1. System requirements 2. Hard drive partitions 2.1 Tools for Windows/DOS 2.2 Tools for Linux 2.3 Other tools 3. Download integrity check 3.1 Integrity check in Windows 3.2 Integrity check in Linux 4. Installation 4.1 CD Install 4.2 Floppy/hard disk Install 4.2.1 How to transfer the img file to a floppy 4.2.2 Where do I place the VL files? 4.2.3 Which kernel should I choose? 4.3 Changing the boot order 5. Installation process step by step 6. Post-install configuration 6.1 Set up Lilo 7. Using the system for the first time 8. Enjoy the fruits of your labor 9. Troubleshooting 10. Credits
This intends to be a comprehensive guide to installing Vector Linux 4.0 Download Edition, with comments relevant to the as yet unreleased SOHO Edition. Any commands mentioned in this guide are to be typed without the quotes.
Vector Linux 4.0 Download Edition (minimum requirements):
Vector Linux 4.0 SOHO Edition (minimum requirements):
Vector Linux 4.0 SOHO Edition (recommended system specs.):
Linux sees partitions in the following way: assuming an IDE disk, the first partition on the first disk is /dev/hda1, the second partition is /dev/hda2, etc. If you have two hard drives, the first partition on the second disk is /dev/hdb1, the second is /dev/hdb2, etc. SCSI hard disks are seen the same except the notation is 'sd' (scsi disk) i.e. the first partition on the first scsi disk would be /dev/sda1.
If you already have Windows installed, it's probably at /dev/hda1 (c:\). You need non-partitioned space on the hard disk, or existing Linux partitions, to install VL, otherwise you'll need to remove resize a partition to free up space. When you add the Linux partitions, they may be at /dev/hda2 or a higher number. This is important to keep in mind when you do the actual install because you need to tell VL installer which partition you want to use.
Important Note:
It is always recommended that before any re-partitioning, you run a scandisk and defragmentation on the drive. Of course, you should also make a backup of your important files.
VL requires at least two partitions, one where the system is installed, and a swap partition, used for virtual memory. You have several options on how to set up these partitions:
SystemRescueCd is a linux system on a bootable cdrom for repairing your system and your data after a crash. It also aims to provide an easy way to carry out admin tasks on your computer, such as creating and editing the partitions of the hard disk. It includes parted and qtparted in a comfortable, bootable, cd. You can get it at http://www.sysresccd.org/.
The VL installation program includes a partitioning utility (parted) that you can use during the install. Otherwise, you might want to set up the partitions ahead of time using one of the tools mentioned above.
If you haven't already done so, download the VL image file (.iso) and the corresponding md5 checksum file (.md5). You should check the image file before burning it to a CD, to make sure it has not been corrupted during download. For that, you need to do an "md5sum check", that means comparing the "fingerprint" of your image file (.iso) against the fingerprint stored in the checksum file (.md5).
It is always a good practice to do an md5sum check before you burn a CD image file, so you know if the file was downloaded properly or got corrupted. This will save you a lot of time and some wasted CDs.
Notes:Download and unzip the GUI tool md5summer (http://www.md5summer.org/). Make sure you are using version 1.2.0.5 or above. The first time you run it, it asks permission to associate the extension .md5 with itself. If you agree, you just need to double-click on a .md5 file to check the integrity of the original file (as long as they are both in the same folder). Otherwise, you have to manually browse to the .md5 file within the md5summer interface, then click on the “Verify sums” button and select the .md5 file. If you get an OK for the VL .iso image file, you can proceed to burn it as a cdrom image.
There is another tool you could use (this one is command line driven):
The md5sum program is normally included in Linux distros, so you probably don't need to download or install it.
This is by far the easiest way to install, so if your computer can boot from the CD, use this method. Just boot from the CD and follow the instructions on the screen. Couldn't be easier!
Set your computer to boot from CD. Follow the procedure for changing boot order described in section 4.3, but this time set your first boot device to CD.
If you have multiple CD drives (CD burners also count), the VL installation CD must be located in the first one.
Some older computers do not recoqnize the boot routines used to boot the VL cd. If yours is one of those, see in section 4.2 how to make the “boot” and “root” floppies. Boot with the floppies and the installer will find the VL CD (1)(2).
Notes:
(1) This method is not available for Vector Linux 4.0 SOHO Edition, this is caused by the latest kernels being too big to fit into a single floppy disc.
(2) You might also need to do this with SCSI CD drives.
If you do not have a CD Rom drive, you'll need to prepare the “root” and “boot” floppies from the image files on the "disks" directory in VL's CD (see section 4.2.1) (1). Place the VL files somewhere on your computer where they can be found during the install process (see section 4.2.2).
Set your computer to boot from floppy. Follow the procedure for changing boot order described in section 4.3, but this time set your first boot device to “drive A”.
Note:
(1) This method is not available for Vector Linux 4.0 SOHO Edition, this is caused by the latest kernels being too big to fit into a single floppy disc.
Create a "veclinux" directory at the top/root level of a Windows or Linux partition. The "veclinux" folder should contain the veclinux.bz2 file, xfree43.bz2 (assuming you want to install a graphical interface, which most users will want), and a kernel image (choose one). So a standard install might have a veclinux directory that looks like this:
/veclinux/veclinux.bz2Note: If your system happens to have an ESDI-drive & interface, the provided kernels will probably not recognize them.
To do this, when your computer starts up, go to the BIOS options setup screen (1). There should be an option for boot order (general options are C drive, A drive, CD, etc). Choose which should boot first, save out of the screens and restart the computer. Just remember to change your settings back to booting from the hard drive when you're done installing VL.
Note: Not all systems use the Delete key to enter the BIOS. Some systems use one of the F# keys. Some use a combination of keystrokes. You should see which key during POST (i.e. shortly after turning on your machine), otherwise, check the manual for your hardware.
If you boot from a CD, after some initial start up messages, you'll be taken directly to the install screens. If you boot from a floppy, after the boot floppy loads, you'll be asked to insert the root floppy, and after this loads, you'll be taken to the install screens.
Either way, you'll soon arrive at the install screens. The actual install is a menu-driven process that should be easy to do – just follow the instructions on each screen.
Once VL has been installed, a configuration screen is presented. This allows you to configure sound and video, set up your network connection if you have one, etc. This screen can also be accessed later using the command "vasm" as root. Please DO NOT skip this configuration step at installation time.
Lilo is the Linux Loader that boots the system. You have the option of simple or expert configuration. Simple works well in simple cases, i.e. just two operating systems, one windows/DOS plus VL.
Then you have a choice of where to install lilo:
If you have another boot manager that can point to your Linux partition, then you can install to the root partition where you installed VL. If you want Lilo to take over the boot process entirely, install to the MBR of the disk. If you're not sure and you don't want to cause any problems, install to a floppy. Just make sure your computer's BIOS is set to boot from the floppy drive first. This is probably the safest (but slowest) method if you're worried about altering your existing configuration.
After you've installed VL, you can change the lilo configuration by using "vasm" as root, which will bring up the configuration screen again, or, also as root, you can edit the /etc/lilo.conf file by hand. After editing the file, be sure to issue the following command as root: /sbin/lilo. This will commit the changes to the lilo bootloader.
If you are using Vector Linux Download Edition, you may have noticed that we haven't set up users or created a password for root yet. So, when you reboot into VL, the first thing you need to do is set a password for the root user.
Log in as root. You shouldn't be asked for a password; instead you'll be taken directly to a shell prompt. Type "passwd" and choose a password for root.
Running the operative system as root isn't a good thing, so next you'll need to set up a normal user. The easiest way to do this is with the "adduser" command. Type: "adduser
To start the X Window system, type "startx".
If the system fails to start the GUI interface, you might need to re-configure it. To do that, as root, type "vasm" and choose "XSETUP" to go through a graphical interface to configure your xserver or choose "XTEXT" to use a text based but menu driven configuration utility.
Please join our message forum as you can get great information and help there to enhance your Vector Linux experience at http://vectorlinux.com/forum/index.php.
Error type 1:
Installation gives you a message saying that it can't find the Vector bz2 kernel and / or saying that /dev/xxxx is not a valid block device.
This error usually appears when you have more than one optical drive (CD/CD-RW/DVD) and you are trying to install Vector from the second unit. Move the installation CD to the first drive.
Error type 2:
Installation halts or does not start properly after a seemingly correct installation or you get messages about CRC errors during install
That kind of issue often suggests file corruption during download or a faulty burning process.
The first thing to do, if you haven't already done so, is to check the .iso file for corruption; please refer to section 3 of this manual. If the .iso file passed the mdsum integrity check , then you could try burning the file at a slower speed or use a different brand of media.
Remember: burn the .iso as a cd image, not as a conventional file!
Error type 3:
You get one of these two messages:
Kernel Panic: Aiee, killing interrupt handler! In interrupt handler - not syncing.
or
Error! There was a problem! Code: 39 36 75 03 5b 5e c3 5b 89 f0 31 c9 ba 03 00 00 00 5e e9 cb Installation not complete Please press enter to activate this console
Those errors are usually related to old hardware, and It could mean that you need to pass some commands to the boot process.
Some commands you could try are:
These commands disable power management, Notebooks often require them:
Error type 4:
Your SCSI hard drive is not available to install VL on it. (and you probably have some error like this when you are asked for the root floppy disk -that is the second one-).
The required driver for you SCSI card is not being loaded, and therefore your disks are not seen by the install routine. You should use this floppy image as boot disk instead of the one in the VL install CD: http://slackware.oregonstate.edu/slackware-9.0/bootdisks/adaptec.s (If that link ever becomes outdated, do a google search for a slackware 9.0 "adaptec.s" bootdisk).
Error type 5:
Installing from CD-ROM fails with this error: "mount: /dev/scd7 is not a valid block device"
Your CD-ROM or CD-RW requires scsi emulation. When the installation greets you with the first prompt (where it says "boot:" at the bottom left) you should type: "ide hdx=ide-scsi", (where x is your cd-rom unit). If that doesn't work restart and try "scsi hdx=ide-scsi".