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-(See Also LinuxInstallationNotes)
-----
-
-Linux Installation Strategies mini-HOWTO
-!!!Linux Installation Strategies mini-HOWTO
-!Tobby Banerjee
-
-tobbyb@usa.net
-
-
-
-__Philippe Martin - __Conversion to !DocBook SGML
-
-
-__Revision History__Revision 1..12001-05-02Revised by: pmConversion to !DocBook SGML.Revision 1.02000-12-20Revised by: tbInitial release.
-
-
-
-
-
-This document discusses a few installation strategies for those
-who intend to dual-boot between Windows and Linux.
-
-
-
-
-
-----; __Table of Contents__; 1. License; 2. Mail; 3. The basics; 4. A note about hard disks and partitions; 5. The concepts; 6. Partitioning; 7. Installation; 8. The Lilo way; 9. The Loadlin way; 10. Rebooting; 11. Setting up Loadlin; 12. Removing Linux and restoring your Windows partition to its Original
-state; 13. XFree 4.01; 14. Tips and Suggestions; 15. The State of Linux - What to Expect: ; 15.1. The Specifics - Wordprocessing; 15.2. Multimedia; 15.3. Internet; 15.4. Games; 15.5. Desktop Publishing----
-!!!1. License
-
-You are free to do with this document
-whatever you please but reading it would be a good idea. I am naturally not
-responsible for any consequence or action arising out of the use of
-information provided in this document. I am not a very responsible person
-and you heed me at your own peril.
-
-----
-!!!2. Mail
-
-Should you find this document helpful please
-feel free to mail me at `tobbyb@hotmail.comb. Microsoft shares
-will be highly appreciated but short of that flattery will do just fine.
-
-
-----
-!!!3. The basics
-
-The primary purpose of this document is
-to make the co-existance between Windows and Linux as simple and uncomplex
-as possible which means as far as Windows is concerned Linux doesn't
-exist. It is now possible to install Linux on a Windows partition as a disk
-image with what is known as the loopback filesystem
-- !RedHat and Mandrake offer this - but it's an extremely bad
-idea because of the way Windows handles files. Defragmenting the system will
-become a nightmare and Linux itself will crawl and it will ruin both your
-Windows and Linux experience. The same applies to the
-Umsdos filesystem (though Linux won't crawl) and
-it's best to install Linux on a partition of its own. This document makes a
-few presumptions but nothing to worry about - just a few.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-*
-
-You are using Windows 9x (95,98) not Me or 2000.
-
-
-*
-*
-
-You are familiar with computers ie you know
-how to boot the system using the floppy or cdrom drive
-
-
-*
-*
-
-You know your way around DOS and Windows
-
-
-*
-*
-
-You know what a partition is and want to install Linux on a
-partition of its own
-
-
-*
-*
-
-You have a large hard disk - upward of
-8.4 Gb - which currently holds
-Windows and on which you intend to install Linux (even
-those who with smaller disks can read on).
-
-
-*
-
-
-
-
-With that out of the way we can begin. The first thing to do is to
-make space for Linux. Like other Linux wannabes you are likely to be stuck
-with a huge single partition with Windows on it. This would be your
-''C'' drive. In my case it was hogging
-13.5 gigs. You have to make a separate partition
-for Linux out of this space (which would then be labelled as
-''D''). You can either use Windows
-Fdisk which really is not a good idea as it
-would entail losing all your data and making new partitions from scratch,
-one for Windows and one for Linux, or you can take the easier and far more
-convenient way out and use a free and excellent non-destructive
-partitioning utility called Fips. What makes
-Fips special is its ability to create a new
-partition out of the free space in your ''C''
-partition without any loss of data. The latest version of
-Fips (2.) is available at
-its homepage http://www.igd.fhg.de/~aschaefe/fips/
-and most Linux distributions carry it under the
-/dostools or
-/dosutils directory in the primary
-cd.
-
-
-
-We are going to concentrate on using
-Fips so if you are going to use Windows
-Fdisk - which actually is totally
-unnecessary unless you have just bought a new system and even then it's a
-better idea to make a single partition with Windows
-Fdisk, install Windows on it and then use
-Fips to split it for reasons that I'm going to
-explain later in this document - or a commercial partition utility
-like Partition Magic you are on your
-own.
