The Great Symbian

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1) Boot using a Floppy: (Image 1.1)

I use a Windows Me created boot floppy to run fdisk because:

• It contains the "latest" fdisk utility


• The boot floppy has built in CD ROM support

I always start with CD ROM support, so I picked option 2.

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2) Virus Warning: (Image 1.2)

If no partitions are detected, such as a new hard drive, the Windows Me boot disk is rather helpful in telling you this fact. At this point, do not be alarmed at the "virus warning" statement, as it is generic.

At the "command prompt," in this example, A:, type "fdisk" without the quotes.

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3) Large Disk Support: (Image 1.3)

Unless you have a need, ensure that you enable "Large Disk Support."

Why would you "not" want this? If you have any requirements for DOS, Win3.1, Win95, or WinNT to access the partitions, you may not be able to if the partitions are greater than 2.1 GB.

I selected "Y" for yes.

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4) Main Menu: (Image 1.4)

The main menu offers few, but powerful options.

If you have a new drive or one that has previous partitions already deleted, you may jump to that section, below, but it would be a good idea to look over this process, just in case you will need to perform it.

Here, I selected "3" to "Delete partition or Logical DOS Drive."

You may also select "4" to display current partition information.

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5) Extended Space: (Image 1.5)

If you have more than one partition already defined, you will need to delete the ones located in the "Extended" space.

Select "3" to do just that.

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6) Choose Partition to Delete: (Image 1.6)

Here, you may choose which, if any, partitions you need to delete. If you want to resize your "Primary" partition, you will need to delete all existing partitions, redefine the Primary partition, then recreate (described below) the Extended partition section.

I chose to delete the partition (drive) marked as "E:" here. Choose what is best for your setup.

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7) Are you sure? (Image 1.7)

A prompt will appear to ensure that you know what you are doing. You must type the "Volume" name of the partition, hit enter, then choose "Y" to continue with the delete.

Delete as many as you desire. After clearing out the Extended partition, you may delete the primary partition from the main menu and resize it as necessary.

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8) Create Primary Partition: (Image 1.8)

Here, we need to create the Primary partition by selecting "1" from the main fdisk menu.

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9) Create Primary DOS Partition: (Image 1.9)

If no partitions have been defined, select "1" to create Primary DOS Partition.

If you have already created a Primary Partition, skip the next few steps.

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10) Scan Hard Drive: (Image 1.10)

The hard disk will now be scanned searching for problems.

Take note: This process may take a some time, a very long time on "large" drives.

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11) All available space? (Image 1.11)

If you wish to create the Primary partition using all available space, select "Y" at the prompt. Otherwise, choose "N" to define something smaller.

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12) Scan Hard Drive: (Image 1.12)

Again, the drives integrity is scanned.

No one ever accused fdisk of being a "speedy" solution.

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13) Enter Size in MB: (Image 1.13)

Enter in the amount of space, in MegaBytes, that you wish to use for your Primary partition.

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14) Updated partition information: (Image 1.14)

After choosing an amount, the partition information is displayed. Here, I choose "1000 MB" for my Primary partition.

Hit "ESC" to continue with fdisk.

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15) Make active partition: (Image 1.15)

A warning will appear under the main menu explaining the importance of an "active" partition. Really, this is no longer required, but for compatibility's sake, I choose to make a partition active, anyway.

Select "2" to set the active partition.

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16) Choose active partition: (Image 1.16)

Setting the active partition is as easy as choosing the number next to "C:." In this example, it is "1."

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17) Create Extended DOS Partition: (Image 1.17)

You now can create the "extended partition" portion of the hard drive. It is subject to debate whether this step is required, but, once again, for compatibility purposes, I choose to do so.

Select "2" to Create the Extended DOS Partition.

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18) Choose space allocated: (Image 1.18)

Choose how much space the Extended partition is allowed to use.

Under usual circumstances, choose all. Your requirements may vary, but I have yet to find a reason "not" to choose all of the remaining space.

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19) Updated partition information: (Image 1.19)

The partition information will be displayed, including your previous "Primary" and now your "Extended" partition information.

Hit "ESC" to continue.

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20) Scan Hard Drive: (Image 1.20)

Once again, the drive will be verified.

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21) Enter Size in MB: (Image 1.21)

Choose the amount of each additional partition, up to the maximum size.

Here, I chose 2000 MB.

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22) Updated partition information: (Image 1.22)

The Partition information is displayed, as well as drive integrity confirmed.

At this point, you may continue defining partitions, or exit out and define them using the setup program of a "newer" OS, like Linux, Win2k, or XP. Again, Win9x/Me does not have the option of partition creation during setup.

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23) Additional Partitions: (Image 1.23)

Here, I defined 3 additional partitions, not including the Primary one, taking up all of the available space.

Hit "ESC" to continue.

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24) Reboot System: (Image 1.24)

You are prompted with a "restart" message.

This is a vital step. Ensure that you do restart the computer before continuing with the installation of any OS. I even power down the computer, but that is not necessary.

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2) Welcome to Red Hat: (Image 1.2)

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.

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3) Language Selection: (Image 1.3)

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

I chose English here, then Next.

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4) Keyboard Configuration: (Image 1.4)

Keyboard Configuration is next.

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

Select Next when complete.

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5) Mouse Configuration: (Image 1.5)

Mouse Configuration is next.

Again, highlight the best match for your particular system.

Select Next when finished.

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6) Installation type: (Image 1.6)

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.

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7) Partitioning your system: (Image 1.7)

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.

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8) Warning dialog box: (Image 1.8)

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.

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9) Automatic Partitioning: (Image 1.9)

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.

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10) New hard drive structure: (Image 1.10)

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.

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12) Install a boot loader: (Image 2.2)

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

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13) Network setup: (Image 2.3)

Network setup options are next.

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

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

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14) Firewall setup: (Image 2.4)

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.

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15) Language Selection: (Image 2.5)

Additional Language options are also available.

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

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16) Time Zone Selection: (Image 2.6)

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.

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17) Create a root or administrator password: (Image 2.7)

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.

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18) Add users: (Image 2.8)

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.

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19) Add as many users as you wish: (Image 2.9)

Your display could look something like this.

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

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20) Default package configuration: (Image 2.10)

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.

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21) Selecting exactly what packages: (Image 2.11)

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.

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23) Formatting of the hard drive: (Image 3.2)

Formatting of the hard drive or partitions will begin.

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

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24) Transfer of the install image: (Image 3.3)

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

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

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25) Installation of all selected packages: (Image 3.4)

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.

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26) Insert the next CD soon: (Image 3.5)

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

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27) Boot floppy creation: (Image 3.6)

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.

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28) Graphics card setup: (Image 3.7)

Select your graphics card setup and memory configuration here.

Chose Next after highlighting your selection.

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29) Monitor Setup: (Image 3.8)

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

After selecting the configuration for your system, chose Next.

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30) Desktop resolution: (Image 3.9)

Choose your desktop resolution and bit-depth.

Capabilities beyond your card should not be displayed.

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31) Install complete: (Image 3.10)

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

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32) Grub boot loader: (Image 4.1)

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.

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33) Boot Red Hat: (Image 4.2)

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. :)

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34) Logon: (Image 4.3)

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).

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35) Gnome Desktop: (Image 4.4)

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. :)

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36) BlackViper.com in Mozilla: (Image 4.5)

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.