Number 199 - December 1999

Computing On The Bleeding Edge Exploring Linux - Part 2
by Neil Stahfest, TAPCUG Data Line, October 1999
The problem with being out on the leading edge of things, is that you have little or nothing to guide you in your decisions. If I had waited two to four weeks before I bought a copy of Linux things might have been easier. Maybe not.     I won't bore you with a detailed description of my four or five attempts to install Linux. Each attempt was successful to some degree, but I kept trying to do it "better". If you decide to try Linux, here are a few things you should know.     First, Linux doesn't ever work with WinModems and hardly ever works with modems that have PCI connectors. Use an external modem or a modem with an ISA connector.     Second, Linux almost always knows how to work with a Sound Blaster sound card. It may have trouble with a clone sound card.     When it comes to buying a Linux distribution, my advice is to get either the RedHat 6.0 Linux Distribution ($80) or the Mandrake-RedHat 6.0 Distribution ($30). The Linux software is pretty much the same but you get a big book with RedHat 6.0. On the other hand, Mandrake is optimized for Pentium class computers. I found the Mandrake instructions very easy to follow. Both come with both the KDE and Gnome Xwindow programs so you have a choice in how your graphics interface will look. (Hint - initially use KDE!)     Linux is a bit more complicated to install than Windows 98, but its getting easier all the time. If you have a large hard disk, with a gigabyte or two of space that you don't need, you can install Linux on the same computer as Windows 98. I'm not going to talk about that at this time because I haven't done it yet.     Linux runs very well on older computer equipment. I've upgraded my computer a number of times and have a lot of components in my spare parts cabinet. The system I put together was based on a Cyrix P155+ CPU with 32 megs of RAM. I spent about $40 on a new 56K modem. I also bought a fairly large mid-tower case ($33) because old motherboards are much larger than the new ones and I didn't want to get one that was too small. I should have measured my motherboard. When I got it home, the case was much bigger than I needed. In fact, it looks huge! I now call my Linux system, Big Box (well... it needed a name anyway).	I assembled the components and booted the computer with a Win98 floppy disk to make sure everything was working. Then I used Fdisk to remove all the partitions on the hard drive so I would be starting with a clean system.     To install Linux, you put the floppy disk (provided with the distribution) in your floppy drive and turn the computer on. The floppy disk boots the computer and enables it to read the CD-ROM drive. You use arrow keys and tab key to move around the screen and the space bar to select your choices. When the computers starts, you just answer the questions on the screen; "Welcome... press enter", "What language... English", etc. Along the way, it will prompt you to insert the Linux CD into the drive.     When it asks you for the type of installation, your choices are "Work Station", "Server" and Custom". "Work Station" is a good place to start. When you select "Work Station" a lot of decisions are made for you that you would have to make for the other installations (you can upgrade your installation later). "Server" is used for setting up a network server, probably not a good place to start your first Linux installation. "Custom" is a combination of the two and we'll leave that for another time.     After selecting "Work Station", the CD-ROM drive will spin a lot and the hard drive will have a lot of files to be copied to it. You'll probably want to watch it for a few minutes (just in case it wants you to answer a few more questions) and then you can go get a cup of coffee.     Ten, twenty or thirty minutes later (depending on the speed of your computer), Linux will try to figure out what kind of mouse is installed. If it can't find yours (it didn't find mine), select a generic 3-button mouse. If your mouse has only two buttons, use the tab key and then the space bar to select "Emulate a 3-button mouse". Linux likes three buttons and you can press both buttons at the same time to emulate the third button.     Next, it will figure out what kind of video card you have installed. Unless the card is a very new one, Linux should find it (another reason for using old computer equipment!). I won't go into the process that you use if it can't identify it, but there is one. Then it will ask you what kind of monitor you have. There must be hundreds in the list you have to choose from. If yours isn't listed, you can select a generic VGA monitor.     That's about it! Linux should be up and running at this point. Next time I'll write about setting up your sound card and accessing the Internet. It's really easy, once you know the "trick".
Number 199 - December 1999