Hi Kamal,
A great idea :)
1. I assume that your entire HDD is a single partition. Yes, it is possible
to load/use Linux without making a partition (it is called an UMSDOS
installation). But ....the pitfalls are performance hits...although UMSDOS
does work its is slower that what u get when you use the native ext2 FS of
linux...and if you happen to screw up your HDD, you have to reinstall
everything. Using UMSDOS is not an option I would like to recommend.
2. There are commercial tools like Partition Magic (now in its 4th
version), which will re-partition (even re-size existing partitions) your
HDD without wiping out the existing data. It is really a great piece of
work. However, if you don't have access to it, you can still use FIPS...an
excellent DOS-based util that allows you to re-partition your HDD while
preserving the existing data. FIPS happenes to be my tool of choice....I
have used FIPS to do around 55 installs till date, without a whisper of
trouble. FIPS is available on the PCQ CD under a directory called
"dosutils"...it has different versions for handling the brain-dead FAT16 FS
and its comatose half-brother FAT32.
IMP: It is important that you defragment your HDD before using FIPS. Do a
shutdown right after you finish defrag, restart the computer in the
command-line mode and run FIPS. (PLEASE REFER TO THE FIPS DOCUMENTATION ON
THE CD-ROM BEFORE YOU USE IT ON YOUR HDD).
3. The PCQ Red Hat CD is bootable, which means that you can boot the
machine right off the CD and proceed with the installation. But remember to
set your BIOS bootup option to use your CD-ROM drive as the first boot
device. In the unlikely event of your BIOS not supporting this option, you
can still install Linux...just go through the documentation that comes on
the CD to handle such a situation.
The Red Hat installation is simple and intuitive, with prompts and help
screens to guide you along. Choose the "expert" setup option at the boot
prompt. This option not only give you more flexibility, but complete
control what gets installed and where. For a first time installer, I would
recommend the use of Disk Druid than "fdisk" command for creating and
setting up the necessary partitions....you should have a minimun of 2
partitions...one Linux, one swap.
THE MOST IMPORTANTLY :Try to read up the available documentation on the CD
pertaining to the installation and the things to watch out for, before you
jump off to start installing it.
HAPPY LINUXING!
--Indra.
----------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Indranil Das Gupta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [ilug-cal] Loading LINUX first time
Date: Wednesday, June 23, 1999 11:34 AM
Hi
I haven't work on LINUX but I want to . I want to install RED HAT 5.2
(From PC Quest CD) on my computer (pentium,233MHZ,48MB RAM,2.1 GB HDD,
24x CD ROM,Windows 98). I have following questions.
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