Chapter 1: Install Options

DSL offers a number of methods for installation. Your installation choice is determined by size, mobility, and hardware. This is the most flexible Linux distribution available because it is not so small that it cannot support meaningful programs like, OpenOffice and yet it is not so large that it cannot support embedded installations into Compact Flash disks or PenDrives.

Using the Live CD

A Live CD is a CD that you can put into the CD tray of any computer, reboot the computer and if the BIOS is set to boot the CDROM first, it will start up and give you a entire operating system. The Live CD functions just like if you had it installed on the computer except that the whole system runs off the CDROM and the RAM of your computer. By default the Live CD will not write to your hard drive so it will not damage the hard drive or the contents of the hard drive. This provides a safe way to test the CD to learn Linux or to see how well it will detect your hardware.

If you burn the distro onto a small sized CD you can fit it into your pocket and make it very mobile.

Advantages of the Live CD

• Run an operating system separate from the one installed on the hard drive

• Run an operating system that will not damage the system on the hard drive

• Test hardware compatibility

• Creates a totally mobile operating system

Disadvantages of a Live CD

• RAM and CDROM slower than a hard drive install

• Configuration must be saved in order for it to be the same

• Need a location to save files if not on the hard drive

The point of the Live CD is to explore the operating system as well as to explore the potential that exists for creating a more permanent solution to using Linux. In order to explore that potential several hardware issues will need to be resolved. Those hardware issues are:

1. Video capability of the host computer

2. RAM or system memory that is available

3. Location to save files, configuration etc.

4. Setup and Maintain Network Capabilities

Frugal Install

The Frugal Install is an installation of a compressed image of DSL that you have saved to the hard drive. In other words, it is the same as booting the CD except the image is not on a CDROM it is on the hard drive. The new DSL-N system only offers frugal as a hard drive option for install. The advantages of Frugal far exceed the option of using a regular install for a hard drive.

The advantages of a Frugal Install is that:

1. It does not take much of a partition in terms of space

2. It is faster than a CDROM

3. It is more convenient than a CDROM

4. Save to Hard Disk

5. Can use on Compact Flash Disk

6. Easy Upgrade

In order to perform the Frugal Install all you need on the hard drive is one 55 MB partition that is configured as a Linux partition with fdisk, type 83. You may want to configure it just like the above example for a hard drive install and have several partitions, swap, dsl and maybe a Mydsl partition to save your personal settings. Whatever you choose the basics are a 55 MB partition so you can copy the DSL image over to the hard drive. Note that whatever you do the partition that you use for the Frugal Install must be on the Primary Hard Drive, /dev/hda. So choose or create a partition on the hard drive that will work.

Use the directions for fdisk and configuring your hard drive from the hard drive install.

Boot: Install

When you choose the install option you have all of the installation options for DSL at your fingertips.

When you choose install at the prompt you will see this screen so you may choose 4 or 5 determined by which boot loader you would like to use. In this example the Grub option was chosen.

You will be asked where to install DSL, be sure to choose the right partition. Remember you need at least 55 MB. The size of your configuration may vary with the equipment that you are using. If you configured your system so the first partition is the swap space then you would install to hda2, the second partition.

Now you will be asked if you are installing from the LiveCD[L], a Pendrive[P}, a File[F], or the Web[W]. Typically it will be the LiveCD so type l.

When you perform this Frugal Install it will ask if this is an Upgrade (in this case you will not want to format) or a New install which may be a good idea to format. Just remember, formatting destroys everything on that partition. At this point the image will be placed on the hard drive. Once the transfer is done you will see a message similar to this:

Grub Installation Completed.
Press Enter Key .

You will be taken back to the DSL Install Options. Choose Reboot to start the system again.

If you chose Grub when it boots, after removing the CD, you will see four options if you are using a laptop. You may use the arrow keys to make your choice. If you know the resolution of your screen choose that option otherwise choose DSL to see if the system will detect your video correctly.

Upgrading a Frugal Install

The real importance of a Frugal install is that it is easy to upgrade. There are several ways to upgrade. Simply copy the new KNOPPIX file from the CD and replace the old KNOPPIX file. Another way is to boot the new CD and do a Frugal install which will essentially do the same thing.

Hard Drive Installation

Using DSL on a Live CD is a great option and allows users to try the distribution or use it in circumstances that do not allow an installation on a hard drive. That process is straightforward. However, there is a real value in using DSL to refurbish old discarded equipment.

Old Laptops

Laptops are typically tougher to configure than desktops because of the video issues. However, DSL does an excellent job in determining the correct screen settings in many different configurations. An IBM 380XD can easily be configured to be a very usable workstation. You could probably find an old laptop at a garage sale and create a new workstation.

Old Computers

Almost every family has an old computer that is not being used. And at the same time most of those families could use an extra desktop or backup server. DSL on an old system can make both of those happen easily.

Mini-ITX Systems

As mini-itx grows in interest, people will be looking for an operating system that can install on a smaller slower set of hardware. DSL provides a great option and enables the user to have a very functional desktop.

