Starting off 1

[Zelandakh]

I spent some time downloading Red Hat 6.0, all 500Mb of it. It is now sitting on my NT Server waiting for me to do something about it. I have uncompressed it and burned it to CD. I know I need to create a floppy disk to boot from to start the install. I know the file I need is rawrite.exe.<br>
<br>
Now what? I am that new to Linux, but well established on certain other OSs.<br>
<br>
Help would be appreciated.

 

[robherc]

OK...first; try just simply booting from the CD; it's a shot, but many Linux images already have the booting data integrated. If this doesn't work, just let me know; I'm at the school right now & thus have 0 access to my RedHat 6.0 CD, but I can let you know <i>exaclty</i> where to find your files after I get home; will browse the CD and tell you exactly what you need if you can't do a CD boot to start t off the easy way. <p>-Robherc<br><a href=mailto:robherc@netzero.net>robherc@netzero.net</a><br><a href= > </a><br>*nix installation & program collector/reseller. Contact me if you think you've got one that I don't

 

[AndyBo]

This might beat Rob home I don't think you'll be able to boot from the CD unless you've created it to be bootable. (See later for one method of doing this that may work.)<br>
<br>
The files you need to create a boot floppy are usually kept in an 'images' directory on RedHat distros. As you've downloaded the whole distro yourself, I'm not sure where you'll have these.<br>
<br>
Pop along to your local RedHat mirror and look in the /pub/redhat/redhat-6.1/i386/dosutils directory. You'll find &quot;rawrite.exe&quot; and &quot;rawrite3.doc&quot; in there. While you're there, if you're going to dual boot a Win9x system get hold of FIPS to non-destructively repartition your box.<br>
<br>
WARNING: Use of Fips comes with the usual warnings about backing up any critical data! If you don't completely understand what you're doing with Fips, don't use it. Anyway, you won't be dual booting, wiil you? You'll be doing the sensible thing, starting with &quot;format c:&quot;, once you've created your boot floppy images ;^)<br>
<br>
Anyway, back to the meat... The actual floppy boot image files are kept in /pub/redhat/redhat-6.1/i386/images Pick the appropriate boot image, and write it to floppy with &quot;rawrite.exe&quot;. The &quot;boot.img&quot; file should work fine.<br>
<br>
Once you've written the boot floppy, write another one, just in case. Saves a bit of frustration if the first floppy is corrupt and you need to try again.<br>
<br>
With a floppy in the drive, stick the RedHat CD you've created in as well and give your PC the traditional 3-finger salute of Ctrl-Alt-Del. Sit back, follow the installation prompts, and away you go. At some point you'll be asked what you're installing from. Choose CD-ROM and move to the next screen. This is where you may have your first problem.<br>
<br>
If the directory structure on the CD you've burned doesn't match what the RedHat installer expects, everything may bomb at this point. Check the layout on your local RedHat mirror below the &quot;redhat-6.1&quot; directory mentioned earlier. In summary, it's usually:<br>
<br>
/i386<br>
/RedHat<br>
/base<br>
/instimage<br>
/RPMS<br>
<br>
etc, etc,... Make sure you're CD layout reflects how the files are laid out in here and you should be OK.<br>
<br>
(BTW, if it's one of the images from the &quot;iso&quot; directory that you downloaded, you should be able to &quot;rawrite.exe&quot; this to your CD writer to create a bootable CD with everything in the correct place. Never tried it myself though, so good luck. :^)<br>
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Usual caveats apply, if you need data off your existing setup, back it up before you start, etc.<br>
<br>
Good luck, and welcome to the evolution Let us all know if you have any queries.

 

[robherc]

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If you really need the rawrite.exe & the images, but don't want to spend time trying to figure out which is best for you before download; just let me know what hardware you're using (ide/scsi hdd; ide/scsi cd-r; any paralel devices that set up their own scsi...LS120s/Scanners/multi-function machines; Zip drive?). I'll check my CD's expansive list of images & upload the one(s) that best match(es) your needs; then post a link to a reference page for downloading them in here.<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Good Luck! <p>-Robherc<br><a href=mailto:robherc@netzero.net>robherc@netzero.net</a><br><a href= > </a><br>*nix installation & program collector/reseller. Contact me if you think you've got one that I don't

 

[Zelandakh]

I am running it as a test on a Pentium 75, 64Mb RAM, 612Mb IDE disk on channel 1 master. CD on channel 2 IDE (master). Have a 3Com 3c509B combo network card. Nothing else out of the ordinary, no SCSI for the moment.<br>
<br>
Created the boot disk after much thought. Reformatted hard disk using win98 boot disk - is this a problem?<br>
<br>
Put boot disk into machine. Get the usual press F2 to install red hat 2.0 or above. Press F2, floppy disk gets read for ages but monitor goes to power saving mode.<br>
<br>
CD has one root level folder i386 then redhat, dosutils and so on hang from there. Is it going to find the relevant files?<br>
<br>
Zel, feeling somewhat stupid today but still willing.

