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Auto Install for Mandrakelinux</TH></TR><TR>
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<A HREF="section1.html">Prev</A></TD><TD WIDTH="80%" ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="BOTTOM"></TD>
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<H1 CLASS="western"><A NAME="Installation_Methods"></A>Installation
Methods</H1>
<H2 CLASS="western"><A NAME="Overview"></A>Overview</H2>
<P CLASS="western">Installation of the Mandrakelinux<FONT FACE="Times, serif">™</FONT>
distribution on a computer(s) depends on a number of things:</P>
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<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.75in">Environment:</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=77%>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in">is the computer
connected to a network, are you trying to use the computer for
more than one Operating System (Multi-Boot).</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=23% HEIGHT=54>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.75in">Equipment:</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=77%>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in">does the computer
contain conventional hardware, or are there special considerations
such as USB or PCMCIA devices.</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=23% HEIGHT=42>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.75in">Preferences:</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=77%>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in">what works best for
you or your situation.</P>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<P CLASS="western">MandrakeSoft has gone to great lengths to simplify
the installation process of their distribution on a large variety of
computers, yet provide you a choice of approaches.</P>
<P CLASS="western">The Mandrakelinux<FONT FACE="Times, serif">™</FONT>
distribution provides support for three primary installation methods
(sources):</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in; margin-bottom: 0in">via
CD-ROM</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in; margin-bottom: 0in">via
Hard Disk with Linux, Windows or Reiser file systems</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in; margin-bottom: 0.15in">via
Network based Services such as NFS, FTP or HTTP</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.15in">In
addition, there are a few variations that provide support for
specific equipment:</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in; margin-bottom: 0in">via
PCMCIA devices</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">via Other (Non-standard
hardware)</P>
<P CLASS="western">And finally, if none of the above work with your
hardware, there are a series of Alternatives which utilize different
kernel versions for each of the above.</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0.15in">If you have time,
read the file on the first Installation CD called <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">INSTALL.htm</FONT>
and the one in the <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">images</FONT>
directory called <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">README</FONT> for a
bit more detail.</P>
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<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in"><IMG SRC="AutoInstall-10.0.3_html_1412bb95.png" NAME="Graphic2" ALIGN=LEFT WIDTH=30 HEIGHT=30 BORDER=0><BR CLEAR=LEFT><BR>
</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=93%>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.23in">DVD-ROM and CD-ROM
are synonymous within this document, except where noted.</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.24in">Installation via
Hard Disk has changed and now uses the Grub Boot Loader.</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.24in">Installation via
Network Services has changed due to the new 2.6 kernel and the
number of network device drivers that need to be supported.
Mandrake has split the Network Services boot image into two disk
images, one to hold the kernel and message files and a second that
contains the network device driver files.
</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.24in">Installation can
also be performed for any of the available methods by using the
new Bootable ISO image. This method allows the use of all three
installation modes.</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.23in"><BR>
</P>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<P CLASS="western">CD-ROM based installation is portable. With a
floppy diskette and the CD-ROM set, you can install the distribution,
anywhere, on any computer that has a CD-ROM drive and a floppy disk
drive.
</P>
<P CLASS="western">Hard Disk based installation is more for those of
you that have multiple disk drives installed in the target computer,
one to hold the distribution file set and a second which will contain
the installed system. This would most likely be used in situations
where the computer dual boots Linux and other OS's. It is not very
portable, but it does afford one the ability to install Linux without
disturbing the existing OS and it is very fast.</P>
<P CLASS="western">Network based installation is where the
flexibility of the Automated Installation process really shines. One
computer holds the distribution file set, all other computers only
require network based access to the file set. Now I can just carry a
single CD-ROM and a diskette to hold the configuration file or 2
diskettes, insert in the desired computer, push reset and go for
coffee (almost - the 2 diskettes require that I hang around until the
installer prompts me for the second diskette).</P>
<P CLASS="western">With the three options, NFS, FTP and HTTP, you can
actually install files from one computer to another, anywhere in the
world. However, there are performance and reliability issues which
you will have to be prepared to deal with when accessing servers
outside your own local world.</P>
<P CLASS="western">There are three installation modes that may be
employed for each of the methods:</P>
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<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.75in">Manual</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=78%>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in">this mode is where you
select every thing interactively. Most people use this method
when they are installing the distribution on their personal
workstation computer.</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=22% HEIGHT=89>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.75in">Fully Automated</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=78%>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in">this mode is where all
selections are predetermined, the installation process is
controlled, without manual intervention, by the contents of a
simple configuration file and, progress is indicated by simple
text messages. It is ideally suited for installations on
identical computers. Creative individuals using the <A HREF="section4-25.html#postInstall_and_postInstallNonRooted"><B><I>postInstall</I></B></A>
features can overcome most obstacles.</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=22% HEIGHT=119>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.75in">Replay</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=78%>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in">this mode is very
similar to the fully automated mode, except that progress is
indicated via a graphical presentation and, the configuration file
provides you with the ability to manually intervene during certain
steps. You will love this one for situations where the computers
are virtually identical, but you would normally have created a
custom install disk to deal with certain hardware peculiarities
or, you have a need to perform customization with each
installation.</P>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<P CLASS="western">As I indicated earlier, you are going to have to
make some choices that fit your situation and environment. The
beauty of all these Choices is that you are not stuck doing it one
way....</P>
<H2 CLASS="western"><A NAME="Getting_Started"></A>Getting Started</H2>
<P CLASS="western">Before getting started, you should review the
descriptions of the various <A HREF="#Installation_Mediums"><B><I>Installation
Mediums</I></B></A> (diskette, CD-ROM) in the sections following this
one.</P>
<P CLASS="western">The simplest approach to get started is to perform
a Manual Install, then generate the desired Auto Install diskette.
However, before you get started, please check the Errata page on the
Mandrake web site (<A HREF="http://www.linux-mandrake.com/"><B><U><I>www.linux-mandrake.com</I></U></B></A><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: medium"><SPAN STYLE="text-decoration: none"><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal">)</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>
since there may be information there that applies to your equipment.
The following are a brief set of steps to get you started.</P>
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<P CLASS="western">1.</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=89%>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in">decide if you are
going to perform a CD-ROM, Hard Disk or Network based install. If
you are going to do a CD-ROM install, then skip the next step.</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=11% HEIGHT=30>
<P CLASS="western">2.</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=89%>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in">copy the contents of
all three CD-ROMs (or single DVD), or obtain the file set via ftp
and:</P>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
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<TD WIDTH=14% HEIGHT=83>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.75in">a)</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=86%>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in">For a Hard Disk, make
sure that the Mandrakelinux<FONT FACE="Times, serif">™</FONT>
file set is present on one of the computer's hard disks
(partitions). Remember to retain the CD's directory hierarchy.
Also, this method requires that you place the files on one of
three types of file systems: Linux (<FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">ext2</FONT>),
Windows (<FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">vfat</FONT>) or Reiser (a
journaling file system).</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=14% HEIGHT=48>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.75in">b)</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=86%>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in">For network services,
make sure the Mandrakelinux<FONT FACE="Times, serif">™</FONT>
file set is accessible on the server you want to use. (see section
<A HREF="section9.html#Setting_up_a_Simple_NFS_Server"><B><I>Setting up a
Simple NFS Server</I></B></A>). Remember to retain the CD's
directory hierarchy.</P>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
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<COL WIDTH=28*>
<COL WIDTH=228*>
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<TD WIDTH=11% HEIGHT=202>
<P CLASS="western">3.</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=89%>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in">Create a boot floppy
disk(s) using the appropriate image file(s):</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in"><FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">images/cdrom.img</FONT>
for a CD-ROM based install (only if your computer can not boot
from CD-ROM).</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in"><FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">images/hd_grub.img</FONT>
for a Hard Disk based install</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in"><FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">images/network.img</FONT>
and <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">images/network_drivers.img</FONT>
for a Network Services based install.</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in">Or create a CD-ROM
using the <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">images/boot.iso</FONT><FONT FACE="Times, serif">
</FONT>for an install using any of the available methods.</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in">See the <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">INSTALL.txt</FONT>
and the <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">images/README</FONT> files
for instructions on how to create the diskette(s). Also you will
find additional / alternate images to use which may resolve
situations for your particular equipment setup.</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=11% HEIGHT=30>
<P CLASS="western">4.</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=89%>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in">Boot the computer and
perform the installation manually.</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=11% HEIGHT=65>
<P CLASS="western">5.</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=89%>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in">JUST before
re-booting, select <B>'Advanced'</B>, then select <B>'Generate an
auto install floppy'</B>, then pick either <B>'Replay'</B> or
<B>'Automated'</B>. This will create the needed diskette(s)
containing all the basic files you will need for the next
installation.</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=11% HEIGHT=30>
<P CLASS="western">6.</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=89%>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in">Review the contents of
the diskette(s) and adjust as necessary before using. See the
remainder of this document.</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=11% HEIGHT=48>
<P CLASS="western">7.</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=89%>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0in">Install any where, any
time and as often as you like, or until the coffee runs out.</P>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<P CLASS="western">There are a number of different and innovative
approaches that you could use rather than the simplistic one above,
but then that your job, eh? However, for those of you who are a bit
braver or, just want to do it your self then you should see the
section <A HREF="section7.html#Scratch_Built_Auto_Install_Diskette"><B><I>Scratch
Built Auto Install Diskette</I></B></A> for a examples of various
customized approaches.</P>
<P CLASS="western">For those of you who were so excited about
installing and test driving the new Mandrakelinux<FONT FACE="Times, serif">™</FONT>
release that you forgot to <B>'Generate an auto install floppy'</B>,
no problem. Mandrakelinux<FONT FACE="Times, serif">™</FONT>
has a tool available, as part of the <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">drakconf</FONT>
program (Mandrake Control Center), that will allow you to generate an
Auto Install disk at any time after the initial installation, see the
section <A HREF="section5.html#Replay_Install"><B><I>Replay Install</I></B></A>
for details. Or you can get a copy of the <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">auto_inst.cfg.pl</FONT>
file located in the directory <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">/root/drakx</FONT>.</P>
<H2 CLASS="western"><A NAME="Installation_Mediums"></A>Installation
Mediums</H2>
<P CLASS="western">In addition to the standard CD-ROM and DVD
installations that most users are familiar with, Auto Installation
makes use of floppy diskettes and CD-ROMs to initiate and control the
installation process. The next three sections describe the contents
of the diskette(s) that you generated at the end of the manual
installation process described in the previous section.</P>
<H3 CLASS="western"><A NAME="Contents_of_the_Install_Diskette"></A>Contents
of the Install Diskette</H3>
<P CLASS="western">After completing the <B>'Generate an auto install
floppy'</B> step (using the cdrom, network or pcmcia images), you
should have a diskette (two for Network Services based installs)
containing the following files:</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>advanced.msg</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This file contains some
text that describes a number of advanced options. You could
customize this.</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>auto_inst.cfg</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This file contains your
selections. See the section <A HREF="section4.html#Anatomy_of_the_auto_instcfg_File"><B><I>Anatomy
of the 'auto_inst.cfg' File</I></B></A> for details. <B>For Network
Services based installs, this file is on the second diskette.</B> In
case you were wondering, you will also find this file in the
<FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">/root/drakx</FONT> directory with the
name <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">auto_inst.cfg.pl</FONT>.</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="page-break-before: auto; page-break-after: avoid">
<B>boot.msg</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This file contains a
graphic image that appears as soon as you boot from the diskette.
You could customize this.</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>help.msg</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This file contains some
text regarding the start up options and keys, which you can customize
too. It is optional and may not be present on your generated
diskette (space limitations).</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>ldlinux.sys</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This is what booted
(boot loader). Don't mess with it.</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>cdrom.rdz or hd.rdz or network.rdz</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">The file name is
dependent on the Method you used to perform the manual install. It
contains stage 1 of DrakX and other things which are needed for the
automated install.</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>syslinux.cfg</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This file contains
information that controls the operation of the 'ldlinux' boot loader.
