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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS);faqs.345 Questions and bug-reports can be sent either to the newsgroup or to Linus himself at "torvalds@kruuna.helsinki.fi", depending on which you find more appropriate. And last but not least there is the original mailing-list, which is now a multi-channel list. contact linux-activists-request@niksula.hut.fi QUESTION: Could you be more explicit about the multi-channel list? ANSWER: Well, there are many things to say: - these channels are rather devoted to hackers - the ones I am aware of are: GCC, MGR, X11, SCSI, NEW-CHANNELS, MSDOS (emulator discussion) , NORMAL, KERNEL, FTP, LAPTOP, DOC, NET, CONFIGS, LINUXNEWS ... - whenever you want to JOIN or LEAVE a channel you have to contact the request address - you have to use special header (X-Mn-Key and Mn-Admin); X-Mn-Key is *ONLY* for regular post, the X-Mn-Admin is for *REQUEST* (Ari Lemmke: 1 Nov. 1992): Hmmm.... It seems our list has now about 1500 users in 21 channels (mailing lists). 3960 without uniq. "echo foo | mail linux-activists-request@niksula.hut.fi" to get the Mail-Net User Guide. QUESTION: How can I join the channel XXX on the linux-activists mailing list? ANSWER: just send a mail to the request address with help in the body; you will get back a mail which gives you the list of channels and the way to join/leave them. Basically you send mail to the request address with the line: X-Mn-Admin: join <channel> QUESTION: How can I leave the channel XXX on the linux-activists mailing list? ANSWER: Same as above, basically. You send mail to the request address that contains the line: X-Mn-Admin: leave <channel> QUESTION: I'm not an hacker, what are the channels I could be interested in? ANSWER: Probably these are the most interesting for you (IMHO) Channel NORMAL: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Channel normal is the former Linux-Activists mailing list (all the people who were on the old Linux-Activists list are moved to this channel). Channel DOC: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ This channel is for Linux document "project". Discussion about Linux documents, manuals, papers, etc. Channel CONFIGS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This channel will be devoted to send submissions of systems that have Linux already running, AND those that, for any reason, can't get it to work yet. Mainly, what it's need from all the channel users is to send their hardware configuration list (as complete as possible). Include anything that you feel pertinent for information: CPU, motherboard, RAM amount, HD & floppy controller, BIOS, monitor, video card & memory, network adapter, etc. If you are having trouble with your current system, or you find out that a program doesn't work properly on your system due to a HARDWARE problem, it may be useful for us to know your configuration; maybe you can get a lot of help. Channel LINUXNEWS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The LINUXNEWS channel will be used for distribution of Linux News, a weekly (if I can find the time) summary of things that happen in the Linux community. Discussion is not encouraged, if you have complaints or suggestions, send them directly to me (Lars.Wirzenius@helsinki.fi). Channel NEW-CHANNELS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On the future users on this channel get the information about new channels created. By this way you can join the channels you want, and do not need to send mail to Mail-Net info server or listen rumours. QUESTION: Does there exist a place where the traffic of the newsgroup is kept? ANSWER: Yes, on nic and tsx-11 (see the ftp addresses above), and since 12th March, a Gopher server is up at beryl.daimi.aau.dk (130.225.16.86). The archives go back to Nov. 18. 