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Chapter 1
CHAPTER 1
Booting Linux
Hacks #1–9
Some of you might be wondering why this book contains a chapter on boot-
ing your computer. If you’re a new desktop Linux user, you might think the
ideal boot experience should involve only two steps: press the computer’s
power button, and then log in.
Even experienced Linux users might question why this chapter exists. Talk
to any longtime Linux aficionado, and he’ll boast that one of the biggest
advantages Linux has over that “other” popular x86 desktop operating sys-
tem is that you almost never have to reboot Linux.
Regardless of what type of user you are, chances are good that you power off
and boot your Linux desktop system now and then. So, why not make the
experience a little more pleasant by sprucing up your bootloader with a
fancy background graphic? One word of warning: if you choose to design
your own LILO or GRUB bootloader backgrounds, the process is easy and
highly addictive. It could become your next hobby.
And while you’re at it, why not add a graphical boot-progress screen to
Debian, one of the last of the popular distributions that lacks a boot splash
screen with a progress bar?
In addition to teaching you how to accomplish these two tasks, this chapter
will also help take you out of the Dark Ages of text-based virtual console
screens. Whether you boot to a text login screen or a graphical login screen,
there’s no excuse for leaving the ...