This document explains how to install RedHat m68k Linux on your Amiga. I assume you have at least a little experience with Linux, otherwise I suggest you purchase any of the books written for newcomers to Linux- there are dozens of such books, most are very thick and include an (intel) Linux CDROM that doubles as a convenient drink coaster.

Please take a few moments to browse the entire contents of this document before charging into the install process. By doing so you will save a lot of time and trouble.

  If all this seems to be a bit too much- don't worry. There is lot of information here, but my intention is to provide assistance to the rank beginner as well as the seasoned kernel hacker who is new to the Amiga. Those with some Linux experience will want to read ahead whereas the Linux newby will benefit from reading all the provided background information.

RedHat m68k Linux is still an evolving project. As such, it still has a few rough edges, but it is fully functional and remarkably complete.

Major features of RedHat m68k Linux include:

Please check the References section of this document as well as the official m68k Linux Home Pages for FAQ's, news, helpful hints, as well as a record of previous questions and answers regarding m68k Linux.

At this moment there are no official CDROM images of this package available, however several individuals have been burning their own and are making them available to rest of us. If your internet connection is too slow or unreliable to download all the necessary files post a message to the m68k newsgroup or redhat m68k mailing-list. On the other hand, if you are able and willing to create Linux CDROMs for other m68k users, please send me an email so I can include you in this list.

Note to persons mastering RedHat m68k Linux CDROMs: It would be most helpful if you create a new subdirectory off the redhat root called utils, tools, or support which includes the following files:

Mastering a RedHat m68k Linux CDROM is not difficult. Out of curiosity I mastered an ext2 disk for myself (with Linux), and it worked the first time.

If you don't have a RedHat m68k Linux CDROM, the first stage of the install process will involve downloading support, install, and content files via the internet. The amount of data you must download is approximately 160 megabytes. This means that you need a relatively fast and reliable internet connection. (I used two separate modem connections (56k,33k), each having at least 3 concurrent FTP sessions, and it still required the better part of 6 hours).

If you are not comfortable with command-line utilities, disk partition management, manual FTP sessions, disk backup/restore, or (inter)networks, I would recommend that you wait until a CDROM of this package becomes available.

In addition to Linux, I assume that you still want to run AmigaDos. This way you can continue to run all your favorite programs, and fall-back to a known operating system in case you have problems installing Linux.

Having said all that, the install process is actually quite simple once you get all the files onto a local machine. There are several ways to install Linux: