Chapter 9

Installing Linux

In This Chapter
Choosing an installation method
Installing a single- or multi-boot system
Performing a Live CD installation of Fedora
Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Partitioning the disk for installation
Understanding the GRUB boot loader

Installing Linux has become a fairly easy thing to do — if you are starting with a computer that is up to spec (hard disk, RAM, CPU, and so on) and you don't mind totally erasing your hard drive. Installation is more complex if you want to stray from a default installation. So this chapter starts off with a simple installation from a Live CD and progresses to more complex installation topics.

To ease you into the subject of installing Linux, I cover three different ways of installing Linux and step you through each process:

  • Installing from a Live CD — A Linux Live CD is a single, read-only disk that contains everything you need to start a Linux operating system. With the Live CD, you can totally ignore your computer's hard disk; in fact, you can run a Live CD on a system with no hard disk. Once you are running the CD live, some Live CDs enable you to launch an application that permanently installs the contents of the Live CD to your hard disk. The first installation procedure in this chapter shows you how to permanently install Linux from a Fedora Live CD.
  • Installing from an installation DVD — An installation DVD that is available with Fedora, RHEL, and other Linux distributions offers more flexible ways of installing ...

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