-
-----
-!!!4. A note about hard disks and partitions
-
-A hard disk can have a maximum of 4 primary
-partitions - don't ask me why, I don't know. Apart from primary
-partitions a hard disk can also have what is known as an extended partition
-which inturn can hold a number of logical partitions - I believe the
-number is close to 15. The extended partitions are not
-real partitions like primary or logical partitions in that they don't store
-data but are actually containers for logical partitions which is where data
-is actually stored - as you can see it is uneccessarily complex. Thus
-in Windows ''C'' is a primary partition and if you used
-Windows Fdisk - Windows
-Fdisk will not make more than one primary
-partition to partition your hard disk - ''D'' is
-usually the first logical partition of the extended
-partition. ''E'' would be the second logical partition
-and so on. In Linux things are slightly different. The first primary
-partition is called /dev/hda1, the
-second primary partition /dev/hda2
-upto the fourth which is /dev/hda4.
-Linux refers to the an extended partition as in the case of a disk with
-1 primary and one extended partition as
-/dev/hda1 for the primary and
-/dev/hda2 for the extended. The
-logical partitions of the extended partitions are referred to as
-/dev/hda5,
-/dev/hda6 and so on. The second hard disk
-would be referred to as /dev/hdb,
-the third /dev/hdc (usually the
-cdrom drive if set as secondary master) and the fourth and last hard disk as
-/dev/hdd (last because the
-motherboard has place for a maximum of 4
-IDE devices) SCSI devices are referred
-to as /dev/sda - thank god for
-that.
-
-----
-!!!5. The concepts
-
-What Fips does is make a new primary
-partition out of the free space in your hard disk. This is an inherently
-dangerous operation and it's a good idea to back up all your important
-data lest something go wrong. Having said that
-Fips has been used successfully by a large
-number of people in different conditions and unless there is something
-already wrong with your hard disk, FAT (File Allocation
-Table) or partition table things will work just fine. You should read the
-Fips documentation.
-
-
-
-Before you set out to partition the hard disk you have to decide
-how you want to boot into Linux. The default and most common method is to
-use Lilo - a simple and basic bootloader
-program that overwrites (after saving) your hard disk's
-MBR (Master Boot Record) and on booting the system
-gives you a choice between booting either Windows or Linux. If you select
-Windows it boots Windows and you are met with the familiar windows screen
-or if you select Linux it boots Linux and if you don't make a choice in
-the stipulated time - could be anything from
-±5 seconds depending on on how you set it up
-- it boots the default operating system, Windows or Linux, again
-depending on how you set it up. You can restore your original
-MBR anytime, when uninstalling Linux for instance,
-either by typing __/sbin/lilo -u__ within
-Linux or typing __fdisk /MBR__ in DOS
-(this will overwrite the MBR with the original Windows
-MBR) needless to say you would lose the option to boot
-into Linux after this and thus access to your Linux partition.
-
-
-
-The problem with using Lilo especially
-for those with large disks is you would have to give up a substantial
-chunk of your disk space to Linux. This is not a flexible solution since
-while you can access your Windows partition from within Linux - the
-large MPEG files can thus be stored in Windows and
-accessed by both operating systems - the alternate is not
-true.
-
-
-
-This is because of an arcane BIOS limitation
-that limits Lilo to the first
-1024 cylinders of the hard disk. Windows and Linux have
-no such limitations - it has something to do with address
-translation and LBA which I have yet to fully
-understand. Suffice to know the BIOS cannot access data
-that is beyond this 1024 cylinder limit and since
-Lilo is dependent on the
-BIOS to boot the OS's nor can
-it. Thus if you want to use Lilo to boot Linux
-you got to make sure that the Linux partition is well below the
-1024 cylinder limit. My hard disk - and most
-modern hard disks have more than 1024 cylinders -
-has 1650 cylinders and using
-Lilo means making the Linux partition at about
-the 1000 or 1010 cylinder mark which
-translates into a whopping 5.2 Gb of
-12.9 Gb to Linux and this wasn't working for me
-since my Linux stuff hardly need more than 2 Gb
-and my Windows data on the other hand with MP3's and
-MPEG movies needs a lot more than
-7 Gb.