91. Also recently a WAIS server for the linux mail archive has been setup at fgb1.fgb.mw.tu-muenchen.de. Contact tw@fgb1.fgb.mw.tu-muenchen.de for more info. II.B OBTAINING LINUX FROM BBS'S ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *** This section is maintain by Zane Healy (healyzh@holonet.net) *** Last Update November 1992. QUESTION: I don't have access to FTP, how can I obtain Linux? ANSWER: Linux is available from various BBS's around the world. QUESTION: I got this FAQ from a local BBS, or a friend, and I see there is a newsgroup called comp.os.linux . I don't have access to USENET or mail, so how can I get the messages? ANSWER: Some of the BBS's on FidoNet carry comp.os.linux as a FidoNet conference. Also some of the other BBS's carry it in some form or other. QUESTION: Do BBS's offer anything that the Internet does not? ANSWER: Yes, on the information side there are the UNIX conferences on both the RIME network and FidoNet. Although they are not dedicated to linux, a large amount of the messages are linux related. Also at least one software package being developed for linux, and also one port is available via BBS's long before they are available via anonymous FTP. QUESTION: What is a BBS? ANSWER: A BBS is a Bulletin Board System, it let's you transfer message's and file's via your phone line and all you need is a computer with communications software and a modem. Some BBS's transfer message's among each other forming large computer network's similar to USENET. The most popular of these in the US are FidoNet and RIME. QUESTION: How can I get a (Near) complete list of BBS's that carry Linux? ANSWER: I (Zane Healy) post a list of all known BBS's that carry Linux to comp.os.linux as well as the RIME and Fidonet UNIX conferences on the 1st and 15th of each month. QUESTION: Now that I have a phone number, how do I go about accessing a BBS? ANSWER: 1. You need a computer equipped with communications software and a modem. 2. For ALMOST all BBS's you will need to set the comm software up for: 8 - Data Bits N - Parity 1 - Stop Bit Although certain BBS's and Communication services require that the software be set for: 7 - Data Bits E - Parity 1 - Stop Bit You will also need to set the comm software for the correct speed, either the top speed, or the max speed for your modem. 3. Using the comm software, call the BBS. Once you connect with the BBS (this may take awhile, as other people are likely to be using it), you will be asked some questions. If you are a registered user of the BBS it will normally only ask for your name and password. However if you are not a registered user, it will most likely require that before you do anything, you register. The method of registration varies from BBS to BBS. Normally the first thing that will happen is, you sign on to the BBS, and tell it your name. It will then check it's list of user's and see that you are not one of them. At which time it will ask you if you are a new user, or if you wish to re-enter your name. When you tell it you are a new user, it will then ask you some questions about yourself, such as where you are calling from and your phone number. A lot of BBS's will want some statistical info such as what type of computer you are using, your communications software, your age, etc, etc. After this, most BBS's require some sort of validation, this is for the System Operator's (SysOp's) protection. One type is where you give the BBS software your phone number, hang up, and the BBS calls your computer to verify that you gave it legitament phone number. Some BBS's require that you mail the SysOp a postcard. Most, however just require that you give the SysOp the request info and then he upgrades your level of access a couple of day's later. For the most part you will find that the registration process is easy to follow and well documented. QUESTION: There is a local BBS that carries Linux, but it isn't on the latest Linux BBS List. How do I go about submitting it for inclusion in the list? ANSWER: Send the following information on the BBS to me: BBS Name: Phone Number: Modem Speed: City and State/Country: Whatever Network it's on (i.e. FidoNet, RIME, etc.): First Time access to D/L Linux Files (Y/N): Free Access to Linux Files (Y/N): Allow File Requests (Y/N): BBS Rating (1-5): I can be reached at one of the following E-Mail Addresses: Internet -- healyzh@holonet.net CompuServe -- 70332,14 Prodigy -- SCNN49A Fido NetMail -- Zane Healy at 1:109/615 RIME UNIX Conference -- Zane Healy QUESTION: What can I do to help ensure the continued development of Linux? ANSWER: PLEASE UPLOAD FILES TO BBS'S I would like to point out that a very large number of the Linux enthusiasts don't have FTP access. In fact it is possible that by now most of the Linux fan's don't. So I would like to suggest that those of us that do, find at least one BBS to post the Linux file's to. I, for one post every file that I get to at least one of the local BBS's, and from there they the file's tend to find there way to other local BBS's. I've seen posts about the future of Linux