Installation process of Red Hat LINUX

1.4 LINUX

1) Red Hat Linux Boot screen:

After configuring the system for booting from a CD, the Red Hat Linux Boot screen appears.

At this point, press Enter for the graphical Setup.

2) Welcome to Red Hat:

The "Welcome to Red Hat" screen appears with the option of Hiding the help pane (left side) or viewing the Release Notes.

Select Next when ready.

3) Language Selection:

The Language Selection screen
displays all of the languages available to install Red Hat with.

I chose English here, then Next.

4) Keyboard Configuration:

Keyboard Configuration is next.

Highlight the best match for your particular system. Usually, the default works best.

Select Next when complete.

5) Mouse Configuration:

Mouse Configuration is next.

Again, highlight the best match for your particular system.

Select Next when finished.

6) Installation type:

Selection of a standard installation type is now available.

The options include Personal Desktop, Workstation, Server, or Custom.

For this particular guide, I selected Personal Desktop and then Next.

7) Partitioning your system:

You are now faced with the option of automatically partitioning your system with the default values or selecting a more expert approach of choosing exactly what values each partition will be.

I chose Automatic, then selected Next.

8) Warning dialog box:

If this is a new hard drive or a hard drive that no partitions currently exist, a warning dialog box will appear.

Select Yes to continue.

9) Automatic Partitioning:

Here are the options of deleting all Linux partitions, deleting all partitions, or keep the disk structure as it already is.

If this is a new drive, any options work just fine, but, if you already have partitions defined, as in a Multi-Boot environment, be careful as to which selection and drive volume you choose.

Also, check the Review and modify box at the bottom to retain control over what happens to the hard drive and view the recommended configuration.

10) New hard drive structure:

If you checked the Review and modify box, the new hard drive structure is displayed.

This fits my purposes, so I chose Next to continue.

11) Boot loader options:

Boot Loader options are displayed.

If this is the only OS to be installed, I recommend to install a boot loader, such as Grub (the default).

If this is part of a Multi-Boot System, I recommend to not install a boot loader and use a boot floppy, created later on in the install process, instead.

Important: If you chose to NOT install a boot loader and NOT make a boot floppy, your Red Hat installation will NOT work.

12) Install a boot loader:

Please view my Multi-Boot Guide for more information about Boot Floppies.

13) Network setup:

Network setup options are next.

Enter in the required information for your particular setup, here.

I chose the default, DHCP setup, then selected Next.

14) Firewall setup:

Firewall setup is very important!

If this system will be connected directly to the internet, choose High to start out with.

If this system is already behind a hardware firewall or router, choose Medium as a good starting point.

15) Language Selection:

Additional Language options are also available.

Since I understand no other language besides English, the default was fine.

16) Time Zone Selection:

Configure your Time Zone with this display.

Being on the West Coast, Pacific Time was selected here.

Choose what is right for your location and then select Next to continue.

17) Create a root or administrator password:

Another important part of the installation process is to create a root or administrator password and a "normal" user account for everyday tasks.

DO NOT leave your root password as blank or easily guessable.

18) Add users:

After acceptance of your root password, select the Add button to create an additional account for everyday tasks. Do not worry. If at anytime you need to use the root account to change system settings, you can. You will be prompted for the password even if you are logged in as a regular user.

After creating a new account and selecting a "good" password, select the OK button.

19) Add as many users as you wish:

Your display could look something like this.

Add as many users as you wish, then select Next to continue.

20) Default package configuration:

Here, you have the option of accepting the default package configuration, or selecting exactly what applications and services you desire.

If you wish, you can skip this step and select Next as the default option and your system will be configured accordingly.

However, if you desire to add or subtract particular applications, choose the Customize packages to be installed button and select Next.

21) Selecting exactly what packages:

Here you will have the option of selecting exactly what packages and applications you wish to install.

Detailed descriptions about each are also available, after selecting the check box on the left of the category, by selecting the details button.

Upon completing your options, select Next to continue.

22) Installation will now start:

Installation will now start after selecting the Next button.

23) Formatting of the hard drive:

Formatting of the hard drive or partitions will begin.

Depending on the size of the hard drive, this may take much time.

24) Transfer of the install image:

Transfer of the install image to the hard drive now takes place.

Again, if you selected many packages, this could take some time.

25) Installation of all selected packages:

Installation of all selected packages and applications are now underway.

Depending on what was selected and system configuration, this could take 15 minutes to over an hour.

26) Insert the next CD soon:

Do not go far, though, as you may be required to insert the next CD soon.

27) Boot floppy creation:

If this is the only OS to be installed, I recommend to install a boot loader previously, such as Grub (the default). This does NOT mean that you should forget about creating a boot floppy, also.

If this is part of a Multi-Boot System, I recommend a boot floppy, created here, and not to use a boot loader.

Important: If you chose to NOT install a boot loader and NOT make a boot floppy, your Red Hat installation will NOT work.

Please view my Multi-Boot Guide for more information about boot floppies.

28) Graphics card setup:

Select your graphics card setup and memory configuration here.

Chose Next after highlighting your selection.

29) Monitor Setup:

Enter the proper values or highlight the model of your display here.

After selecting the configuration for your system, chose Next.

30) Desktop resolution:

Choose your desktop resolution and bit-depth.

Capabilities beyond your card should not be displayed.

