Main index

Introducing UNIX and Linux

Installing Linux

Overview
Starting out
Preliminaries
      Collecting information about your system
      Installation options
Single boot
Dual boot
      Booting from CD/floppy
      Booting from your hard disk
      A partitionless install
      A dedicated Linux partition
Emulators
      VMware
      WINE
Installing Linux
      Installer software
      Linux partitioning
            Typical partitions
            User accounts
      LILO
The window manager
KDE
      Desktop help
      Applications
      The KDE Control Center
      File access and the command prompt
Summary

Single boot

If you are installing Linux on an old computer (without a CD drive, with 32Mb of memory or less, or with a 75MHz processor or thereabouts) then you will find that the way in which you install Linux is already limited. In this case you must install Linux as a 'single boot' system. This means that you must essentially forfeit your previous operating system for your new version of Linux. While this is not always what people want (as you may still want to use Windows from time to time), this is the simplest way to install Linux on your machine. You need to partition your hard disk before Linux can be installed. It is therefore worth checking whether the version of Linux you have chosen has its own partitioning software as part of the software bundle. If not, you will have to use the DOS/Windows FDISK (Fixed Disk Utility) program. The single boot option does have a number of benefits. For example, it provides a fast, reliable and easy to use system.

Note