-
-
-
-The solution, and in Linux there are always solutions, is
-Loadlin, an underrated alternative to
-Lilo which is inexplicably not as popular or
-widespread, inexplicable because it's far more flexible. If you intend to
-use Loadlin and for those with large hard-disks
-it's an excellent alternative you don't have to worry about the
-1024 cylinder limit. Even better you can launch Linux
-from your Windows desktop and modify your
-autoexec.bat file to give you an option to boot into
-either of the OS's during boot time not unlike
-Lilo. You are then free to size your partitions
-as you please. In my case a 2.2 Gb extended
-partition with 3 logical partitions. That's right
-3 partitions. It's normal to make three partitions, one
-for the Kernel boot files, one for the root partition and one for the swap
-partition but more on that later.
-
-
-
-If you must use Lilo but are unwilling
-to give up a lot of space there is a solution. Place the Linux partition
-in the middle of the disk. You have to split the new partition you just
-created using Fips into 2
-(you would have to use Fips once again for
-this) the first partition which falls within the 1024
-cylinder limit can be used for Linux and the second you can use for
-Windows. Thus your hard disk will then have 3
-partitions the first and third for Windows and the one in the middle for
-Linux. I don't like this arrangement but it's up to you. (At the moment we
-are refering to the Linux partition as one but during the installation you
-will split it into 3 using the Linux tools) You can
-also make a small 15-20 Mb
-/boot partition and place it before
-the 1024 cylinder mark and the rest of the installation
-anywhere on the hard disk but again I quite don't like this.
-
-----
-!!!6. Partitioning
-
-Now we are ready to actually partition the hard disk. First make a
-DOS boot disk (type __format a: /s__ at
-the DOS prompt or in DOS). Put the following three files in the disk,
-fips.exe, restorrb.exe and
-errors.txt. Defragment your hard disk - this
-puts all the data at the beginning leaving enough space for
-Fips to create a new partition from. If you use
-Norton !SpeedDisk select the unfragment free
-space option. Norton usually puts data at the
-end of the disk and this will prevent Fips from
-creating a new partition. Run Scandisk and
-reboot using the bootdisk you just created.
-
-
-
-Type __fips__ at the prompt and
-Fips will show you your partition table with a
-warning about partition table inconsistency. If your disk has more than
-1024 cylinders its usually safe to ignore this
-warning. Next Fips will ask you is you want to
-proceed - the program is extremely meticulous - answer yes
-obviously and when prompted to save a backup of your partition table and
-boot sector answer yes - this step is absolutely vital as it allows
-you to restore your hard disk to its unpartioned single partition state
-should anything go wrong. It also comes in handy if you want to uninstall
-Linux or resize your Linux partition. It doesn't matter what happens to
-the new partition in the meantime, if you have the back up you can restore
-your hard disk to its original unpartioned state. This reversible
-operation will work in all circumstances but one; if you format your
-original (Windows) partition which was split to make space for Linux in
-the meantime, the original FAT is overwritten with a
-new and smaller one and the restore operation will not work.
-
-
-
-After making the backup you will be presented with a screen with
-3 numbers, the first represents your original partition
-- notice it is at its smallest size, Fips
-has allocated all free space in the hard disk to the new partition, this
-is the default behavior. The second column shows the cylinder info which
-will be the guide for those who plan to use
-Lilo. The third shows the size of the new
-partition you are going to create - it is at its largest size. Use
-the arrow keys to resize the partition, you would just have to reduce the
-size of the new partition since it is at its maximum to a size you
-want. For Lilo users the new partition has to
-be below the 1024 cylinder mark,
-1000 is a reasonable beginning for the new
-partition. After you are satisfied with the size of your new partition
-press enter, Fips will ask you to confirm and
-write the new partition table.
-
-
-
-Reboot your system. Remember to change the BIOS
-settings to boot from the hard disk or you will end up rebooting with the
-floppy. Double click My Computer and you will see the
-result of all the hard work, there will be a new drive labelled
-''D'' alongside the original
-''C''. Don't touch ''D'', run
-scandisk on your original partition
-(''C'') - hopefully there will be no errors
-- and at this point you are ready to install Linux.
-
-
-
-Some of the Linux documentation mistakenly ask you to delete the
-newly created partition using Windows Fdisk. Do
-not commit that blunder because if you do the Linux partitions will show
-up in My Computer when you reboot after installing
-Linux and since Windows obviously cannot read these drives and the
-ext2 filesystem, using
-Explorer and acessing your hard disk in Windows
-will become a time consuming and destabilizing affair. So don't do
-it.