Preparing for The Hard Drive Installation

Caution: Changes to a hard drive during partitioning will most certainly mean that data will be lost on that drive. Be sure you back up important information first.

Create Partitions

Boot your Live CD and then become root on the system. You will completely destroy all information on the computer so backup anything that you need! The command to change to root is:

sudo su

You will see a new prompt to indicate that you are root. Now you need to create the partitions for the operating system to be placed on.

Creating a Partition

You must be root to complete this process.

Print the partition entries - see what is there before you begin the process.

It is always a good idea to verify that what you are about to destroy is what you want to destroy. No doubt about it, if you partition it all information will be gone.

fdisk -l

Now you can see what partitions are there. The next step is to use fdisk to change the partition setup.

fdisk /dev/hda

Now you should see the partitions as well as a command prompt for fdisk.

Command (m for help):

Type m to see the command list.

Delete unwanted partitions

Once you have verified that you want to get rid of the existing partitions, use the d option to delete them.

d

Partition number (1-4): Enter the number that is the partition you want to remove.

Type the p command to print out the current status, you should see that the partition you selected has been removed.

Discuss DSL Install
Live DSL Install Training Class

Create new partitions

Before you create new partitions it is important that you ask yourself what you want to do on the drive, is it a workstation or server, each will have different needs. Use the n option to create the new partitions.

n

Command action e extended

p primary partition (1-4)

For DSL you want two partitions, both to be primary partitions, 1 and 2. The first partition will be used for a swap file and the second will be used to install DSL on. This assumes there is nothing else on the disk.

Because you want both to be primary partitions choose p and then choose 1 to setup the first partition. When it asks where to start at the first cylinder of the disk just select Enter to take the default. The last cylinder will determine the size, choose a size about twice the size of your existing RAM. You can enter the size in megabytes by using a +128M or similar. +128M creates a 128MB partition.

Follow the same process for the second partition except this partition you want to take the remainder of your disk. This will be your 2^nd primary partition on the drive and you will then hit Enter for both the start of the cylinder and the end to take the rest of the disk. Now use the p option and you should see something similar to this:

/dev/hda1 1 122 491872+ 83 Linux

/dev/hda2 123 788 2685312 83 Linux

In this example the start for hda1 is 1 and it ends at 122 while hda2 starts at 123 until the end of the disk. The 83 number tells you that the ID for these partitions is Linux. You will need to change one to a swap format.

Verify Partition Types

View the partition types that you may need with the l option and then check that each of your partitions is the correct type.

The first partition will need to be changed to 82 which is the ID for swap. The t option is used to change the format. When you use t fdisk will ask for which partition. It should be the first smaller partition. Then it will ask which hex code and the number is 82 for swap.

/dev/hda1 1 122 491872+ 82 Linux swap

/dev/hda2 123 788 2685312 83 Linux

Type the p option to view your partitions, you should see one is swap like the example above.

Write the Information to Disk

Nothing has changed on the drive until you use the w option, then all the information that you have created will be written to the drive. When you write to disk using the w option it will be forever changed!!!!!!! So be careful you have a backup. Once you use the w option you will see the disk syncing. You may have to restart to get both partitions setup.

Now you may begin the installation of DSL on the disk. You will use the first partition for swap and the second for DSL.

Typical Hard Drive Install

Step One: Boot the Live CD

You will need the Live CD to be running on the computer to install to the hard drive. Make sure you get the latest version as versions are constantly updated. The CD will boot to a boot prompt with an image of the DSL Live CD. This is where the real fun begins.

boot:

Here you have three options that are important to understand. If you choose Enter you will get the Live CD up and running and perform the installation from there. However, you can also install from the command line at the boot prompt. You may choose F2 or F3, both have a lot of options to use for a person who would like to install. You may think that the Boot Options are too hard to understand or that it is just flat boring ....however, there is a treasure of information and configuration options that are just waiting for you here. Spend an hour playing with these options before you do an install you will be completely amazed at what you will learn!

Video Display Options

Boot: Install

When you choose the install option you have all o f the installation options for DSL at your fingertips.

The boot floppy and USB boot floppy will require you to have network access to the DSL install files.

Install to Hard Drive

In order to install to a hard drive you will need a t least a 200 MB Linux partition already created. If you are not sure you have the partitions created you can choose quit and you will go to a prompt where you will be able to use fdisk to create the partitions. If you quit and go to the prompt do a:

sudo su

Now you will have root access to configure the partitions. The first thing you need to make sure that if you are going to do a dual boot with Windows you should have two partitions already made and Windows should be on the first partiton /dev/hda1. The problem if it is not on the first partition is that Windows works best when it has the Master Boot record on the Windows partition, not the Linux partition. This installation is for a Linux only computer so dual boot is not covered here.

Print the partition entries - see what is there before you begin the process.

It is always a good idea to verify that what you are about to destroy is what you want to destroy. No doubt about it, if you partition it all information will be gone.

fdisk -l

Now you can see what partitions are there. The next step is to use fdisk to change the partition setup.

fdisk /dev/hda

Now you should see the partitions as well as a command prompt for fdisk.

Command (m for help):

Type m to see the command list.

