Welcome to the world of Linux. Your first step in installing
Linux on your PC will begin by answering a few simple
questions about your hardware.
This checklist will make it easy for you and us to go through
the installation, painlessly and without surprises. Please
take your own time and fill up the following checklist.
Wherever possible, and necessary, we have given some
suggestions and hints, for your convenience.
If you don't know all the details, you should be able to find
them in your computer's manuals. Or, ask your hardware
vendor, or your local hardware "guru."
If you still have problems finding answers, don't worry --
you can just ignore any areas you don't know. Bring in
your machine and ALL manuals you have. The installation
may succeed with some trials and a lot of luck.
Remember, Linux, like many other software products, is a
growing product. Some of your hardware may still not be
supported in the version of Linux which is being installed.
Each question below can be identified by the section number followed by
the question number (e.g. Section 2.3.1 is a question on processor speed). If you
need any assistance/clarifications about the questions asked
in this form, please specify the section identifier
and the question number, and send an email to:
<algolog (at) hd1.vsnl.net.in> It is imperative that
you also include the version number of the checklist. The version number of
this checklist can be found on the first page of the document.
Assumptions:
You are interested in installing Linux on a PC (386 upwards).
You have a CDROM drive on your PC. You have made sure that
your proposed version of Linux supports this CDROM drive.
Check latest version of the
hardware howto at the Linux
Documentation Project (LDP).
You have at least one 3½" floppy diskette drive on
your system.
The 3½" diskette drive is a BOOTABLE drive.
You will keep readily available, three, bad-sector-free,
formatted (3½"), blank diskettes, for use in the
installation procedure.
If you wish to install Linux over a LAN, you have
confirmed that your network interface card is supported
by your version of Linux. Check latest version of the
hardware howto at the LDP.
Do you want X Window System (i.e. Graphic User
Interface for Linux) to be installed on your system ?
How many serial ports (COM ports) do you have on your PC ?
Are you planning to add dumb terminals to your PC ?
How many ?
Please mention below, any additional details you wish to add:
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Tip: If you are not sure if your CDROM is bootable or
not, power on the machine and go to BIOS settings (do not let
the PC bootup). Look for bootable drive options in the BIOS
settings.
What is the make and type of CDROM drive
[e.g. IDE ATAPI, Sony, S-B Pro/Panasonic, SCSI, true IDE ..] ?
On which drive interface [1st IDE, 2nd IDE, 3rd IDE,
4th IDE, SCSI, proprietary interface] and which drive
[drive 1 , drive 2, SCSI-ID 5] is the CDROM connected
(e.g. drive 2 of 1st IDE, SCSI-ID 5 of built-in SCSI
interface) ?
Tip: At this point, you must be clear about how your
Linux will be installed and on which disk etc. You must also
be clear how your Linux will be booted (there are
different possibilities).
Read the Installation howto
before you answer the following questions.
What type of drive do you have [IDE, SCSI, RLL, MFM ....] ?
How many partitions are there on your first disk drive ?
Name, type, size ? Collect these details also for other
disk drives you may have on this machine.
On which drive are you planning to install Linux (e.g. drive
2 of first IDE, or SCSI-ID 5 of built-in SCSI interface)
Can we re-partition your disk ? (All existing data
will be lost)
Which partitions can be reformatted to become Linux
partitions ? Note: All information recorded in this
partition will be erased.
How much of disk space can you give for Linux [50 MB minimum] ?
What is your second hard disk (if any)?
What is your third hard disk (if any)?
What is your fourth hard disk (if any)?
What is your fourth hard disk (if any)?
Do you have any SCSI device ? Which SCSI controller do
you have (if any)?
Do you plan to boot from your hard disk or floppy?
On which hard disk partition do you want LILO boot
loader to reside?
Do you wish to retain the original boot sector/master
boot record that is currently on your hard disk?
On which disk partitions will your Linux root reside?
Do you access the IDE drive in LBA mode (check your BIOS
settings) ?
Tip: If you do not have good documentation on your
VDU, try to look at the sticker (nameplate) on the back of
your VDU, you may find the answers to some of the questions
given below.
What kind of monitor do you have [Monochrome, Color]
[EGA, VGA, CGA ..] ? What make ?
Size of screen [14", 15", 19"] ? Is it an
interlaced monitor ?
What are the resolutions, and number of colors
possible on this monitor [600x480, 800x600, 1024x768]?
What is your monitor's vertical refresh rate / vertical
sync. frequency (could be a range)?
What is your monitor's horizontal refresh rate / horizontal
sync. frequency (could be a range) ?
Tip: Try to make a consolidated hardcopy list of I/O
addresses, IRQs, DMA-addresses used by the different devices
in your machine. Take care to find out the configuration
details of your VDU-driver card, Ethernet card, SCSI card etc.
Does your keyboard use a round connector (DIN-5) or
PS/2 connector?
Do you plan to use keyboard mapping to any non-US
keyboards [French, Greek, Cyrillic, ..] ?
Are you using any Plug & play devices ?
Are you using any sound card ? What card ? What I/O,
IRQ, DMA does it use ?
How many ISA spare slots do you have ?
How many EISA spare slots do you have ?
How many VESA spare slots do you have ?
How many PCI spare slots do you have ?
How many other (describe) spare slots?
What kind of other removable media do you have (can
be NONE)?
Do you have any other interesting hardware?
Please add any details you wish to highlight:
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Did you find this form clear ? Any suggestions for
improvement ?
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Thanks for filling out the form.
Please cross check the above responses, and keep the checklist
handy at the time of installation.