-
-----
-!!!7. Installation
-
-Reboot using your Linux Installation CD - I use Redhat 6.2 which is
-fairly straight forward and I will focus on it. Most Linux distributions
-have really worked on their installation programs and you shouldn't have a
-problem. Just have the details about your hardware in hand, the horizontal
-and vertical refresh rate of your monitor in case the installation program
-doesn't automatically detect it ( you will find the exact figures in the
-manual ), the video card, its memory type ( SDRAM or
-SGRAM ) and size, and your mouse type -
-PS2 or Serial. As I mentioned earlier you will have to
-make about 3 partitions for Linux, you can make more
-but 3 is the recommended number. There are
-3 main installation types,
-''Workstation'', ''Server'' and
-''Custom''. The Server class install erases everything in
-the hard disk so beware. The workstation and custom installs have
-sub-classes but that's for you to explore.
-
-
-
-Loadlin users have to select custom
-installation and dump Lilo when given the
-oppurtunity because the other types of installations install
-Lilo by default and without asking and we dont
-want that do we? Lilo users have no
-restrictions; you can opt for whichever install type you like.
-
-----
-!!!8. The Lilo way
-
-Lilo fans can use Disk
-Druid which is !RedHat's default partitioning utility
-- yes we haven't finished with partitioning just yet. First delete
-the second partition which will show up in
-Disk Druid's screen as
-/dev/hda2. Then create a new
-partiton, set its mount point to
-/boot and size to
-16 Mb. Create the second partition and set its
-mount point to /(that's called the
-root partition) and size to ''growable''. This tells
-Disk Druid to reclaim all free space after you
-have finshed partititoning . Create the third partition and set its mount
-point to swap and size to about
-127 Mb presuming you have
-64 Mb RAM, those with less can
-make a 64 Mb swap partition.
-
-----
-!!!9. The Loadlin way
-
-Those who intend to use Loadlin however
-cannot use Disk Druid, they will have to use
-Linux Fdisk which may have an intimidating
-reputation but is actually pretty simple. When presented with the
-installation type screen select
-custom and with fdisk (you
-will find a small button with fdisk on it at the
-top of the screen). For some reason Disk Druid
-doesn't let you proceed with the installation if your
-/boot partition is above the
-1024 cylinder limit so if you try to use it to create
-the partitions the install program will refuse to
-proceed. Fdisk is a pretty straight forward
-program and easy to use too. First you have to delete the partition you
-just created using Fips. Many people don't
-understand why they have to delete the partition they just created at
-considerable risk. This new partition is actually a
-FAT32 partiton which Linux cannot use and when you
-delete it it doesn't revert to being a part of ''C''
-but is actually UNPARTITIONED FREE SPACE which you
-can use to create new partitions.
-
-
-
-You have to understand a few Fdisk
-operations, typing __m__ lists all the options, typing
-__p__ at the prompt shows you the current partition table,
-__d__ deletes a partiton, __n__ creates a
-partition, __q__ quits without saving changes so if you make
-any mistakes there is nothing to worry about just type __q__
-and start all over again, __w__ writes changes to the
-partition table use only after you are sure and __L__ shows
-you the hex numbers for different partition types but you only need to
-know 2, Linux native is hex number
-83 and Linux swap is hex number
-82. So why do you need the Hex numbers? While
-Disk Druid allows you to mount a swap partition
-without going into the hex numbers in Fdisk the
-only way to make a swap partiton is to give it its correct hex number
-which is 82.
-
-
-
-Let's start, in Fdisk type
-__p__ at the prompt and you will see the current partition
-table. Type __d__ and select the partition you want to delete
-which in this case would be
-/dev/hda2 (just type 2)
-type __p__ again and you will see the change reflected in the
-partition table. There will now be a single FAT32
-partition /dev/hda1 (which is
-actually ''C''). Type __n__ to create a
-new partition and for type of partition the choices being
-''primary'' or ''extended'' select
-__e__. There is no hard and fast rule about this for instance
-you could have a primary partition for
-/boot and an extended partition
-holding two logical partitions / and
-swap. I recommend an extended partition that
-holds three logical partitions. Now you have to size your extended
-partition properly since it's a container for the three logical
-partitions. From now on you just have to respond to
-Fdisk. It will ask you to set the size of the
-extended partition that you want to create. This partition will start
-where your Windows partition ends and ends at the end of the disk. You can
-either give the size in M (megabytes) in cylinder
-numbers or in K (kilobytes). Just accept the default
-for the start of the partition and select the end cylinder number for the
-end - Fdisk will give you the end
-cylinder number.
