|
UserOS pre-installation checklist and guide
Warning
If you want to fully install UserOS on your PC, please prepare thoroughly first. Read the following checklist carefully, because PC User cannot be held liable if you lose any data from installing UserOS and we cannot provide any tech support for UserOS.
Remember, you’ll be installing a whole new operating system, and if things go wrong, your PC may be out of action for some time and you may lose important files!
Are you new to Linux?
If you’re not experienced with Linux installations, we recommend that you use an old, unused PC for your first UserOS installation. If that's not possible, please make sure you follow this checklist carefully and have plenty of time available.
Have you backed up?
Before installing UserOS or any new operating system:
- Make sure you have your original Microsoft Windows CD on hand (including the sleeve with the serial number), just in case it all goes wrong and you have to reinstall Windows.
- Back up all your important files. As well as the obvious files in your My Documents folder, don’t forget your email files and other application files tucked away in out-of-the-way folders. Also, if your PC has multi-user logins, don’t forget the other My Documents folders in the other user profiles. And once you’ve finished the backup, make sure it works by trying to read the disc on another PC.
Does your PC (and your devices) support UserOS?
UserOS Home Server should run on just about any PC with at least 512MB of RAM and 2GHz Pentium 4 or Athlon, or better, However, to be fully compatible with UserOS, there needs to be Linux drivers available for all your important internal PC components and external devices. Being based on Ubuntu, there are many drivers available but see https://help.ubuntu.com/11.04/installation-guide/i386/hardware-req.html to be sure. Also note that the third-party applications included with UserOS have differing system requirements, and some, especially the high-end video-based applications, will require more RAM and processing power.
Do you have all the information you need on hand?
We strongly recommend reading and watching the following excellent guides before you start:
Remember, if you run into trouble during setup, you may not be able to get internet access. Therefore it's important that you print out the relevant sections from the Ubuntu user guides before you start, particularly those pages on internet connection settings or network settings.
Try it first
Before installing UserOS, we also recommend that you try it first by running it 'live', directly off the CD, DVD or USB drive. However, please note that some of the server-based apps will not work properly unless the UserOS is fully installed on the PC's hard drive.
Remember, this is a server OS
UserOS Home Server is designed to run as a server on a dedicated PC. We do not recommend installing it with Windows via Ubuntu's Wubi installer, in a virtual machine inside Windows, or even dual-booting it with Windows.
Need more help?
First, try our Web site (http://www.pcuser.com.au/pcuser/hs2.nsf/dir/Webnotice) to see if there are any particular issues associated specifically with PC User’s cover DVD. However, as stated above, we can’t help with general UserOS installation or usage problems. Fortunately, being based on Ubuntu, there's plenty of good documentation:
If you’re in real trouble you could try emailing us at pcusercd@acp.com.au, though we can’t guarantee that we can help.
|
