What is Linux ?

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1. 
   Starting the Installation
   

1. 
   The Installation Program User Interface
   

If you've used a graphical user interface (GUI) before, you'll be familiar with this process. If not, simply use your mouse to navigate the screens, "click" buttons or enter text fields. You can also navigate through the installation using the Tab and Enter keys.

If you do not wish to use the GUI installation program, the text mode installation program is also available. To enter text mode, enter the following boot command:

2. 
   Booting without diskettes
   

The Red Hat Linux/Intel CD-ROM can also be booted by computers that support bootable CD-ROMs. Not all computers support this feature, so if yours can't boot from the CD-ROM, there is one other way to start the installation without using a boot disk. The following method is specific to Intel-based computers only.

D:\> cd \dosutils

D:\dosutils> autoboot.bat
This method will not work if run in a DOS window -- the autoboot.bat file must be executed with DOS as the only operating system. In other words, Windows cannot be running.
If your computer can't boot directly from CD-ROM (and you can't use a DOS-based autoboot), you'll have to use a boot diskette to get things started.

3. 
   Installing from CD-ROM
   

4. 
   What If the IDE CD-ROM Was Not Found?
   

b - First IDE controller, slave

c - Second IDE controller, master

d - Second IDE controller, slave

2. 
   Flow of installation:
   

First of all, it will prompt to choose language, keyboard type and the mouse type. Then it will enter the “Install options” section. The options are described previously (in page 2). In the top right-hand corner of the Install Type screen there is a box you may select if you wish to partition using fdisk. Note that fdisk is not as intuitive to use as Disk Druid and is not selected by default. If you have not used fdisk before, you should read about both fdisk and Disk Druid to determine which will best suit your needs.

1. 
   Partitioning with fdisk
   

Unless you have previously used fdisk and understand how it works, we do not recommend that you use it. Disk Druid is an easier and friendlier partitioning tool for those new to partitioning their system. To exit fdisk click Back to return to the previous screen, deselect fdisk, and then click Next.

Once you have chosen which drive to partition, you will be presented with the fdisk command screen. If you are unsure as to what command you should use, type m at the prompt for help. Please refer to the Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide for an overview of fdisk. When you've finished making partitions, type w to save your changes and quit. You will be taken back to the original fdisk screen where you can choose to partition another drive or continue with your installation.

2. 
   Partition Fields
   

A mount point is the location within the directory hierarchy at which a volume exists. The volume is said to be mounted at this location. This field indicates where the partition will be mounted. If a partition exists, but is "not set" you need to define its mount point. Double-click on the partition or use the Edit key.

This field displays the partition's device name.

This field shows the partition's original size. To re-define the size, you must delete the current partition and recreate it using the Add button.

This field shows the space currently allocated to the partition.

This field shows the partition's type (such as Linux Native or DOS).

3. 
   Choose Partitions to Format
   

If you wish to check for bad blocks while formatting each filesystem, please make sure to select the check for bad blocks option.

4. 
   Installing LILO
   

The recommended place to install LILO, unless the MBR already starts another operating system loader, such System Commander or OS/2's Boot Manager. The master boot record is a special area on your hard drive that is automatically loaded by your computer's BIOS, and is the earliest point at which LILO can take control of the boot process. If you install LILO in the MBR, when your machine boots, LILO will present a boot: prompt. You can then boot Red Hat Linux or any other operating system you configure LILO to boot.

Recommended if you are already using another boot loader on your system (such as OS/2's Boot Manager). In this case, your other boot loader will take control first. You can then configure that boot loader to start LILO (which will then boot Red Hat Linux).

3 Linux Basic Commands

To list out the content of the file.

e.g. >cat abc.txt
cd:

To change the current directory path.

e.g. >cd /usr/local
chgrp:

To change the group ownership of a file or directory.

e.g. >chgrp users /home/andy/share
chmod: [see below for detail]

To change the access right of a file or directory.

e.g. >chmod 644 /home/andy/share
chown:

To change the ownership of a file or directory.

e.g. >chown billy /home/andy/share
clear:

To clear the screen.

To copy files to destination.

e.g. >cp
crontab:

To control the scheduled execution time of programs or command for each user.

e.g. >crontab –u andy

The configuration is:

Min Hours Day month week day command
vi:

To edit a file content.

e.g. >vi abc.txt

There is a list of operation keystokes.

In this application, there are two modes. One is command mode, the other is insert mode. Insert mode allows users to edit the content of a document, while command mode is only give instruction to the application.
To trigger the insert mode, press the “i” in the keyboard. To trigger the command mode, press “Esc” in the keyboard.

The command list in the command mode are:

dd delete the row at the cursor.

u undo the previous change.

h move the cursor to the left.

j move the cursor to the next row.

k move the cursor to the previous row.

l move the cursor to the right.

:q! exit the editor.

:w save the changes to the file.

:wq save the changes and exit the editor.

To list out the directory files.

e.g. >ls –la
man:

To display the online help of a command.

e.g. >man ls
mkdir:

To make a new directory.

e.g. >mkdir mydocs
mv:

To rename a file.

e.g. >mv
passwd:

To set password for a user.

e.g. >passwd
pwd:

To display the current directory path.

e.g. pwd
rm:

To remove a file.

e.g. >rm /home/andy/share/test.txt
rmdir:

To remove a directory.

e.g. >rmdir /home/andy/share
su:

To change the user identity to supper user.

e.g. >su
tar:

To backup and restore files into a package.

e.g. >tar czvf backup.tar.gz *.txt for backup.

>tar xzvf backup.tar.gz /home/andy for restoring.

To load a file system mount

To unload a file system umount

e.g. >mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

>umount /dev/cdrom

What is a kernel?

It is that part of the system which manages the resources of whatever computer system it lives on, to keep track of the disks, tapes, printers, terminals, communication lines, and any other devices.
What is a Shell?

It is the command interpreter. Although the Shell is just a utility program, and is not properly a part of the system, it is the part that the user sees. The Shell listens to your terminal, and translates your requests into actions on the part of the kernel and the many utility programs.

For every file and every directory in the file system, there are three classes of users who may have access:

Owner, Group & Public with assigned right to

Read, Write & Execute.

Owner Permissions

Group Permissions

Public Permissions

e.g. ‘read-only mode’ file has these permissions: r - - r - - r - -
Changing Permissions with chmod
Just using the binary arithmetic, each permission in the group of nine is represented by a one, each protection (lack of permission) is represented by a zero.

So ‘ r w - r - - r - - ’ translates to ‘110100100’, or ‘644’ in octal notation.

400 40 4

100 10 1
The addition is 400+200+40+4=644

755 r w x r - x r - x