-
-
-
-Repeat the operation for the three logical partitions, only this
-time you would have to select logical instead of extended and the
-appropriate sizes which are 16 Mb for the boot
-partition, 127 Mb for the swap partition (the size
-of the swap partition is variable depending on installed
-RAM, double your RAM is recommended)
-and the rest of the free space for the root
-( / ) partition. Find your way
-- it's simple, really! After creating the three partitions type
-__p__ and you will see the partitions you just created. There
-will be /dev/hda2 (extended)
-/dev/hda5 (logical)
-/dev/hda6 (logical) and
-/dev/hda7 (logical). There is just
-one thing left to do, set the hex number for the swap partition. Type
-__t__ and select the 127 Mb partition
-you created which would be
-/dev/hda6 enter
-6 for the partition number and
-82 for the hex number (you will be prompted) and you
-have just finished with partitioning. Type __w__ after making
-sure and Fdisk will write the new partition
-table and exit. The next screen will be the
-Disk Druid screen our
-Lilo friends
-have already seen and you just have to mount the partitions with
-Disk Druid. Select
-/dev/hda5 (the
-16 Mb partition) and mount it as
-/boot. Select
-/dev/hda7 and mount it as
-/ (the root partition)
-
-----
-!!!10. Rebooting
-
-The rest of the installation is straight forward and requires no
-hand holding. Select the packages you want, make the boot disk when given
-the oppurtunity to (absolutely essential especially for
-Loadlin users) and reboot the
-system. Lilo users should press
-__dos__ at the Lilo prompt
-to boot into Windows. Like promised none of the Linux partitions will be
-visible to Windows and we can all rest in peace for
-that. Lilo users should reboot the system and
-boot into linux this time by typing __linux__ at the
-Lilo prompt and depending on the choices you
-made you will either be at the console or the
-gnome or kde
-desktop. From one amateur to another it's always a good idea to log into
-the console first and not graphically and then starting
-X because if X
-crashes on you still have access to the system to make amends.
-Lilo is set to boot into Linux by default after
-a gap of 5 seconds, you can change the default to
-Windows by editing the lilo file in
-/etc. Look for the line that says
-''default=linux'' and change it to
-dos. Alternative launch lilo
-from an xterm and change the asterisk from
-linux to dos (use the arrow buttons,
-dummy). That's set now for Lilo
-users.
-
-----
-!!!11. Setting up Loadlin
-
-Loadlin users still have a little work to
-do. First boot into Linux with the floppy. If you logged in graphically
-start a terminal emulator like xterm or some
-other. There are always a couple of these under the utilities menu. Type
-__mkdir /mnt/dosc__. This is the first step to make your
-Windows partition accessble to Linux and this is particularly important
-for Loadlin users as it is the easiest way to
-tranfer the Linux kernel to your Windows partition. Next start
-linuxconf from the system menu or the
-xterm and look for the filesystem menu. Expand
-accesss local drives and select
-add. Type __/dev/hda1__ in the
-partition field, __vfat__ in the type field and
-__/mnt/dosc/__ in the mount point field and mount the
-partition. Alternatively you can directly edit the
-fstab file in
-/etc in a text editor
-(Gedit is a good choice) and add the following
-line exactly as shown.
-
-/dev/hda1 /mnt/dosc vfat defaults 0
-
-
-
-
-This should give you access to your Windows partition, it will be in
-/mnt/dosc/. Copy the linux kernel
-to your ''C'' directory and rename it to
-vmlinuz. You will find it in
-/boot and probably called
-''vmlinuz'' followed by your kernel version number in
-my case vmlinuz-2.2.14-5.. Do not copy the
-vmlinuz with an arrow in it, its a
-symbolic link. Reboot into windows, get the
-loadlin package from the Linux cd - it
-will be in the /dostools/utils
-subdirectory. Unzip it and place Loadlin.exe in the
-''C'' directory. Loadlin
-and the kernel can be anywhere on your windows partition but for the time
-being we will leave it in root directory of Windows. Now its up to you how
-you want to boot into Linux. Read the loadlin
-documentation for the details. The roundabout way is to restart the system
-in DOS mode and type:
-
-C:b __loadlin vmlinuz root=/dev/hda7 ro__
-
-
-
-
-This will boot you into Linux. The easier way is to make a
-.bat file with the same information and placing it on
-your desktop. Open notepad type
-__c:\loadlin c:\vmlinuz root=/dev/hda7 ro__ and save
-the file as linux.bat, right click the file, select
-advanced, and check the msdos mode and warn
-settings. Make a shortcut to this file and put it on your desktop. The
-next time you want to boot into Linux just double click this file and you
-will be in - talk about convenience.
