Linux Installation and Getting Started

Matt Welsh

• Contents
• Preface
  • Audience
  • Organization
  • Acknowledgments
  • Credits and Legalese
  • Documentation Conventions
• 1 Introduction to Linux
  • 1.1 About This Book
  • 1.2 A Brief History of Linux
  • 1.3 System Features
  • 1.4 Software Features
    • 1.4.1 Basic commands and utilities
    • 1.4.2 Text processing and word processing
    • 1.4.3 Programming languages and utilities
    • 1.4.4 The X Window System
    • 1.4.5 Networking
    • 1.4.6 Telecommunications and BBS software
    • 1.4.7 Interfacing with MS-DOS
    • 1.4.8 Other applications
  • 1.5 About Linux's Copyright
  • 1.6 The Design and Philosophy of Linux
    • 1.6.1 Hints for UNIX novices
    • 1.6.2 Hints for UNIX gurus
  • 1.7 Differences Between Linux and Other Operating Systems
    • 1.7.1 Why use Linux?
    • 1.7.2 Linux vs. MS-DOS
    • 1.7.3 Linux vs. The Other Guys
    • 1.7.4 Other implementations of UNIX
  • 1.8 Hardware Requirements
    • 1.8.1 Motherboard and CPU requirements
    • 1.8.2 Memory requirements
    • 1.8.3 Hard drive controller requirements
    • 1.8.4 Hard drive space requirements
    • 1.8.5 Monitor and video adapator requirements
    • 1.8.6 Miscellaneous hardware
      • 1.8.6.1 Mice and other pointing devices
      • 1.8.6.2 CD-ROM storage
      • 1.8.6.3 Tape drives
      • 1.8.6.4 Printers
      • 1.8.6.5 Modems
    • 1.8.7 Ethernet cards
  • 1.9 Sources of Linux Information
    • 1.9.1 Online documents
    • 1.9.2 Linux on the World Wide Web
    • 1.9.3 Books and other published works
    • 1.9.4 USENET newsgroups
    • 1.9.5 Internet mailing lists
  • 1.10 Getting Help
• 2 Obtaining and Installing Linux
  • 2.1 Distributions of Linux
    • 2.1.1 Getting Linux from the Internet
    • 2.1.2 Getting Linux from other online sources
    • 2.1.3 Getting Linux via mail order
    • 2.1.4 Getting Slackware
      • 2.1.4.1 Slackware disk sets
      • 2.1.4.2 Getting Slackware from the Internet
      • 2.1.4.3 Getting Slackware on CD-ROM
      • 2.1.4.4 Installation methods
  • 2.2 Preparing to Install Linux
    • 2.2.1 Installation overview
    • 2.2.2 Repartitioning concepts
    • 2.2.3 Linux partition requirements
    • 2.2.4 Repartitioning your drives
  • 2.3 Installing the Linux software
    • 2.3.1 Booting Linux
    • 2.3.2 Drives and partitions under Linux
    • 2.3.3 Creating Linux partitions
    • 2.3.4 Creating the swap space
    • 2.3.5 Creating the filesystems
    • 2.3.6 Installing the software
      • 2.3.6.1 Installing Slackware with setup
    • 2.3.7 Creating the boot floppy or installing LILO
    • 2.3.8 Additional installation procedures
  • 2.4 Postinstallation procedures
  • 2.5 Running Into Trouble
    • 2.5.1 Problems with booting the installation media
    • 2.5.2 Hardware problems
      • 2.5.2.1 Isolating hardware problems
      • 2.5.2.2 Problems recognizing hard drive or controller
      • 2.5.2.3 Problems with SCSI controllers and devices
    • 2.5.3 Problems installing the software
    • 2.5.4 Problems after installing Linux
      • 2.5.4.1 Problems booting Linux from floppy
      • 2.5.4.2 Problems booting Linux from the hard drive
      • 2.5.4.3 Problems logging in
      • 2.5.4.4 Problems using the system
• 3 Linux Tutorial
  • 3.1 Introduction
  • 3.2 Basic UNIX Concepts
    • 3.2.1 Creating an account
    • 3.2.2 Logging in
    • 3.2.3 Virtual consoles
    • 3.2.4 Shells and commands
    • 3.2.5 Logging out
    • 3.2.6 Changing your password
    • 3.2.7 Files and directories
    • 3.2.8 The directory tree
    • 3.2.9 The current working directory
    • 3.2.10 Referring to home directories
  • 3.3 First Steps into UNIX
    • 3.3.1 Moving around
    • 3.3.2 Looking at the contents of directories
    • 3.3.3 Creating new directories
    • 3.3.4 Copying files
    • 3.3.5 Moving files
    • 3.3.6 Deleting files and directories
    • 3.3.7 Looking at files
    • 3.3.8 Getting online help
  • 3.4 Summary of Basic Commands
  • 3.5 Exploring the File System
  • 3.6 Types of shells
  • 3.7 Wildcards
  • 3.8 UNIX Plumbing
    • 3.8.1 Standard input and output
    • 3.8.2 Redirecting input and output
    • 3.8.3 Using pipes
    • 3.8.4 Non-destructive redirection
  • 3.9 File Permissions
    • 3.9.1 Concepts of file permissions
    • 3.9.2 Interpreting file permissions
    • 3.9.3 Dependencies
    • 3.9.4 Changing permissions
  • 3.10 Managing file links
    • 3.10.1 Hard links
    • 3.10.2 Symbolic links
  • 3.11 Job Control
    • 3.11.1 Jobs and processes
    • 3.11.2 Foreground and background
    • 3.11.3 Backgrounding and killing jobs
    • 3.11.4 Stopping and restarting jobs
  • 3.12 Using the vi Editor
    • 3.12.1 Concepts
    • 3.12.2 Starting vi
    • 3.12.3 Inserting text
    • 3.12.4 Deleting text
    • 3.12.5 Changing text
    • 3.12.6 Moving commands
    • 3.12.7 Saving files and quitting vi
    • 3.12.8 Editing another file
    • 3.12.9 Including other files
    • 3.12.10 Running shell commands
    • 3.12.11 Getting help
  • 3.13 Customizing your Environment
    • 3.13.1 Shell scripts
    • 3.13.2 Shell variables and the environment
      • 3.13.2.1 The PATH environment variable
    • 3.13.3 Shell initialization scripts
  • 3.14 So You Want to Strike Out on Your Own?
