Pre-install

In your BIOS configuration utility disable any kind of anti-virus protection. After this, configure your system to use your CD-ROM as the first boot device.

Installation

1. Insert the ‘PCQ Linux install CD’ into the CD-ROM drive and reboot your system. The computer will automatically boot into the installation program.

2. The install program will prompt for an installation environment. The default is a graphical installation. If you prefer a text-based install, type ‘text’ at the prompt and hit the Enter key. The text-based install is faster on less powerful machines.

3. The installer will then ask for a language for the installation program to display its text (We will assume that you want English).

4. Enter data related to your keyboard layout. Most people can accept the defaults.

5. If you are using the graphical installer, you will be asked about your mouse. You will probably want to select one of the ‘generic’ mice. Most names that are listed (logitech, mouseman, etc) are for older mice that use obsolete protocols. Do not select them unless you know what you are doing. If your mouse has a scroll-wheel, select Microsoft Intellimouse.

6. When asked for an install type, select ‘Gateway System (PCQ)’.

7. Choose the automatic partitioning scheme. It will re-partition your drive using intelligent defaults. You may choose Disk Druid or fdisk if you have an alternative partitioning scheme (However, an explanation of their use is beyond the scope of this article).

8. Next, you will be asked details of configuration of your network interfaces. If you have the details handy, you can enter them. Please refer to the article titled Configuring the Gateway, page 109, for more details.

9. The firewall configuration screen offers a choice of firewall configurations. Choose ‘no firewall’. We recommend that you manually configure the firewall using the instructions in the gateway configuration article.

10. If you are using a text-based install, you will be prompted for details about your mouse at this point. Please refer to item 5 above.

11. When asked for languages to be installed, select English.

12. For time zone, choose ‘Asia/Calcutta’.

13. Enter a root password when prompted and do not forget it. Do not create any other user accounts on the gateway.

14. After installation of all packages, you will be given the opportunity to create a book disk. I strongly recommend that you create one. You can also create one after the install using ‘mkbootdisk’.

At this point, the installation is complete. Remove the CD ROM and reboot into your newly installed Linux system. Refer to the article titled Configuring the Gateway, page 109, to finish setting up your system.

Biju Chacko is a projects consultant with Exocore Consulting