-
-
-
-If you want to be prompted to boot into linux before Windows boots
-like the Lilo guys you have to make another
-.bat file and call it from your
-autoexec.bat file. It's very simple and the details
-are available in the Loadlin documentation. The
-file looks a bit like this.
-
- @echo off
-cls
-echo.
-echo.
-echo.
-echo.
-choice /t:n,5 "Do you wish to boot Linux?"
-if errorlevel 2 goto End
-c:\loadlin c:\vmlinuz root=/dev/hda6 ro
-End
-
-''(This little script has been filched from the
-Loadlin documentation which you would know if
-you did the sensible thing and read the documentation)''
-
-
-
-
-Save this text as linux.bat or if there
-already is a linux.bat in your Windows root directory
-you can place it in another directory or give it another name. Add the
-following line to your autoexec.bat file
-__c:\linux '__(or whatever you have named the
-.bat file). The main thing if you are using a
-.bat file is to tell
-Loadlin where to find the kernel image file
-(vmlinuz). The above .bat file
-gives you the option to boot into Linux before Windows loads by typing
-__y__ (for Linux) or __n__ (for Windows) within
-five seconds at which point it boots Windows. Enjoy.
-
-----
-!!!12. Removing Linux and restoring your Windows partition to its Original
-state
-
-Depending on whether you are using Lilo
-or Loadlin the method differs
-slightly. Lilo users have to first restore
-their original MBR either by typing __/sbin/lilo
--u__ within Linux or typing __fdisk
-/MBR__ in DOS. The next steps
-are common for both Loadlin and
-Lilo users. These are not really neccessary but
-just to be on the safe side I do them all the same.
-
-
-
-Boot using the Linux installation CD and type __Linux
-expert__ at the first prompt, answer whatever you wish to the
-next questions until you get to the install selection screen. Here select
-''Install'' and ''With Fdisk'' and use
-Fdisk to delete all Linux partitions. Write the
-changes to disk and
-__Ctrl__-__Alt__-__Delete__
-your way out of the installation program or reset your system to
-reboot. Remember to change the BIOS settings to boot
-from the hard disk or else you will reboot from the
-CDROM again.
-
-
-
-Reboot once again, this time with the
-fips disk that has the backup of your partition
-table and boot sector - you saved it, didn't you? - and type
-__restorrb__ at the prompt. Answer
-__yes__ to the question, the program will restore your
-partition table and boot sector and you can pat yourself on the back for
-accomplishing the impossible - reclaiming lost partition space! This
-is all the more reason for making sure that the crucial backup file
-(Rootboot.000) is saved in at least
-5 different locations. You can never be too
-careful. Reboot back into Windows and run
-scandisk on the newly increased
-''C'' drive. It will report one error in the
-fsinfo sector which is just a used and free space
-accounting error. Your Linux data is now naturally lost for
-ever. Hopefully this procedure won't be neccessary unless you are
-increasing space allocated to Linux or getting rid of Windows.
-
-----
-!!!13. XFree 4.01
-
-It's a good idea to upgrade your Xserver
-to 4.01. At the moment only !RedHat 7.0 ships with this
-version of X but it is availabe from the X
-consortium's (how corny) ftp site -
-ftp.xfree86.org/. It provides direct
-acceleration and increased performance for a large number of accelerated
-cards and those with Nvidia cards are in luck for not only does
-X 4.01 natively provide excellent support for
-most of their cards but Nvidia have made available high performance
-OpenGL accelerated drivers - cheers to them. See
-XFree's home site -
-http://www.xfree86.org/ - for more info.
