Available:
(contributors welcome!)
Required configuration
Installing Linux-Mandrake is, in most cases, as simple as putting your Installation CD in your CDROM drive, and restarting your machine. Please refer to point 1.
You can also install Linux-Mandrake onto a Windows 95/98/ME system, using Linux for Windows. This does not require disk partitioning, and installs Linux in a Windows folder. It is a convenient way to discover Linux-Mandrake without modifying your Windows system. It is however significantly slower than a regular installation. Also, your Linux-Mandrake installation is lost if you re-install Windows. Please refer to point 2 to use Linux for Windows.
NOTE:
- If you upgrade from 7.0 or 7.1 Linux-Mandrake versions, do not forget to backup your system.
- Upgrading from earlier versions (prior to 7.0) is NOT supported! In that case, you need to do a fresh installation and not an update.
Below are listed the different ways to install Linux-Mandrake:
The Installation CDROM is bootable. In most cases, just insert the CD into the drive and reboot the machine. Follow the instructions displayed on screen: press the Enter key to start the installation, or press F1 for additional help.
NOTE:
On some portable computers, the system may not reboot from the CD. If this is the case, you should prepare a boot floppy. See point 4 for details.
To install Linux-Mandrake within a Windows folder, avoiding any disk partitioning, you should:
Additional details on lnx4win can be found in the appropriate readme file.
NOTE:
When inserting the CDROM under Windows, a window will popup to give you access to an installation summary and to Linux-Mandrake demos and tutorial. It will also permit you to create directly the boot floppy described in point 4 .
If the window does not popup, run:
D:\dosutils\autorun.exe
(assuming D is your CDROM's drive letter).
If you have MS-DOS installed on your computer, you can boot the installation system directly from the CD without using any diskettes.
Note that this method will not work if run in a DOS window under Windows. It will not work under Windows ME either.
To do this (assuming your CD is drive D:), use the following commands:
C:\> D:
D:\> cd \dosutils\autoboot
D:\> D:\dosutils\autoboot> autoboot.bat
If your computer cannot boot from the CDROM and previous methods do not work, you must make a boot floppy under Windows as follows:
To begin the installation:
If for any reason the previous methods do not fit your needs (you want to perform a network install, an install from pcmcia devices or ...), you will also need to make a boot floppy :
dd if=xxxxx.img of=/dev/fd0
xxxxx.img (see below) instead of cdrom.img.
D:\>dosutils\rawrite.exe -f images\xxxxx.img -d A
xxxxx.img is the boot image :
blank.img is a minimal image to customize kernel installation.
You can also use a text mode installation if, for any reason, you have trouble with the default graphical installation. To use it, press F1 at Linux-Mandrake welcome screen, then text at the prompt.
If you need to rescue your existing Linux-Mandrake system, insert your Installation CDROM (or any relevant boot floppy), press F1 at Linux-Mandrake welcome screen, then rescue at the prompt.
See http://www.linux-mandrake.com/drakx/README for more technical information.
Important note:
The "root" account will give you unrestricted access to your Linux system. Do not use it except to configure or administer Linux. For every day use, use a normal user account which you can configure with the "userdrake"tool, or with the "adduser USER" and "passwd USER" commands.
For installation support see the Mandrake diffusion list and FAQs at Mandrake web site: