskette drive: a:
Please insert a formatted diskette into drive A: and
press --ENTER-- : Enter
D:\dosutils>

First, rawrite asks you for the filename of a diskette image; enter the directory and name of the image you wish to write (for example, ..\images\boot.img). Then rawrite asks for a diskette drive to write the image to; enter a:. Finally, rawrite asks for confirmation that a formatted diskette is in the drive you've selected. After pressing Enter to confirm, rawrite copies the image file onto the diskette. If you need to make another diskette, label that diskette, and run rawrite again, specifying the appropriate image file.

Making a Diskette Under a Linux-Like OS

To make a diskette under Linux (or any other Linux-like operating system), you must have permission to write to the device representing a 3.5-inch diskette drive (known as /dev/fd0 under Linux).

First, label a blank, formatted diskette appropriately (such as "Boot Disk" or "Updates Disk"). Insert it into the diskette drive (but don't issue a mount command). After mounting the Red Hat Linux CD, change directory to the directory containing the desired image file, and use the following command (changing the name of the image file and diskette device as appropriate):

	      # dd if=boot.img of=/dev/fd0 bs=1440k

To make another diskette, label that diskette, and run dd again, specifying the appropriate image file.