You may have to modify this. See the section <A HREF="section3.html#Anatomy_of_the_Boot_Loader_Configuration_Files"><B><I>Anatomy
of the Boot Loader Configuration Files</I></B></A> for details.</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>vmlinuz</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This is the compressed
Linux kernel image file. Don't mess with this one either.</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.5in"><B>modules.mar</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This file contains all
the possible network device drivers supported by the Stage1
installer. It is only present on the second diskette of Network
Services based install diskette set.</P>
<H3 CLASS="western"><A NAME="Contents_of_the_HD_Grub_Boot_Diskette"></A>
Contents of the HD_Grub Boot Diskette</H3>
<P CLASS="western">After completing the <B>'Generate an auto install
floppy'</B> step (using the hd_grub image), you should have a
diskette containing the following files:</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>auto_inst.cfg</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This file contains your
selections. See the section <A HREF="section4.html#Anatomy_of_the_auto_instcfg_File"><B><I>Anatomy
of the 'auto_inst.cfg' File</I></B></A> for details. In case you
were wondering, you will also find this file in the <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">/root/drakx</FONT>
directory with the name <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">auto_inst.cfg.pl</FONT>.</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>menu.lst</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This file contains
information that controls the operation of the 'grub' boot loader.
You may have to modify this. See the section <A HREF="section3.html#Anatomy_of_the_Boot_Loader_Configuration_Files"><B><I>Anatomy
of the Boot Loader Configuration Files</I></B></A> for details.
MandrakeSoft has a web page, <A HREF="http://qa.mandrakesoft.com/hd_grub.cgi"><B><I>http://qa.mandrakesoft.com/hd_grub.cgi</I></B></A>,
that you should use to help with setting specific parameters need to
boot your computer's hardware.</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>stage1</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This is used to load
and run <B>stage2</B>. Do not mess with it</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>stage2</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This is the actual Grub
Boot Loader program. Do not mess with it either.</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in"><BR><BR>
</P>
<H3 CLASS="western"><A NAME="Contents_of_the_Boot_CD-ROM_and_Diskette"></A>
Contents of the Boot CD-ROM and Diskette</H3>
<P CLASS="western">After completing the <B>'Generate an auto install
floppy</B>' step, the only file, on the diskette, that is important
is:</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>auto_inst.cfg</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This file contains your
selections. See the section <A HREF="section4.html#Anatomy_of_the_auto_instcfg_File"><B><I>Anatomy
of the 'auto_inst.cfg' File</I></B></A> for details. In case you
were wondering, you will also find this file in the <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">/root/drakx</FONT>
directory with the name <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">auto_inst.cfg.pl</FONT>.</P>
<P CLASS="western">After creating a CD-ROM from the <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">boot.iso</FONT>
file, you should have a CD-ROM containing the following files in the
<FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">isolinux/</FONT> directory:</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>advanced.msg</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This file contains some
text that describes a number of advanced options. You could
customize this.</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>boot.cat</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This file contains
information for the isolinux boot loader. Don't mess with it.</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>boot.msg</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This file contains a
graphic image that appears as soon as you boot from the diskette.
You could customize this.</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>help.msg</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This file contains some
text regarding the start up options and keys, which you can customize
too.
</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>isolinux.bin</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This is what booted
(boot loader). Don't mess with it.</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>isolinux.cfg</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">This file contains
information that controls the operation of the 'isolinux' boot
loader. You may have to modify this. See the section <A HREF="section3.html#Anatomy_of_the_Boot_Loader_Configuration_Files"><B><I>Anatomy
of the Boot Loader Configuration Files</I></B></A> for details.</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>alt0 and alt1</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">Are directories
containing the following files:
</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in"><B>all.rdz</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 1in">It contains stage 1 of
DrakX and other things which are needed for the install.</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in"><B>vmlinuz</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 1in">This is the compressed
Linux kernel image file. Don't mess with this one either.</P>
<P CLASS="western"><B>test</B></P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-left: 0.8in">directory containing
the memory test program (Press F2 on boot to access).</P>
<P CLASS="western"><BR><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western">The contents of the files, <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">syslinux.cfg</FONT>,
<FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">menu.lst,</FONT><FONT FACE="Times, serif">
</FONT><FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">isolinux.cfg</FONT> and
<FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">auto_inst.cfg</FONT>, are what the
bulk of this document is about, so with out further a due....</P>
<P CLASS="western"><BR><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western"><BR><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" STYLE="page-break-before: always"><BR><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western"><BR><BR>
</P>
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