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Before installing Linux, you must ensure that your computer meets certain minimum hardware requirements. You also need to have certain specific information ready concerning your monitor, video card, mouse, and CD-ROM drive. All the requirements are presented in detail in the following sections. Be sure to read them carefully before you begin installation. During the installation program, you need to provide responses that reflect the configuration of your computer.
Listed here are the minimum hardware requirements for installing a standard installation of the Linux system on an Intel-based PC:
A 32-bit Intel-based personal computer. At least an Intel or compatible 80386, 80486, or Pentium-class microprocessor is required. A 400 MHz Pentium is recommended for a graphical interface and 200 MHz for text.
A CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive (if you are using the DVD-ROM included with this book, you will need a DVD-ROM drive).
A 3 1/2-inch floppy disk drive and floppy disk, if your PC is not capable of booting from CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. A 3 1/2-inch, DOS high-density (HD) floppy disk drive is used to create an install disk (if you are installing from a floppy). If you install directly from a CD-ROM, you will not need it. A boot floppy can be created using either the Linux or Windows operating system.
Normally, at least 64MB RAM for text, and 192MB for graphical. (Linux can run on as little as 12MB RAM.) At least 2GB free hard disk space for a standard installation, including applications (keep in mind that Linux can run on far less on a minimum installation, as little as 100MB and 16MB swap); 3GB to 6GB or more is recommended for a full installation (all applications). You need about 5GB to install all the software packages on most distribution CD-ROMs. The standard installation of basic software packages normally takes 3GB, plus 64MB to 512MB for swap space, depending on the amount of RAM memory you have. If you have less than 1GB of hard disk space, you can elect to perform a minimum install, installing only the Linux kernel without most of the applications. You could later install the applications you want, one at a time, using the redhat-config-packages tool accessible on the System Settings window.
Hard disk requirements depend on the kind of installation you want:
Custom Installation (minimum): 520MB
Server (minimum): 870MB
Personal Desktop: 1.9GB
Workstation: 2.4GB
Custom Installation (everything): 5.3GB
These days, Linux is usually run on its own hard drive, though it can also be run in a different partition on a hard drive that also contains a separate partition for a different operating system such as Windows.
If you want to install Linux and Windows on the same hard drive, you can use a partition management software package, such as fdisk, fips, Parted, or Partition Magic, to set up your Windows and Linux partitions. If you have already installed Windows on your hard drive and configured it to take up the entire hard drive, you would resize its partition to free up unused space. The freed space could then be used for a Linux partition. See the Red Hat Linux x86 Installation Guide for more details.
Part of adapting a powerful operating system like Linux to the PC entails making the most efficient use of the computer hardware at hand. In almost all configurations, your Linux installation process will automatically detect and configure your hardware components. Sometimes, however, particularly with older or very recent hardware, your installer may not be able to correctly identify a component. If you have such components, such as a new model monitor or video card, you should first check their manuals and take note of certain configuration settings.
You will also need to determine how you want to use hardware resources, for example, how much of your hard disk you want to devote to Linux.
For some older SCSI CD-ROM drives, you need the manufacturer's name and model.
Decide how much of your hard drive (in megabytes) you want to dedicate to your Linux system. If you are sharing with Windows, decide how much you want for Windows and how much for Linux.
Decide how much space you want for your swap partition. Your swap partition should be about the same size as your RAM memory, but it can work with as little as 64MB. For system's with smaller RAM configurations, the swap disk should be twice the size of the RAM. The size of the swap partition was expanded with the 2.4 kernel. Your swap partition is used by Linux as an extension of your computer's RAM.
Find the make and model of the mouse you are using. Linux supports serial, USB, PS/2, IMPS/2, and bus mice. Most mice are supported, including Microsoft, Logitech, and Mouse Systems.
Know what time zone you are in and to what time zone your hardware clock is set. This can be either Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), also called Universal Coordinated Time (UCT), or your local time zone.
Know which kind of port your mouse is using, such as PS/2, USB, or serial port. Most systems now use a PS/2 port. For a serial port mouse, you will need to know which port it is connected to: COM1, COM2, or none.
Although most monitors and video cards are automatically configured during installation, you might still need to provide the manufacturer's make and model, in case the detection is wrong. Find out the manufacturer for your monitor and its model, such as Iiyama VisionMaster or Hitachi CM828. Do the same for your video card—for example, Matrox Millennium G400 or ATI Radeon (you can find a complete list of supported cards at www.xfree86.org). This should be listed on the manuals or registration information provided with your computer. For some of the most recent monitors and video cards, and some older, uncommon ones, you may need to provide certain hardware specifications. Having this information on hand, if possible, is advisable. At the end of the installation process, you are presented with lists of video cards and monitors from which to choose your own. These lists are extensive. If your card or monitor is not on the list, however, you need to provide certain hardware information about them. If the configuration should fail, you can always do it later using the X Window System configuration tool, redhat-config-xfree86. Of particular importance is the monitor information, including the vertical and horizontal refresh rates.
Video Card Information You should also know the following video card information, though the chipset is most likely not necessary. Your card will be automatically detected, but you should make sure the selection is accurate:
What is the make and model of your video card?
What chipset does your video card use?
How much memory is on your video card?
Monitor Information What are the manufacturer and model of your monitor? Linux supports an extensive list of monitors, covering almost all current ones. Your monitor will be automatically detected and selected. If the detection is wrong, you can find the correct one and select it from the list. If, however, your monitor is not on this list, you may need to provide the following information. Be sure this information is correct. If you enter a horizontal or vertical refresh rate that is too high, you can seriously damage older monitors. Newer ones will just shut down. You can choose a generic profile, or you can enter information for a custom profile. To do that, you need the following information:
If your ISP service or network uses DHCP, you will most likely not have to provide any configuration information. Most local networks, cable connections, and DSL connections now use DHCP to automatically configure hosts. Network information is provided automatically by a DHCP server. During the installation process, you will be given the option of either automatically configuring your network connection (DHCP) or entering the network information manually.
If you need to configure your network connection, you can also put configuration off until a later time and use network configuration utilities provided by your distribution to perform network configuration. All you need to do during installation is provide a hostname.
If you decide to manually configure your network connection, you will need the following information, usually obtainable from your network administrator:
The name for your computer (this is called a hostname). Your computer will be identified by this name on the Internet. Do not use "localhost," which is reserved for special use by your system.
The Internet Protocol (IP) address assigned to your machine. Every host on the Internet is assigned an IP address.
Your network IP address. This address is usually similar to the IP address, but with one or more zeros at the end.
The netmask. This is usually 255.255.255.0 for class C IP addresses. If, however, you are part of a large network, check with your network administrator.
The broadcast address for your network, if available. Usually, your broadcast address is the same as your IP address with the number 255 used for the last number.
The gateway IP address for your network. The gateway connects your network to a larger one like the Internet.
The IP address of any name servers your network uses.
The NIS domain and IP address if your network uses an NIS server.
The Samba server if your network is connected to a Windows network.
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