• 4 System Administration
  • 4.1 About Root, Hats, and the Feeling of Power
    • 4.1.1 The root account
    • 4.1.2 Abusing the system
    • 4.1.3 Dealing with users
    • 4.1.4 Setting the rules
    • 4.1.5 What it all means
  • 4.2 Booting the System
    • 4.2.1 Using a boot floppy
    • 4.2.2 Using LILO
  • 4.3 Shutting Down
  • 4.4 Managing Users
    • 4.4.1 User management concepts
    • 4.4.2 Adding users
    • 4.4.3 Deleting users
    • 4.4.4 Setting user attributes
    • 4.4.5 Groups
  • 4.5 Archiving and Compressing Files
    • 4.5.1 Using tar
    • 4.5.2 gzip and compress
    • 4.5.3 Putting them together
  • 4.6 Using Floppies and Making Backups
    • 4.6.1 Using floppies for backups
    • 4.6.2 Using floppies as filesystems
  • 4.7 Upgrading and Installing New Software
    • 4.7.1 Upgrading the kernel
    • 4.7.2 Upgrading the libraries
    • 4.7.3 Upgrading gcc
    • 4.7.4 Upgrading other software
  • 4.8 Managing Filesystems
    • 4.8.1 Mounting filesystems
    • 4.8.2 Checking filesystems
  • 4.9 Using a swap file
  • 4.10 Miscellaneous Tasks
    • 4.10.1 System startup files
    • 4.10.2 Setting the hostname
  • 4.11 What To Do In An Emergency
    • 4.11.1 Recovering using a maintenance diskette
    • 4.11.2 Fixing the root password
    • 4.11.3 Fixing trashed filesystems
    • 4.11.4 Recovering lost files
    • 4.11.5 Fixing trashed libraries
• 5 Advanced Features
  • 5.1 The X Window System
    • 5.1.1 Hardware requirements
    • 5.1.2 Installing XFree86
    • 5.1.3 Configuring XFree86
    • 5.1.4 Filling in video card information
    • 5.1.5 Running XFree86
    • 5.1.6 Running into trouble
  • 5.2 Accessing MS-DOS Files
  • 5.3 Networking with TCP/IP
    • 5.3.1 Hardware Requirements
    • 5.3.2 Configuring TCP/IP on your system
      • 5.3.2.1 Your network configuration
      • 5.3.2.2 The networking rc files
      • 5.3.2.3 /etc/hosts
      • 5.3.2.4 /etc/networks
      • 5.3.2.5 /etc/host.conf
      • 5.3.2.6 /etc/resolv.conf
      • 5.3.2.7 Setting your hostname
      • 5.3.2.8 Trying it out
    • 5.3.3 SLIP Configuration
      • 5.3.3.1 Static IP address SLIP connections using dip
      • 5.3.3.2 Static IP address SLIP connections using slattach
      • 5.3.3.3 Dynamic IP address SLIP connections using dip
    • 5.3.4 Using dip
  • 5.4 Networking with UUCP
  • 5.5 Electronic Mail
  • 5.6 News and USENET
• A Sources of Linux Information
  • A.1 Online Documents
  • A.2 Linux Documentation Project Manuals
  • A.3 Books and Other Published Works
    • A.3.1 Using UNIX
    • A.3.2 Systems Administration
    • A.3.3 The X Window System
    • A.3.4 Programming
    • A.3.5 Kernel Hacking
• B Linux Vendor List
• C FTP Tutorial and Site List
  • C.1 Starting ftp
  • C.2 Logging In
  • C.3 Poking Around
  • C.4 Downloading files
  • C.5 Quitting FTP
  • C.6 Using ftpmail
  • C.7 Linux FTP Site List
• D Linux BBS List
  • D.1 United States
  • D.2 Outside of the United States
• E The GNU General Public License
  • E.1 Preamble
  • E.2 Terms and Conditions for Copying, Distribution, and Modification
  • E.3 Appendix: How to Apply These Terms to Your New Programs
• Index
• About this document ...