Delete unwanted partitions

Once you have verified that you want to get rid of the existing partitions, use the d option to delete them.

d

Partition number (1-4): Enter the number that is the partition you want to remove.

Type the p command to print out the current status, you should see that the partition you selected has been removed.

Create new partitions

Before you create new partitions it is important that you ask yourself what you want to do on the drive, is it a workstation or server, each will have different needs. Use the n option to create the new partitions.

n

Command action e extended

p primary partition (1-4)

For DSL you want two partitions, both to be primary partitions, 1 and 2. The first partition will be used for a swap file and the second will be used to install DSL on. This assumes there is nothing else on the disk.

Because you want both to be primary partitions choose p and then choose 1 to setup the first partition. When it asks where to start at the first cylinder of the disk just select Enter to take the default. The last cylinder will determine the size, choose a size about twice the size of your existing RAM. You can enter the size in megabytes by using a +128M or similar. +128M creates a 128MB partition.

Follow the same process for the second partition except this partition you want to take the remainder of your disk. This will be your 2^nd primary partition on the drive and you will then hit Enter for both the start of the cylinder and the end to take the rest of the disk. Now use the p option and you should see something similar to this:

/dev/hda1 1 122 491872+ 83 Linux

/dev/hda2 123 788 2685312 83 Linux

In this example the start for hda1 is 1 and it ends at 122 while hda2 starts at 123 until the end of the disk. The 83 number tells you that the ID for these partitions is Linux. You will need to change one to a swap format.

Verify partition types

View the partition types that you may need with the l option and then check that each of your partitions is the correct type.

The first partition will need to be changed to 82 which is the ID for swap. The t option is used to change the format. When you use t fdisk will ask for which partition. It should be the first smaller partition. Then it will ask which hex code and the number is 82 for swap.

/dev/hda1 1 122 491872+ 82 Linux swap

/dev/hda2 123 788 2685312 83 Linux

Type the p option to view your partitions, you should see one is swap like the example above.

Write the information to disk

Nothing has changed on the drive until you use the w option, then all the information that you have created will be written to the drive. When you write to disk using the w option it will be forever changed!!!!!!! So be careful you have a backup. Once you use the w option you will see the disk syncing. You may have to restart to get both partitions setup.

Reboot the Live CD and type:

Boot: install

When you choose the install option you have all o f the installation options for DSL at your fingertips. If you followed the partition steps you also have all of the needed partitions available.

You will be asked where to install DSL, on what partition, be sure to choose the right partition. Remember you need at least 200 MB. The size of your configuration will vary with the equipment that you are using. If you configured your system so the first partition is the swap space then you would install to hda2.

You will also be asked if you want multi-user logins. The next question will be if want to use a journalized ext3 system or a ext2 system. If this is being installed in an older computer use the ext2 because systems that use journals take RAM and processing to do this journaling. Once that is answered you will be given a final warning that the install will likely destroy data on the partitions you will use....so be careful.

Choose yes and the install will begin.

Now you may begin the installation of DSL on the disk. You will use the first partition for swap and the second for DSL. This will take a few minutes and then you will be asked to install a boot loader. Once you choose yes you will have the option to choose Grub or Lilo.

Make a choice and then you will be asked if you have a Windows partition on the first partition hda1. If yes select yes, if not choose no. This is just to make sure the boot loader does not destroy the master boot record for Windows if you wanted to dual boot.

If you chose Grub when it boots, after removing the CD, you will see four options if you are using a laptop. You may use the arrow keys to make your choice. If you know the resolution of your screen choose that option otherwise choose DSL to see if the system will detect your video correctly.

DSL

DSL fb800x600

DSL fb1024x768

Dsl fb1280x1024

The first boot you will need to create a password for both root and dsl the default user. Make sure you use good passwords and remember them as they will be the key to using the system.

Once that is complete you will go to a boot prompt to login as dsl. Enter the username and password and click Enter.

Install Complete.

After Install: Turn Swap on

Swap is a physical location on the hard drive that allows the operating system to move data from RAM that is not being used to the hard drive for temporary storage. Swap space is used when RAM is getting low. Use these two command to turn on swap.

mkswap /dev/hda1

swapon /dev/hda1

First Time Boot After Install to hard Drive:

If you have installed DSL to the hard drive you will be asked to create two passwords once it boots. You will need to create a root password and the dsl password. Be sure to remember these passwords.

Create a Floppy Boot Disk

Download the floppy boot disk, or your choice, note one is a regular floppy boot and the other is a USB floppy boot. The boot images look like this:

bootfloppy.img

or

bootfloppy-usb.img

If you are running DSL on the Live Cd you can use this command to create a floppy boot disk:

 dd if=bootfloppy.img of=/dev/fd0

“Poorman's” Install

If the computer you are using is an older computer with DOS/Win95/WinME you may also do a “Poorman's” install by copying the directory \KNOPPIX\KNOPPIX file from the Live CD to C:\KNOPPIX\KNOPPIX. This is case sensitive.  Reboot the machine using a floppy boot disk and it will run.  If you copy the boot.img to the C:\KNOPPIX directory, you will be able to boot and then install onto the hard drive.