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In Hour 1 you learned how to prepare your system for the installation of Linux. Before you actually begin installing, there are several items you should be familiar with.
The installation interface is a character interface rather than a graphical interface. A mouse isn't used during the installation process; instead, various keystrokes are used to select items.
If you're in a text region that has multiple choices or selections, you can usually use the arrow keys to move around. To switch between regions, you can use the Tab and Alt-Tab keys.
To choose a button to select, you normally position the highlighted area using one of the movement keys. You can then press the Space or Enter key to press the button. To select check boxes, scroll through the entries, highlighting the desired option. Then use the Space key to select or toggle the option on or off.
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The F12 key is special in that it takes the values as selected on the screen and proceeds to the next screen. If your keyboard doesn't have an F12 key, the combination Shift F2 should have the same results.
The installation program presents various diagnostic information for the user to determine what may be happening in various parts of the install. To not clutter the main screen with extra data, it uses a useful feature of Linux called the Virtual Console which can be seen via a single keystroke. Table 2.1 lists the keystrokes used to view each of the virtual consoles:
Table 2.1. Virtual console keystrokes.
| Keystroke | Result |
| Alt-F1 | This is the main installation dialogue. |
| Alt-F2 | Once the CD-ROM has been found, you get a shell prompt that can be used to execute commands. |
| Alt-F3 | The log from the installation program. |
| Alt-F4 | The log from the kernel and other system level programs. |
| Alt-F5 | Messages from disk formatting and some other programs. |
For the most part, you won't need to ever leave the first virtual console, unless you are curious, or trying to diagnose a problem.
To begin the installation, insert the boot diskette into the floppy drive and restart the computer. The machine should go through the normal process of booting from a floppy, then come to a screen with a boot: prompt.
| JUST A MINUTE |
The installation process occurs in two stages. In the first stage you tell the installation program some basic information about your computer and where to find the installation files. The second stage performs the rest of the installation. |
This initial screen contains helpful tips about starting the install, and allows access to some initial help screens before the boot process. To access these help screens, press one of the function keys, listed in Table 2.2, printed at the bottom of the screen. There is a short delay as the data is read from the floppy drive.
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Table 2.2. Function keys and their results.
| Function Key | Result |
| F1 Main screen | The one you initially saw at startup. |
| F2 General | Some general tips on what the boot process does. |
| F3 Expert | This screen explains the expert mode. This mode disables most of the autoprobing and autodetection. |
| F4 Rescue | This mode enables you to help repair a damaged system. You need both the boot and supplemental floppy for this mode. |
| F5 Kickstart |
The kickstart is an advanced mode that uses a
pre-configured text file. The use of kickstart mode is beyond the
scope of this tutorial, but is documented on the CD-ROM. |
| F6 Kernel | A help screen on some options that you can pass to the kernel at boot time. |
You can now type any options you require at the boot prompt, and press Enter to start the install. If you do not type anything or press any function key, the install automatically begins after one minute.
| JUST A MINUTE |
If you didn't get to this first screen, or received an error message, there may be something wrong with the floppy image. The most common causes are that the floppy disk had a bad sector, or that the floppy drive hardware has some sort of problems using the floppy. You need to recreate the boot floppy following the instructions in Hour 1, "Preparing to Install Linux." |
After pressing Enter you should see the following output:
Loading initrd.img.................... Loading vmlinuz........... Uncompressing Linux.......
If the diskette activity stops, and the initial screen doesn't appear, hardware problems or incompatibility are the likely culprit.
After a moment of floppy disk activity, you should see a black-and-white screen asking
if you are using a color monitor, shown in Figure 2.1. This is the beginning of the first
stage
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of the installation process. You next set up some basic hardware and the install attempts to find the installation media.
Figure 2.1.
Selecting the type of
monitor you have.
The default choice on the first screen is Yes; you should see a blinking cursor or highlight near the Yes. If you see the cursor, or highlight option, press Enter and continue onto the next step. This walkthrough assumes that you have a color monitor.
| TIME SAVER |
When selecting between options on the screen, you can use Tab to change the selection. If you have overshot your selection you can either press Alt-Tab to back up, or continue pressing Tab to wrap around to the other choices. |
The next screen is a welcome screen, stating that the Red Hat installation guide also details the installation process. If you're ready to begin the install, press Enter.
The next screen, shown in Figure 2.2, asks you to select the keyboard type you are using. If, after we have installed Linux, you want to change to a different keyboard type, the command /usr/sbin/kbdconfig can be used to change the keyboard type.
Most of the choices on this screen are for language-specific keyboards. The typical United