 

[AndyBo]

Sounds like a pretty standard PC. Same as the original PC I stuck Slakware on to a few years ago...<br>
<br>
Anyway, on with your problem. I didn't realise when posting my previous reply, but the directory structure on the CD I put on the post got mangled. Apologies for any confusion. The structure you've got sounds OK.<br>
<br>
Reformatting the disk with Win98 shouldn't cause a problem. When you install RedHat it's going to repartition (if you choose to) and create new file systems on the disk (whether you repartition or not) which is Unix's way of saying that the disk is gonna be formatted.<br>
<br>
As the floppy is being read, what messages are you getting? <br>
<br>
(It's probably worth going into your BIOS and disabling power saving mode, if you're unable to see the messages. In fact, it's probably worth doing, anyway. You'll be sat waiting for stuff to install for a while, and may be left with a monitor on standby that won't wake up again at a crucial part of the install.)

 

[Zelandakh]

That's the point. I do F2 to install. Then the monitor goes straight to power saving mode so I cannot see anything. Then the floppy carries on reading but I get nothing on the screen so I cannot see what is happening. Will turn off power management.<br>
<br>
The saga continues.

 

[Zelandakh]

Power management went off. Back to the F2 to install. Monitor still goes to power saving mode.<br>
<br>
Going to scrap that computer and try another....

 

[sijones]

Try when the bios screen comes up pressing pause on your keyboard this will hold your comp for while and see if your monitor goes off, it could be your monitor.<br>
<br>
Does anyone know how to rawrite on to a cd?<br>
<br>
I wanted to make a bootable cd, but my adaptec software will only let me make a dos / win bootable cd. I hate Windows...<br>
<p>Simon Jones<br><a href=mailto:sijones@talk21.com>sijones@talk21.com</a><br><a href=

http://www.theallandale.co.uk>The

Allandale Youth Works</a><br>The above is all my own site I look after!!!<br>
God am good!!! and good lookin

 

[Zelandakh]

Thought that a bootable CD just required a torisan CD ROM drive.<br>
<br>
Scrapped that problematic computer. Using another one - straight in. Got as far as where is the redhat installer, local CD ROM or hard disk. Does not find it on the CD. Is this because I have a root level folder called i386?<br>
<br>
What is/are the folders I should have at root level, should the CD be ISO 9660 and can I use expert mode to specify the installer folder on the CD and if so what is the command line parameter?

 

[robherc]

Zel-<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I'm not sure ohw much I can help you without knowing the content of your CD; but if you want to try with a bootable CD, name the distro you prefer & I can send you a &quot;standard&quot; CD for $1.50 plus USPS charge....then we could elim. that problem causeing agent. (I <i>hope</i> to be able to make the CD bootable for you too). <p>-Robherc<br><a href=mailto:robherc@netzero.net>robherc@netzero.net</a><br><a href= > </a><br>*nix installation & program collector/reseller. Contact me if you think you've got one that I don't

 

[Zelandakh]

Changed from a CD burned from an image downloaded from Redhat to a CD that came from Caldera. Created the floppy, now have a beautiful installation of Caldera Linux. Only slight prob, set up 800 x 600 monitor with 640 x 480 desktop so the whole things is too big for the monitor and moves around - how can I change it back so that the desktop fits on the screen?<br>
<br>
Zel, impressed with plug and play that works...

 

[robherc]

Ummm...let me get home; trash my current install & re-install Caldera; we'll find a way Zel <p>-Robherc<br><a href=mailto:robherc@netzero.net>robherc@netzero.net</a><br><a href= > </a><br>*nix installation & program collector/reseller. Contact me if you think you've got one that I don't

 

[AndyBo]

Take a look in /etc/XF86Config (or it may be hiding somewhere under /usr/X or /usr/X11, or maybe in /etc/X11 - not sure with Caldera. 'find / -name XF86Config -print' would find it.) You'll see entries that look something like &quot;Virtual 800 600&quot; (Or maybe VirtualScreen(s)). Comment these out and restart X. All should be fine, then.<br>
<br>
Also, you say you've got a 640x480 monitor, it should also run at 800x600 &quot;native&quot;. ie, non-scrolly mode. Try hitting &lt;Ctrl&gt;+&lt;Alt&gt;+&lt;+&gt; and &lt;Ctrl&gt;+&lt;Alt&gt;+&lt;-&gt; to switch between X resolutions. If you find yourself stuck in a resolution that doesn't display correctly on your monitor, hit &lt;Ctrl&gt;+&lt;Alt&gt;+&lt;Backspace&gt; to terminate X and start again.<br>
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Sorry this is a little vague, but I'm currently on a Windoze box, and don't have any Linux boxes running X nearby that I can refer to. And the memory is a little weak on Monday mornings ;^)

 

[robherc]

Might also refer to your KDE COntrol Panel; that <i>should</i> give you the option of changing either your monitor resolution or your desktop size <p>-Robherc<br><a href=mailto:robherc@netzero.net>robherc@netzero.net</a><br><a href= > </a><br>*nix installation & program collector/reseller. Contact me if you think you've got one that I don't

 

[carrig]

How do I make a bootable Linux Floppy Disk and RUN A Partition program to delete Partitions & create partitions<br>( e.g. FIPS, Diskdrake, FDISK)<br><br>Thanking you in advance<br><br>