etc., well here is a way to help guarantee it. I think it's safe to assume that most people with FTP access also have a modem. So how about doing other Linux fan's a favor and finding a BBS to upload the Linux files to. QUESTION: How do I read the data contained in the Linux BBS List? ANSWER: The list uses the following format: State YYY BBS Name Phone Number Modem Speed Rating City Other data The BBS's are rated by the number of Linux related file's that they carry. This is so you can choose one's that has a better chance of carrying the file's you are looking for if you are calling long distance. The BBS's are rated on a scale of one to five. 1 -- Only enough the most basic of files 2 -- The basics and a little more 3 -- So, so 4 -- A respectable amount 5 -- Pretty much everything you need Information about the boards access policies can be obtained by checking a three digit field. YYY -- Either a Yes/No/? answer to the question ||| ||Free access to Linux files |Allow file requests (FidoNet) First time D/L of Linux related files NOTE: Just because a board has N's in the first two fields does not mean that it is a board to stay away from. A lot of boards require that you register and be verified before you can access most of their features, hence the first N. The second field is, to the best of my knowledge, limited to BBS's that are part of FidoNet. QUESTION: What are some of the best BBS's to check out? ANSWER: In the US: CA YNY hip-hop 408-773-0768 14.4k V.32bis/HST 5 Sunnyvale Login: guest (no password) DC NNY When Gravity Fails 202-686-9086 14.4k 5 Washington FL ??? Slut Club 813-236-1232 14.4k 5 Tampa/St.Pete Fidonet 1:377/42 GA YYY Information Overload 404-471-1549 9600 HST 5 FidoNet 1:133/308 ID ??? Rebel BBS 208-887-3937 9600 5 Boise IL YYY EchoMania BBS 618-233-1659 14.4k HST 3 Belleville Fido 1:2250/1 (f'reg LINUX) F'reqs from unlisted nodes, online callback verifier (works L.D.) MD ??? Brodmann's Place 301-843-5732 14.4k 5 Waldorf RIME ->BRODMANN NC ??? MAC's Place 919-891-1111 DS modem 5 Dunn RIME ->MAC NY YYY Prism BBS,Middleton 914-344-0350 9600 HST/v.32 5 Middletown, NY Fidonet 1:272/38 NY YYY The Laboratory 212-927-4980 16.8k HST, 14.4k v.32bis 3-4 FidoNet 1:278/707 OR YYY Intermittent Connection 503-344-9838 14.4k HST v.32bis 5 Eugene, Ore 1:152/35 TX YYY Advanced BBS 512-578-2720 9600 5 Victoria, TX Fidonet 1:3802/215 VA ??? VTBBS 703-231-7498 5 Blacksburg WA YYY S'Qually Holler 206-235-0270 9600 5 Renton Fidonet 1:343/34 And here are all the known BBS's outside the US: AUSTRALIA: NSW YYN Linux-Support-Oz +61-2-418-8750 2400 2-3 Sydney Intlnet, SBCNet ? ??? 500cc Formula 1 BBS +61-2-550-4317 V.32 ? (2-3) CANADA: ON ??? EX-10 Kitchner 519-725-4400 ? ON ??? Ned's Ottawa 613-739-1591 2 ON ??? Bytown 613-236-1232 2 SmartNet PQ ??? Synapse 819-246-2344 819-561-5268 5 Gatineau RIME->SYNAPSE GERMANY: ??? bakunin.north.de 00 49 421 870532 9600 ? D 2800 Bremen kraehe@bakunin.north.de ??? ?????????????? +49-40-735-5349 14.4k 1 ??? Hipposoft's Mail Server +49-241-875090 14.4k V.32bis/HST 3 D-W5100 Aachen Fidonet 2:242/6 IRELAND: ??? TOPPSI +353-1-711047 or 773547 9600 ? Fidonet 2:263/151 NORWAY: ??? Thunderball Cave 472567018 ? RIME ->CAVE ? NETHERLANDS: ??? DownTown BBS Lelystad, Linux Support BBS 14.4k ? +31-3200-48852 FIDONET SOUTH AFRICA: ??? Andre Skarzynski - Linux Activists of Southern Africa ? +27 2231 78148 (Is this voice or data?) UNITED KINGDOM: NYN The Purple Tentacle +44-734-590990 HST/V32bis 3-4 Reading Fidonet 2:252/305 ??? A6 BBS +44-582-460273 14.4k ? Herts Fidonet 2:440/111 III. INSTALLATION and COMMON PROBLEMS ===================================== *** Note: this FAQ section should be kept up-to-date, and should *** be the most 'reliable' source for installation info. Please mail *** any corrections or changes to this section's coordinator, *** Matt Welsh (mdw@tc.cornell.edu). *** Last update November 1992. III.A. WHERE TO START: What are the reliable sources of information III.B. LINUX PACKAGES: Where and how install a complete Linux package III.C. SOME COMMON PROBLEMS: Simple problems and simple solutions III.A. WHERE TO START ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ QUESTION: I want to install Linux on my machine. Where do I start? ANSWER: The first thing you should do is read through the various introductory files, and ESPECIALLY the FAQ (this file). Especially this section :). A lot of effort has been done on these intro files, but note that some of them conflict with each other and cover older versions of Linux. When in doubt consult this file. These files are all found on tsx-11.mit.edu:/pub/linux/docs... FAQ The Linux Frequently Asked Questions list It's sitting in your hands now. This section is probably the best place to start to get the most up-to-date Linux installation information. INFO-SHEET Linux Information Sheet, by J. Winstead This is J. Winstead's general information sheet on Linux, and along with this FAQ is a good place to start for info. RELNOTES-xxxxx Linux version xxxxx Release Notes, by Linus Torvalds This is Linus's release notice for version xxxxx of the kernel. guide.txt Beginner's Guide to Linux for DOS Users, by C. Boyer Last version was for Linux 0.95a. A bit dated, but still has lots of useful information for getting started on Linux. WARNING: Note that much information in this guide is OBSOLETE! install.notes Beginner's Installation Guide, by I. Reid Last version was for Linux 0.95a. Generally covers how to install Linux using the "bootdisk/rootdisk" combo (for a basic setup): this is discussed below. WARNING: Note that some information in this guide is OBSOLETE! INSTALL-xxxxx Install notes for version xxxxx of Linux, by J. Winstead This is Jim Winstead's installation notes on the "bootdisk/rootdisk" combo, much like "install.notes" above. The last version for this was 0.96. More recent copies are on the rootdisk itself, so follow the directions below and read the file ON the rootdisk for more. CHANGES-xxxxx Changes to the version xxxxx rootdisk, by J. Winstead These are the notes on the changes to the most recent version of Jim Winstead's "rootdisk". Notes on that are below. README.kernel Kernel compilation README file, by L. Wirzenius This is the README notes for recompiling the Linux kernel from the sources. You don't need it unless you're planning to upgrade your kernel by compiling it yourself. Others Every "release" of Linux (such as MCC-interim, SLS, HLU's disks, etc., see below) has its own up-to-date README files and docs that explain how to install that release. This FAQ section summarizes, but for more info on how to install Linux, read the READMEs and docs for the release that you choose. QUESTION: Is there some kind of limit on how large my Linux partitions and/or filesystems can be? ANSWER: There's no limit on partition size (just the size of your drive), but Linux mainly uses the minix filesystem which limits filesystems to 64 megs each. You can also use the extended filesystem (which is still in testing, but has been included with recent kernel versions) which has a limit of 4 terabytes. Probably enough unless you have a disk array. :) III.B. LINUX PACKAGES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This section contains information about *SOME* of the possible Linux packages available. The information related to the MCC package were written by A.V. Le Blanc. QUESTION: Does there exist a way to get all (or nearly all) of the Linux stuff? ANSWER: Yes. To install Linux, you're going to want to choose one of the "releases" of Linux, all of which have a different method of installation and set up. Each release also has its own README and installation docs, which you'll want to read first. But I'll summarize here. The major releases are: * The "bootdisk/rootdisk" combo Linus's "bootdisk" (a kernel) and Jim Winstead's "rootdisk" which contains the tools for installing a basic Linux system to hard disk. See below for more. * H.J. Lu's "bootable rootdisk" Essentially the same as the "bootdisk/rootdisk" combo, above, but contains several disks: one bootable kernel/root filesystem disk, a disk for GCC, and disk(s) for misc tools and GCC libraries. As HLU himself puts it, this release is best used as a system backup (it doesn't have installation scripts; if you want to install a system from it you have to do it yourself). This is still a fairly new release. The images and docs are found at tsx-11.mit.edu:/pub/linux. * The "MCC Interim Release" ("Manchester Computing Centre") Several (at this point, seven) disk images that contain the Linux kernel, root filesystem, and binaries for every major program that you'll need, including GCC, file utils, bash, everything. Everything, that is, except X11 (which is easy to install on top of this release). The MCC interim release is very easy to install, and contains all the programs you'll need to partition your hard drive and create filesystems, etc. first