-
-----
-!!!14. Tips and Suggestions
-
-
-
-
-
-
-*
-
-Whatever soundcard you have Alsa drivers will deliver
-better performance and if like me you have the Yamaha 724 the Alsa
-drivers are nearly as good as those provided by Yamaha for
-Windows. You will of course have to compile them for your system but
-don't let that deter you. Its a simple matter of three commands. The
-alsa drivers are available at
-http://www.alsa-project.org/
-
-
-
-*
-*
-
-Those used to scrolling with their mouse wheel/s will
-not like Linux if they can't scroll. The good news is you can but it is
-not set up by default. Add the following line to your
-XF86Config file in
-/etc/X11/ in the mouse
-section __"ZAxisMapping 4 5"__
-(obviously without the quotes though in
-Xfree 4.01 you would have to
-enclose the numerical values in quotes) If this doesn't work visit the
-Linux scroll wheel homepage at
-http://www.inria.fr/koala/colas/mouse-wheel-scroll/
-set up by a curiously named fellow called Colas Nahaboo.
-
-
-
-*
-*
-
-By default the hard disk is not configured to perform
-at its optimum and in most cases the difference can be dramatic.
-DMA, 32 bit IO and
-multiple sector transfers are disabled by default and you
-should enable them at the earliest this is of course presuming you have
-a relatively new hard disk that support these features. As a test you
-should benchmark your hdd before and after you
-change the settings just to see the difference tweaking can do to
-your system. The utility to change the settings is
-hdparm and you can run it from an
-xterm or the console but for a permanent
-solution append the command to your rc.d local
-file in /etc/rcd. Before you
-use hdparm read the documentation
-carefully. Its a powerful utility and misusing it can trash your
-disk. First run __hdparm__ with the
--i option to get the
-info on your hdd, then benchmark it without the
-changes by running
-__hdparm -Tt /dev/hda__. Then run
-__hdparm -c 1 -d 1
--m16 -k 1 /dev/hda__
-
-
-
-
-__hdparm -d 1__ (sets
-dma to on)
--m''x''(this sets
-multiple transfers where ''x'' represents the
-maximum (in my case 16) that your
-hdd allows - running
-__hdparm__ with the -i option gives
-you the maximum that your hdd allows )
--c 1 (sets 32 bit io) and
--k 1 keeps the setting. In my case the data
-transfer shotup from a mere 3.16 to
-16.8 Mb/sec!
-
-
-*
-*
-
-A file system driver for the
-ext2 filesystem for Windows,
-ext2fs is available from its homepage
-http://uranus.it.swin.edu.au/~jn/linux/
-giving you the added convienience of reading your Linux partitions from
-within Windows.
-
-
-*
-
-
-----
-!!!15. The State of Linux - What to Expect
-
-Programmers and Enthusiasts - For programmers Linux is already a
-near perfect solution. No other system gives so offers you a wider array of
-tools and platforms for development. The flexibility is simply amazing and
-it doesn't carry a price tag. An added benefit is the sense of community and
-that's priceless.
-
-
-
-Enthusiasts never had it so good. There is aways something new to
-discover and since the system is totally transparent your chances of
-understanding computing and programming in general - you will be
-interested if you aren't already - are infinitely higher than in
-Windows. Tinkering will never be the same again.
-
-
-
-For the home user - There are 5 separate
-areas
here, the internet,
-gaming, basic word processing, administration and multimedia. We aren't
-going to talk about ease of use here because the days of an ugly and
-unwieldy interface are long gone, at the moment as far as usability and
-sheer visual pizazz is concerned Gnome has
-taken the pants off Windows so
-there is nothing to worry about there. File management, installing and
-uninstalling software and basic administration are more streamlined and
-centralized and as you use Linux more you probably will get over any
-prejudice toward the command line which is nothing like the impotent
-DOS prompt. This is an outrageously powerful shell that
-will accomplish anything
-you can think off faster than it takes you to select a button. You might be
-intimidated at first but its the heart of Linux the control centre, the
-headquarters, your direct line to the kernel. Hardware configuration is not
-as simple as in Windows mostly because plug and play has complicated things
-not eased them but it's not difficult either, the best thing to do is set
-your BIOS to ''non pnp'' so that it
-can configure things especially the sound
-card, but ''read read read''. There is a lot
-of documentation on your system and with that behind you everything
-becomes simple. There is no excuse for ignorance.
