Gnu/Linux Install Workshop

The beginner's guide to Gnu/Linux systems

Version 1.1, February 2009. Produced by the Free Range Community-Linux Training Centre Project
web: http://www.fraw.org.uk/cltc/ email: cltc@fraw.org.uk

The purpose of this workshop is to convey the facts about what free software is and how Gnu/Linux systems work. We'll look at very simple installation and manipulation of PC systems, and a few of the problems that you might encounter in the installation process.

The CLTC Project

This workshop has been developed by the Free Range Community-Linux Training Centre Project and Paul Mobbs. For further information see –
http://www.fraw.org.uk/cltc/
http://www.fraw.org.uk/mei/

The materials for this workshop are available under the Commons "Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike" License – feel free to share them with your friends for non-commercial purposes! You'll also find a lot more information on Gnu/Linux systems and free software on the CLTC publications page – http://www.fraw.org.uk/download/cltc/

During 2009 the CLTC Project will be developing two new Gnu/Linux resources as part of its ongoing work promoting free software:

The Fedora Installation and Extension Guide (FIEG) – a guide to installing free software and then manipulating the system to do all sorts of useful things, from word processing to Internet servers. The guide will be available from mid- to late-2009 at – http://www.fraw.org.uk/cltc/fieg/
The Command Line Interface Guide (CLIG) – The companion to FIEG, it examies the use of the command line rather than the graphical desktop, enabling you to do quite powerful things even on older computers (and especially network servers) where running a graphical system puts a lot of strain on the computer. The guide will be available from mid- to late-2009 at – http://www.fraw.org.uk/cltc/clig/

Workshop information

Attendees of the workshop receive three discs:

The Information CD – A collection of information about free software and Gnu/Linux systems. This CD also includes electronic copies of all the CLTC handouts meaning that all the links are click-able (you don't need to type web addresses, just click on the links).
The 'Live Distro' CD – This is a "live version" of a Linux system that will boot directly from the CD. Apart from being a useful way of demonstrating Gnu/Linux (without the hassle of installing it), you can also use this CD to test if the computer you'd like to install on will support/work with Gnu/Linux.
The Install DVD – This is a full installation DVD for a Gnu/Linux system. You use this to install from a DVD drive if you don't with to download huge amounts of data via the Internet (which takes a long time!).

The CLTC Project usually provides copies of the Fedora distribution – but depending upon the circumstances we might provide other distributions if appropriate. If there is a problem with any of the discs please email us – cltc@fraw.org.uk.

To use the Information CD, open the "index.html" file with a web browser to get a menu of the contents of the disc.

Getting started

General background information is provided by the CLTC's Free and Open Source Systems (FOSS) Handouts (a.k.a. the 'J' series – all Free Range publications are prefixed with a letter indicating what they're for). Copies of these handouts are provided on the Information CD, and they will tell you the basics about what free software and Gnu/Linux can do.

For more information we'd recommend that you try the following web sites:

Linux On-line (http://www.linux.org/) – explore the world of Linux from here.
The Free Software Foundation (http://www.fsf.org/) – learn more about what free and open source software is.
The Gnu Project (http://www.gnu.org/) – where it all started.
UK Linux User Groups (http://lug.org.uk/) – find your nearest Linux User Group to get help and support locally.
The Linux Documentation Project (http://www.tldp.org/) – lots of handy little guides to doing more technical things with your Gnu/Linux system.
The Fedora Project (http://fedoraproject.org/) – the preferred distro for the CLTC Project's work. For a list of other distributions see Wikipedia4.
Linux Format (http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/) – a magazine that provides information and help for beginners and intermediate users.
Linux Magazine (http://www.linux-magazine.com/) – another Linux computer mag. that cover more technical themes.

Buying Linux distributions/compatible PCs

Due to the dominance of Microsoft not many mainstream PC suppliers provide ready installed Gnu/Linux systems. The present options are:

The Linux Emporium (http://linuxemporium.co.uk/) – has a long record of supporting the needs of the Linux community. They provide very cheap copies of the latest distributions on DVD, other information and also sell Linux-compatible PCs at quite cheap prices.
Digital Networks UK (http://www.dnuk.com/) – another company with a long Linux history. They sells desktop PCs installed with Ubuntu or Debian, as well as support services.
Dell (http://dell.co.uk/) – if you want a more mainstream provider, Dell sell PCs installed with Ubuntu Linux (but the support is apparently quite patchy if you have problems).

Installation/booting a live distro

Installing a Gnu/Linux system can be difficult – the proprietary software world doesn't encourage you to do your own software support in case you realise that it's something that you can do yourself!

Firstly you're going to need a Linux-compatible PC. Most "old" (as in, more than a year or two old) computers will run a Linux system fairly well, although on some of the more advanced machines you might get compatibility problems. The simplest way to tell if your PC is compatible, before you spend any time wiping the hard drive and installing a Linux system, is to boot a live distribution from the CD/DVD drive. If that works then you can install a full system on the machine.

To begin you'll probably need to alter the BIOS setting. When the machine starts you see a message like "Press <key> to enter set-up" (where <key> is the key you need to press – usually Del, F1 or F2). This brings you to the BIOS menu (see image below). Go to the Advanced BIOS Features menu (usually – not in all cases!) and look for the "Boot Order" option. The "first boot" device should be set to BIOS menu screenshot image something like "CDROM" or "DVD". The screen will tell you which keys you have to press to move the cursor to that setting and then change it. Then you "Save and Exit" the configuration menu, and then when the machine re-boots it should read the disc in the CD/DVD drive. Once you've booted from the disc you just follow the instructions on the screen.

Sometimes, if you're using an old computer, the last owner might have password-protected the BIOS setting menu. On desktop machines the solution is simple – disconnect the small button battery that's mounted on the large circuit board inside and after a day the old settings will be erased. On laptops things are much harder because the battery is buried inside – in this case you'll have to ask the last owner for the password (dis-assembling laptops isn't advisable for beginners!). Ideally, the first time you install a machine, use a desktop not a laptop – laptop hardware can (but not always) be harder to configure for use with Linux.

Going further

When you've got used to using a Gnu/Linux system you might want to go a bit further – perhaps installing some new programs, configuring your system to do clever things like running a web server, or building or recycling you own computer. How far you go is up to you, but, unlike the proprietary world, when using free software the amount of money you have to buy help or new equipment isn't an obstacle to learning more!

You should try to get in touch with your local Linux User's Group (or LUG) – for details of groups in the UK see the web address given earlier. Some of the people in these groups can be quite intimidating, especially the hard-core Linux hackers, but mostly you'll be welcomed and given more help than you know what to do with. With LUGs, especially the email lists, remember that if you don't understand something just ask!

Produced by the Free Range 'Energy Beyond Oil' Project – http://www.fraw.org.uk/
© 2009 Paul Mobbs/The Free Range Network. This document has been released under The Creative Commons
Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike License ('by-nc-sa', version 3).