before installing the Linux system itself. See below for more. *LAST UPDATE* kernel 0.97.2, a bit dated :( * The "Softlanding Linux System Release" Also known as the "SLS" release, consists of 14 disks for Linux and 8 for X11. The nice thing about this release is that you can pick and choose which disks and packages you want to install. The first 2 disks must be "rawritten" (using rawrite.exe) on floppies, and the rest of the images are put onto DOS format floppies. Contains all of the stuff in the MCC release plus a lot more (like mail/uucp), and includes X11 on the last 5 disks. Is also very easy to install for newcomers. * Others There are other releases and distributions of the Linux software, such as the "sc.tamu" and "MJ" releases. QUESTION: Where can I get these versions of Linux? ANSWER: The "bootdisk/rootdisk" combo can be found at tsx-11.mit.edu: /pub/linux/INSTALL, as well as at many mirror sites (which is true for ALL of this software). H.J. Lu's "bootable rootdisk" release is found at tsx-11.mit.edu: /pub/linux/packages/GCC, as well as the mirror sites. The MCC Interim release is at ftp.mcc.ac.uk:/pub/linux/mcc-interim. It's also mirrored to nic.funet.fi: /pub/OS/Linux/images/mcc-interim, and tsx-11.mit.edu: /pub/linux/mirrors/mcc-interim. The MJ release (discussed more below) can be found at ftp.dfv.rwth-aachen.de: /pub/linux/mj-bin. The SLS release is at tsx-11.mit.edu:/pub/linux/packages/SLS. The sc.tamu versions can be found at sc.tamu.edu:/pub/free_unix. QUESTION: What should I get to install the bootdisk/rootdisk combo release? ANSWER: FTP to one of the major Linux sites, such as tsx-11.mit.edu (directory /pub/linux/INSTALL) or sunsite.unc.edu (directory /pub/Linux) and get the files (you may have to look through some subdirectories): rawrite.exe (or rawrite2.exe) -- DOS executable to write the images to floppies bootimage-CURRENT_VERSION.Z -- The kernel bootimage floppy itself rootimage-CURRENT_VERSION.Z -- The root filesystem and installation floppy Also get the associated README files. Then transfer these files to DOS, uncompress the two images (you can either uncompress them under UNIX using the "uncompress" command or with the DOS executable "uncomp.exe"), and run rawrite on them. Note that rawrite2.exe may have problems on some drives and setups; rawrite.exe is older but more trustworthy. Rawrite will copy, sector-by-sector, the two images to two newly formatted floppies (of course when this is done the floppies no longer work under DOS). Note: you can also just use "dd" on your UNIX system (if it has a floppy drive attached to it) to copy the images to floppies. Something like "dd if=bootimage-KERNEL_VERSION of=/dev/fd0" should work; consult your system's manuals for the exact device name of the floppy drive. You can also try "cat bootimage-KERNEL_VERSION > /dev/fd0" Now you have two floppies: one with the bootimage and the other with the rootimage. Boot off of the bootimage disk and, when prompted, insert the rootimage disk. You're all set... look at the README files on the rootimage disk. To install the system from this disk you generally log in as "install" and follow the procedures outlined in the READMEs to create and format Linux partitions on your hard drive, install the software, and so on. Note: with the bootimage/rootimage combo release, even though you can install Linux on your hard drive, you can't BOOT Linux from your hard drive (you have to boot from a kernel floppy, the only drawback of which is that it's slower booting but afterwards you can take out the floppy and everything). To boot from your harddrive you have to install either the "LILO" program which changes the boot sector of your harddrive. This program is included with the MCC Interim and the SLS releases, or you can get is from one of the FTP sites seperately. QUESTION: What are the files /bin/sh and /bin/tar provided on the CURRENT_VERSION rootdisk image (rootdisk-CURRENT_VERSION)? ANSWER: This image has been setup by Jim Winstead Jr, thanks to him. The bin/sh is bash, the GNU tar is NOT on the root disk, instead the PAX utility is there, NOTICE that this pseudo-tar does NOT handle the 'z' option for compressed tar files, instead you have to do the following assuming the tared compressed file is myfile.Z and you want to test it (flag t): uncompress -c myfile.Z | tar tvf - or zcat myfile.Z | tar tvf - But otherwise it works fine. QUESTION: How do I get and install H.J. Lu's "bootable