31) Install complete:

Installation is completed and the system will reboot after selecting Next.

32) Grub boot loader:

Upon reboot, the Grub (if selected previously in the install process) is displayed with the option of booting your Linux installation.

If you opted for a boot floppy, ensure that your system is configured to boot from "A:" first, then your hard drive, otherwise, your system may skip to your previous OS by default.

33) Boot Red Hat:

Keep in mind, while the OS is loading, Linux is famous for allowing the USER to choose exactly what, how and why everything happens.

This is not Windows.

You will see all kinds of information about the internal workings of your system.

Do not be alarmed. You will come to enjoy that information in due time. :)

34) Logon:

If you opted for a graphical install screen, the user name prompt is displayed.

Log in as one of the users you created previously (not root) and enter in your password (not blank).

35) Gnome Desktop:

The Red Hat 8.0 default desktop is now displayed. If you selected KDE and not Gnome, your view will be slightly different.

Remember, anything that you wish to do, you can, including messing with system files.

When in doubt, think twice. :)

36) BlackViper.com in Mozilla:

I had to fire up Mozilla 1.0.1 to ensure my internet connectivity functioned, and it worked great!

Thank you for viewing my install guide and I hope it has helped you gain an insight to what may be required before taking the Red Hat plunge.

Installation process of Windows VISTA

1.2 VISTA

1) Shall we begin?

After configuring the system for booting from a CD/DVD, the Windows Setup screen appears.

At this point, Setup is loading the driver files it needs to continue with installation.

2) Progress Bar:

The next screen is a more graphical progress bar indicating Windows Vista is still working in the background.

3) Option Selections:

The first options you will come across are selections for Language, Time and currency format, and Keyboard layout.

Make your selections by using the pull down menus and press the Next button.

4) Install Now:

Here we have the option of repairing a previous installation or "Install Now."

Highlight the "Install Now" button to continue to the next screen.

5) Please Wait:

Windows Vista is working in the background. This may take several minutes depending on the system.

7) License Agreement:

Here we see the License Agreement you must accept before continuing.

After reading the agreement, check the box next to "I accept the license terms".

8) Option Selections:

Here we would be able to choose an "Upgrade" install (if running setup from a previous version of Windows, such as XP) or a "Custom" (clean) install.

Select the whole box containing "Custom (advanced)" to continue to the next screen.

9) Hard Drives:

This is where you can select which hard drive/partition to install Vista on. Since this system only has one hard drive, only one place Vista can go. Advanced options are shown in the next screen shot.

This is also where you would install drivers for your RAID/ACPI controller by using the "Load Driver" option. After the installation of the RAID/ACPI drivers, your hard drives should appear as shown on the right.

If no additional drivers are needed, select the Next button.

Image 2.5: (40KB .gif)

10) Advanced Options:

The advanced options allow creation of multiple partitions and the option of formatting existing partitions.

After finishing your particular partition configuration that you desire, select the Next button.

6) Product Key: This screen is where you enter your product key or "CD Key" as it is sometimes called. An option also exists to automatically activate Vista upon first coming online. I uncheck this box to ensure everything is running smoothly before activating and having issues later on. 30 days is the standard amount of time before activation is required, though some products (such as MSDN subscriptions) have 60 days or more. After entering your product key, press the Next button.

11) Installing...:

Here is where Vista installs major components of the OS. This process can take 10 to 60 minutes depending on the system.

12) Reboot:

Here we see the system needing to reboot to continue installation tasks.
You can hit the Restart Now button or just allow the reboot to happen automatically after several seconds.

13) First Time:

Here we see a "..." progress as Vista tries to start for the first time. This process may take several minutes before going to the next screen.

14) Completing Installation:

Vista continues to install at this screen. Depending on system, another reboot or two may happen before the next screen is displayed.

15) Account Creation:

Here is where we create the first user account for the system and select an icon to be displayed on the login screen. Ensure you password your account.
After finishing entering your information and icon selection, select the Next button.

16) PC Name:

Here is where we can name the system for networking purposes. By default, it uses the account name entered in the previous step and adds "-PC" to it. We can also select a background for the desktop.
After making your selection, select the Next button.

17) Updates:

Here we can configure Windows Update with several options. I suggest "Use recommended options" or the top option for most PC users.

18) Time Settings:

Here is where you can set the time and daylight savings time options.
After configuring your time zone, clock settings and date, select the Next button.

19) Network Configuration:

Vista now asks our network configuration by asking "Home, Work or Public Place."
Descriptions are expanded on screen so I will no go into them here.
Make your selection to continue to the next screen.

20) Thanks!:

On this screen, we are thanked by Bill G. for installing Windows Vista.
After you are done being thanked, select the Next button.

21) PC Performance:

Vista now checks the system performance to automaticlly configure a few options. This may take several minutes while the system does this and it will only do it this one time.

22) Login:

We are finally greeted with the login screen, however, there is still more configuration to come.
Enter in your password that you used previously during the install process and hit ENTER or the little blue arrow to login.

23) Desktop Setup:

Your account profile starts being created here starting with your personal desktop configuration. More happens on the next screen. This process will also take several minutes, but only happen once.

24) Account Profile:

Vista now sets up profile configurations for Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player as well as a few more Windows applications. This could take several more minutes but we are almost there!

25) Welcome Screen:

Vista is installed!