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WLUG InstallFest

WLUG held its inaugural InstallFest on 8 May 2004. This is a copy of the page we had up beforehand.

Online photos:

This page should tell you everything you need to know to turn up and get Linux installed on your computer. The InstallFest is open to everybody. We will endeavour to fix any sort of Linux installation problem right from "I don't know how to install Linux" through to "How do I make device X work with Linux".

Everybody in the LUG is encouraged to come to the InstallFest, even if you already have linux installed on your computer, the day is intended to be a social time, bring your computer along and show off what you have installed. It is also a great chance to bring friends to as there will be plenty of linux machines around to demonstrate with, even if your friend is not intending to install linux at least they can get a feel for what they will end up with on their computer.

Although it's called an InstallFest it's going to be a lot more than that, it's a social event for the LUG, a time to get together and help each other and also a chance to promote linux into the community.

  • When: Saturday 8 May 2004, 11am - 4pm
  • Where: CrawshawSchool
  • What to Bring: You will need a computer to install Linux onto. See below for notes about hardware requirements.
  • Cost: Nothing ($0), but please register beforehand

Registration

To enable us to ensure that we have sufficient resources and people on hand to assist you please register your intention to attend at the following page. http://www.wlug.org.nz/archive/installfest/registration.php

Hardware Notes

Although Linux is famous for running on old hardware, things will be a lot easier for yourself (and us) if you don't try and force linux on to the oldest peice of computer hardware you have lying around. We will be installing a full graphical system by default so the following is suggested as a minimum hardware requirement:

  • Pentium II Class Machine
  • At least 128MB Ram if you want a graphical desktop.
  • At least 5GB disk space, See note below
  • CDRom Drive (required for installation medium)

HardDisk Notes

A linux installation will require a minimum of 2 partitions to be created on your HardDisk and at least 5GB of space. ALL IMPORTANT DATA SHOULD BE BACKED UP before bringing your computer to the InstallFest. You need to ensure that either:

  • You don't want what is currently on the hard drive and don't mind it being completely blown away. Or
  • There is sufficient unpartitioned space on your disk to install Linux alongside your existing OperatingSystems

You may want to consider purchasing a second HardDisk to install Linux on. Given how cheap HardDisks are at the moment this is an easy way to protect your existing operating system.

HardDisk Repartitioning

WLUG will not be responsible for repartitioning your hard drive at the InstallFest, please ensure that your computer meets one of the criteria specified in the previous section before coming to the InstallFest. There are multiple reasons for this decision including

  • Repartitioning is by nature a risky business, WLUG does not want to be involved with any aspect of data backup / recovery. It is up to the individual user to ensure the security of any important data on their hard disk.
  • Time at the InstallFest is limited and we want to ensure that we spend all of the available time installing Linux on people's computers. Not trying to successfully repartition their hard disk.
  • HardDisks are cheap, the WLUG recommended solution is to purchase a second hard disk drive to install Linux on if you wish to retain your existing operating system.

If you are wanting to repartition your HardDisk to create 5GB of unpartitioned space before attending the InstallFest you may want to look at GNU Parted.

Provided your HardDisk meets the requirements specified in the above sections, access to any other operating systems installed on the disk should be easily retained through a Multiboot solution.

Recommended Distribution

The distribution that we will be recommending is Fedora (Core 1), however we will be happy to help with other distributions if you desire something else. Please use the registration form to notify us if you are planning on installing a distribution other than Fedora Core 1 so that we can ensure we have the appropriate resources / skills available. If you have not notified us that you would like to install a different distribution we cannot guarantee that we will be able to get anything to work.

Advertising

See InstallFestPressRelease.2004-05-08

Advertising for the InstallFest is being co-ordinated by MattBrown. You are encouraged to tell as many people (and groups of people) about the InstallFest as possible but please make sure you have touched base with MattBrown before submitting advertisements to any publications to ensure that an advertisement has not already been submitted and that the details you have are correct. When emailing a news outlet with a press release please use the text from the top of the InstallFestPressRelease page and then link to the rest of the information, keep the email short and to the point, if the journalist is interested in finding out more information they can use the provided URL.

The following general resources are provided to help you advertise the InstallFest

Advertisements have been placed with the following publications / websites / businesses

Advertisement Enquiries are pending with the following publications / websites

  • none at present

Future Publications - If you want to volunteer to contact one of these, please contact MattBrown

  • none at present

If you have suggestions for other places where the InstallFest should be advertised please contact MattBrown