Installing Fedora 7

Now that you've planned your installation and prepared the computer, you're ready to actually install Linux. The following procedure describes the steps you must follow to install Fedora 7 on a computer that has a bootable DVD-ROM drive:

1. Insert the Fedora 7 CD in the DVD drive and restart the computer. The computer boots from the DVD drive and displays a Linux boot prompt, which looks like this:
   Boot:
   If you don't have the installation DVD, download the DVD images from www.fedoraproject.org. Then, use DVD burning software to create a DVD from the image.
2. Press Enter.
   The computer starts Linux from the installation disk. The screen soon appears.
   This screen gives you several options for starting the installation. The most common is to simply press Enter.
3. Press Enter.
   Now a bunch of text messages fly by your screen as Linux starts up. Eventually, offering to test the CD media you're installing from to make sure you have downloaded and burned the CD images correctly.
4. Press the Tab key and then press Enter to skip the test.
   Still more text messages fly by, but soon Fedora switches into graphics mode and displays the Welcome to Fedora Core screen.
5. Click Next.
   The Language Selection screen appears, offering quite a few language choices.
6. Choose your language and then click Next.
   The Keyboard Configuration screen appears. It lets you choose from about 55 different keyboard styles.
7. Choose your keyboard type and then click Next.
   Next, Fedora asks for the host name for the computer.
8. Enter the name you want to assign this computer and then click Next.
   The Time Zone Selection screen appears. On this screen is a map of the world with dots representing about 500 different locations throughout the world.
9. Click the location that's closest to you and then click Next.
   Next, the Set Root Password screen appears. This screen lets you enter the all-important root account password. It's vital that this account be protected by a strong password, so choose a good one. Write down the password somewhere and store it in a secure location away from the computer.
10. Click Next.
    Fedora warns you that it is about to wipe out any existing data on your hard disk.
11. Click Write Changes to Disk.
    Next, the installation program displays the screen, which lets you choose the optional features you want to install.
12. Select the Web Server and Customize Now options and then click Next.
    The screen appears. This screen allows you to further customize the packages to be installed.
13. Click Servers.
    The list of optional server packages appears.
14. Select the server packages you want to install and then click Next.
    When you click Next, the installation program does some double-checking to make sure that none of the packages you have chosen depend on other packages you have not chosen. If it finds such a dependency, it adds the dependent package so that your system will function properly.
    After these dependencies have been verified, the installation programs begins the process of installing Linux.
15. Remove the installation disk from the drive and then click Reboot.
    The system is rebooted. Installation is done!

Virtual consoles and the installation program

Linux is inherently a command line oriented operating system. Graphical user interfaces - including the installation program's GUI - are provided by an optional component called X Window System. However, while you're working with the graphical user interface of the installation program, Linux keeps several additional command line consoles open. Normally, you don't need to use every one of these consoles during installation. However, if something goes wrong during installation, these consoles may be useful.

The following list describes the consoles:

• Console 1: The Installation dialog box. This is the main installation console. You see it when Setup first starts. After the graphical user interface takes over, it's hidden in the background. You can call it up by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F1.
• Console 2: Shell prompt. This console provides you with a shell prompt, from which you can enter Linux commands. If you need to do something manually during installation, you can do it from this console. The keyboard shortcut is Ctrl+Alt+F2.
• Console 3: Install log. This console lists messages generated by the installation program. You can get to it by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F3.
• Console 4: System log. This console displays system-related messages. You can get to it by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F4.
• Console 5: Other messages. Still more messages may appear in this console, which you can open by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F5.
• Console 6: X graphical display. This is the console where the graphical user interface of the installation program is displayed. If you use a Ctrl+Alt keyboard combination to view any of the other logs, press Ctrl+Alt+F7 to return to the installation GUI.

Using the Setup Agent

When Fedora restarts the first time after completing the installation program, it launches a handy feature called the Setup Agent. (The Setup Agent runs only if you installed a GUI.) The Setup Agent resembles the installation program, but it asks a few questions that the installation program forgot to ask.

When the Setup Agent starts, follow these steps to see it through to completion:

1. On the Welcome screen, click Forward to get started.
   The Setup Agent displays the License Agreement, as if after going through the previous 15 steps to install Fedora, you're now going to decide you don't agree to their terms. It's useless to resist.
2. Click Forward to confirm your acceptance of the license agreement.
   The Setup Agent asks you to create a user account so that you don't have to access the system by using the root account.
3. Type a name and password for the user account and then click Forward.
   The Setup Agent now asks you to set the date and time.
4. Select the correct date and time and then click Forward.
   Now the Setup Agent asks if you want to submit details about your hardware configuration as part of an effort to improve Linux's support for various hardware devices.
5. Click Send Profile or Do Not Send Profile and then click Finish.
   That's all there is. Your Linux system is now set up and ready to go.