Tweak3D.net - How to Install Linux

Posted: June 23, 2000
Written By: Keith "Farrel" McClellan

Post-installation Setup

Okay... all of the files are installed and you are ready to run Linux, right? Wrong – there are still several setup options you have to take care of first. The next thing you are going to need to do is setup your network – you can only set up either a modem connection or your network during setup (the other must be done after the installation is complete and you are in X Window), so I will assume you are working on a modem connection. Make sure that the modem is set to the appropriate COM port (remember, hardware modems only) and then set up your connection using the information you collected before the installation.

Next you need to set your computers timezone (an easy task) and then set up a printer. The printer is relatively easy – you tell it the type, it will autodetect it, and then you will just have to choose the closest available drivers. If there aren’t any, just don’t install the printer right away – you can do it from within Linux later once you have the appropriate driver or at least something passable. Another thing that you will be doing somewhere in these steps is setting a root password. You will be setting up some user accounts as well. I recommend putting a password on the root account and setting up at least one normal user for yourself and running off of that. Next you can go ahead and create a ‘real’ boot disk. You can probably use the same disk you used for the setup boot disk – you probably won’t need that again right away unless you messed up.

Next in the process is setting up LILO, the bootloader. Assuming you want to use LILO to boot your OS(es), the default setting for it in setup will work fine. Then you will get the chance to add OS listings to the LILO bootup menu – I would recommend leaving it alone and just clicking ok. After that you get to configure X Window (resolution and color depth – I recommend choosing one that you normally use and is definitely compatible with your video card and monitor like 1024x768x16. Tell it that you would like to test the settings and then make sure you tell it that you would like X Window to start up every time you start Linux. If you don’t, you will have to type startx after logging in to get X Window up. Setup will then push you right into the X Window login screen (KDE version unless you didn’t install it) and you will be able to start your first session of X Window under Linux.

Conclusion

Hopefully this guide has helped you install Linux and saved you some of the frustrations that I had the first time I installed the OS. Of course, it will still leave you with all of the “What do I do now?” questions but hopefully I’ll get the chance to cover that subject in a later guide. As always, feel free to email me with your thoughts/comments/suggestions.

Click here for a printer friendly version!

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