rootdisk" release? ANSWER: Basically follow the directions above for the 2-disk "combo" release (i.e. get the images, rawrite them to high-density DOS formatted floppies, boot off the boot disk). This release doesn't contain user-friendly installation scripts; it's meant for those who can install the images from the disks by hand (the READMEs contain instructions on doing this). QUESTION: What is the MCC interim version of Linux? ANSWER: The MCC (Manchester Computing Centre) versions of Linux are designed to provide an installation/recovery system for Linux at various release levels. As of Sept 92, five MCC versions of Linux have appeared at intervals of 6-8 weeks. The current versions include basic system utilities, many GNU utilities, man pages, groff, gcc and g++, gdb, and full kernel sources. MCC interim Linux is distributed entirely on floppy disk images, of which there are 7 in release 0.97p2 (boot, utilities, misc, comp1, comp2, g++, and gdb). The original intention was to create a basic Linux installation on two floppies, and other disks have been added in the course of time. QUESTION: What are the advantages and drawbacks of using MCC or another version over using the standard boot/root disks? ANSWER: It is not possible to keep a large distribution like the MCC interim versions absolutely up-to-date; if you want the very latest copy of one or another program, you must get it from one of the ftp sites yourself, and it might not cooperate with existing utilities. On the other hand, MCC interim versions provide a large number of utilities in a simple form, compiled in the same way, and integrated into a fairly stable system. An MCC version of Linux will not have its bugs fixed as rapidly. QUESTION: How is installing MCC interim Linux different from installing Linux from the standard boot/root disks? ANSWER: The MCC interim versions of Linux do not use a floppy as their root disk; instead they use a ramdisk contained on the boot image. This means that more programs can fit on fewer disks, but that more memory is used during installation. This may cause problems on systems with only 2megabytes of memory. Also, parts of the MCC interim systems may assume that some utility or library has been installed from the same MCC interim system, and so may not work properly if you have installed Linux from the standard root/boot disks. QUESTION: How can I find out more about the MCC interim versions of Linux? ANSWER: The file README in mcc-interim/0.97p2 at the various sites mentioned describes the available files. The file README.install in the same directory describes the installation in detail. QUESTION: How do I go about installing the MCC Interim release? ANSWER: FTP to ftp.mcc.ac.uk:/pub/linux/mcc-interim or one of the mirror sites and grab all of the images and the gobs of README files. Just rawrite these images to floppies and boot from the boot-US (or boot-UK) image (read the Q/A above on the bootdisk/rootdisk combo for instructions on using rawrite and so on). The reason you have a US and a UK boot and util disk is that the keyboard codes are different depending on the country. After booting the boot disk, you'll be prompted to put in the util-US (or util-UK) disk and proceed with the installation. The basic steps that you'll take are: -- run fdisk to create Linux partitions -- reboot from the boot floppy, then put in the util disk when asked -- run mkfs to make filesystems and mkswap to make swap space on those partitions -- Mount each of the disks in turn and run the install script on each of them It's actually pretty simple, and the installation scripts take care of most of the work. The tough part is making the partitions and filesystems, just read the "README.fdisk" with the MCC release on how to do this. QUESTION: Any information about the MJ-stuff ? ANSWER: The MJ-release was meant originally to allow users to upgrade their Linux system to the shared library structure. However, this setup has been standard for some time, and the other releases already incorporate this. You can still check it out: Following Wayne Davidson advice "the mcc-interim distribution has slightly smaller binaries on it, so I only used the mj set to fill in a few extra executables that I was missing. Now I not only have more executables on my disk than before but more free disk space than I started with." mj**** is the Martin Junius package and can be found at ftp.dfv.rwth-aachen.de in pub/linux/mj-bin.