First Install
Before installing linux on your system you should know its hardware content and configuration. Write down the answers to these questions:
Have you setup the required swap/root disk partitions ?
Which partitions contain the swap/root partitions, on which disk ?
What is your system type (Amiga/Atari) [duh!] ?
What keyboard layout do you have (de, uk, us, etc.) ?
What CPU do you have (68030, 68040, 68060) ?
Do you have an IDE or SCSI disk controller ?
If you have SCSI, which SCSI card do you have ?
What Network card do you have ?
What is your ethernet address (IP) ?
Unless you are part of somebody else's network and have been provided your own world-accessible IP address, you should choose a local-network IP. Internet Standards RFC1597 defines several such addresses for local networks:
10.0.0.0 thru 10.255.255.254, Netmask = 10.255.255.255 172.16.0.0 thru 172.31.255.254, Netmask = 172.31.255.255 192.168.0.0 thru 192.168.255.254, Netmask = 192.168.255.255
No other IP addresses may be used for local networks (if you ever plan to access the Internet). So if you have defined a local address outside this range you should change it to comply with worldwide Internet standards, or you will experience some 'problems'..
If you have a completely local network, I suggest using an IP address of 10.0.0.10 and a netmask of 255.0.0.0, this will allow you to easily connect to the real internet in the future.
What is your ethernet netmask.
What is your domain name (make one up if you have a local-only network. I use rjf.net ) ?
What is your systems name on the network ?
What video chipset does your system use (OCS/ECS/AGA) ?
Where will you be installing the RedHat files from (FTP/NFS/localdisk/CDROM) ?
While running AmigaDos, cd to your :redhat/images/ directory.
To start the install process, enter one of the commands:
amiboot-5.6 -r ginitrd.img root=/dev/ram video=<desired video mode>
Use this command if your system has plenty of system memory. You wont need the supplemental diskette with this kernel image.
amiboot-5.6 -r initrd.img root=/dev/ram video=<desired video mode>
Use this command if your system has less than 8-meg system memory. Depending on where you downloaded the install files, you may need to use the supplemental diskette.
The video= parameter is optional, and should only be necessary if you are using a special video card or your video does not work correctly after linux boots. My A2000 works without the video= option, but my (North American) A4000 looses video sync if I don’t specify the video=ntsc option.
If in doubt, consult the amiboot readme file.
The loader should display some status information, load the Linux kernel, and start Linux after several seconds of gray screen. Linux will identify the resources found in your machine, then start the RedHat m68k Linux installation script. ( For those of you familiar with intel RedHat, it feels a little spooky to see this screen on an Amiga, of all places! ). If this does not happen, send help messages to the redhat-m68k mailing-list described in the References section of this document. If you use the supplemental floppy disk, make sure you place it in DF0:.
The RedHat installer makes a few keyboard assumptions, they are:
TAB - moves between major selections.
ARROWS - moves between selections (up/down, left/right)
SPACE - toggle current field.
ENTER - accept current settings.
After you have answered a few questions, these keys will start to make sense.
Before you start the installation process, you should consult the official RedHat installation Howto. This doc is obviously written with an intel bias, but is still very applicable to the m68k install process. You should ignore any references to boot-disks, PC hardware, etc.
Now answer the questions....
(I could do better here, but it would require many hours to do so....)
Note: During the installation you may be asked a second time to detect the SCSI controller or reconfigure the network setups. If this happens DO NOT reconfigure them, TAB down to the cancel button and hit enter. This will skip device reconfiguration, while keeping the original (correct) settings.
Note: If you have an IDE disk controller and don't have a SCSI controller, select the cancel gadget when you are asked which SCSI controller you have. The installer will then scan the IDE bus for hard disks (hdax).
Note: Don't forget to write down the root password you entered near the end of the install process.
If you run into trouble, review each step, then check for sources of help in the References section.