Last issue in this space, I provided
an overview on installing Linux. I wrote about system requirements, disk
partitions, and most importantly, backing up your hard drive. In this column, I
will take you through a detailed, step-by-step installation process.
Last issue in this space, I provided an overview on installing Linux. I wrote about system requirements, disk partitions, and most importantly, backing up your hard drive. In this column, I will take you through a detailed, step-by-step installation process.
Once you have backed up your hard drive, the first step to installing Linux is making a boot disk. Some distributions of Linux come with a boot disk already, so if the distribution you have comes with one, you can skip the next section.
The Boot Disk
You probably know that the process of starting up a computer is called “booting”. Most computers are configured to look for boot data on the floppy drive (drive “A”) first and then the hard drive (drive “C”). This is so that you can override your hard drive when starting up your computer. If your computer is not configured this way, you will have to enter your BIOS setup to change the “Boot Sequence.”
The point of this is that you want to start your computer with a Linux “boot” disk, and not from the hard drive. This will allow the PC to start up and run the special programs on the Linux installation CD that came with your distribution. You’ll need a working PC running some version of Microsoft Windows (or DOS) to do this. I’ll assume you’re running Windows.
To create the boot disk, insert a blank floppy into the floppy drive, and insert the installation CD…
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