-
-----
-!!15.1. The Specifics - Wordprocessing
-
-Corel !WordPerfect is good but for the
-simplest solution try Abiword -
-http://www.abisource.com/. It's good
-and bears an uncanny resemblance to MSWord
-- now now. Both are free and
-widely available - I don't know about
-Wordperfect 9 , 8
-is free, good and available. Other options are
-Applixware and Star
-Office. I haven't used Applix
-but Star Office is really ugly and slow and
-just the sort of software that could put you off Linux and its just as
-bad in Windows. Version 5.1 was tolerable but after Sun took it over its
-deteriorated and version 5.2 is the pits. Plain text and html editors are
-sprouting by the day. Most distribution carry a lot of software so
-look. I'm not much of a spreadsheet person but there is
-GNUmeric which is
-not unlike Excel and a glaring inadequacy in
-printing is now rectified. It looks good. Corel have ported nearly all
-their apps and they are not as expensive as their Windows counterparts
-and with the same functionality.
-
-----
-!!15.2. Multimedia
-
-This is one area where Linux will not be found wanting. There are
-as many if not more mp3 players than Windows. The
-most common is XMMS, is somewhat like
-Winamp and just as good - has some
-great visualization plugins. Other mp3 players are
-Gqmpeg, Freeamp,
-Alsaplayer. That's enough
-for me. Mpeg1 vcd players are a
-bit scarce, MTV is good and available -
-hteztp://www.mtvplayer.com/ free for personal
-use - a totally free solution is available from lokigames -
-http://www.lokigames.com/ There are
-more. There are a few mp2 players
-movie is good. I' don't have a dvd
-player so I don't know but Xmovie should
-tackle mpeg2 streams. Most of my
-mpeg1 players are GL accelerated
-and perhaps my vcd playsback as well as
-Windows Media Player. Ripping is a reality
-with a lot of options no more ASPI headaches
-- most of the Linux apps read digital data directly from
-the discs and all the popular codecs are available;
-Xing, Fraunhofer but I
-use Blade and Lame
-- two excellent freeware encoders avalible for all
-platforms. There are also a couple of tools for cdwriting. Check some of
-the Linux archives.
-
-----
-!!15.3. Internet
-
-Again things are really happening here though one wishes there
-were a few more browsers other than Netscape
-but then Netcape is adequate. There are all
-the other stuff you will find for Windows, chat utils, instant
-messaging, ftp, downLoaders etc.
-
-----
-!!15.4. Games
-
-The problem area is games, there is a project on to port
-popular games to Linux by Lokigames and they have a number of titles
-ready -
-http://www.lokigames.com/ -
-Quake
-283 are out, System Shock,
-Heavygear etc. The thing here is to make
-sure you have at least Xfree 4.01 and support
-for your video card.
-
-----
-!!15.5. Desktop Publishing
-
-That leaves us with DTP and this is one area
-where Linux could pound Windows but the thrust has been missing. Linux could
-really be optimized for
-DTP. Ghostscript - a
-!PostScript RIP - already
-offers a professional (if you know how) solution for printing and your
-printer is probably supported. If you already have a postscript
-printer there is no problem to start with. For image editing there is
-Gimp. It is nearly as good as
-Photoshop - and
-that's some compliment -
-but for lack of CMYK and colour management support
-ruling it out of
-serious print work but it can be a good semi-professional solution and
-for web work perfect and it's fun to
-use. Gimp also has a couple of
-good drivers for Epson printers. Ghostscript
-has a problem with bitmaps - not all bitmaps but photographs, you
-could eventually get some good output but it will take some amount of
-tweaking. As far as text and vector graphics is concerned it's good
-enough to replace my Epson driver in Windows (it has a Windows
-version) !GhostScript is available at its
-homepage http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/
-
-
-
-
-Word processing is already covered. The problem areas are
-vector editing and page layout. Framemaker
-for Linux is a solution and !CorelDraw is
-available but they are both commercial offerings. There are
-vector editors but all are at a nascent stage.
-Sketch,
-Killustrator and
-Impress are coming along but far away from
-professional solutions like
-Draw and
-Adobe Illustrator. For page layout there is
-Tex but those used
-to Pagemaker,
-Quark or !InDesign
-are not going to be amused, its tough to
-learn and difficult to control and there are way too many issues with
-things like fonts and its not wysiwyg - we
-can't live without that.
-
-
-
-On a last note at the moment the only difference in
-productivity for me is in vector graphics, page layout and games. They
-are perhaps a year away at which point Linux would have over taken
-Windows - at least as far as I'm concerned - and I would
-have little reason to dual boot but I think having Windows is in a odd
-way comforting as is having Linux, perhaps I will always use them
-both
.
+Describe [HowToInstallStrategies]
here.
