You have two choices, a single operating system(OS) or a multi-boot system.

Many desktop users like to run Linux in addition to Windows on an existing PC. An additional hard drive may be used for Linux or an existing drive may be sectioned into two or more partitions. Linux may also reside as the only operating system on the computer as is preferred by those creating a server. Using a separate drive for Linux is the easiest and the preferred multi-boot configuration because it allows the original Windows drive to remain intact.

Note: While not recommended, re-partitioning a drive will destroy all data on the drive unless a tool such as partition magic is used. The Red Hat CD-ROM includes a repartitioning tool called fips in the dosutils directory. See /dosutils/fipsdocs. This tool is unsupported. Partition Magic would be a wiser choice for those pursuing this approach.

For those creating a dual boot system with Windows NT or Windows 2000, the NT loader resides on the Master Boot Record (MBR). Upon boot-up, the NT loader is activated and then it loads lilo to boot Linux. In this instance lilo does not reside on the Master Boot Record (MBR) as it would for a Windows 95 installation. Instead lilo will install on the first sector of the root partition. See: LDP: NT Loader HOWTO (Or boot with a floppy which has lilo on the MBR of the floppy.)

 

Hardware notes:

Most PC motherboard support two IDE connectors, a primary and a secondary. Each IDE connector has a ribbon cable which can support two devices. A typical PC with one hard drive and one CD-ROM can thus support two more devices. A jumper on the device will set the device to be the master or slave device on that IDE connection.

Also check the hardware compatability list before you begin.

A tool to detect the hardware you are using is available as a DOS disk from the Ulitimate Boot Disk site.

 

Documentation on the Installation CD:

Online manuals can be read from the Linux CD-ROM by any operating system. From Windows you can look at your Linux CD and open the files with a web browser.

RH 5.2/6.0:

	CDROM:dochmanualmanualindex.htm - REDHAT manual. 
	CDROM:docHOWTO...   		- RH 5.2/6.0/6.1
	CDROM:FAQHTMLIndex.htm 	- RH 5.2/6.0/6.1										

RH 6.0: introduced the ``Getting Started Guide'' in:

	CDROM:dochgsgindex.htm

RH 6.1:

	CDROM:dochinstindex.htm - Install Guide
	CDROM:dochgsgindex.htm - Getting Started Guide
	CDROM:dochrefindex.htm - Reference Guide

RH 6.2:

        CDROM:docgsgindex.htm           - Redhat Getting Started Guide
        CDROM:docinstall-guideindex.htm - RH Installation Guide
        CDROM:docef-guideindex.htm     - RH Reference Guide

All releases contain documentation on DEC/Alpha installations in:

	CDROM:docalpha

RH 7.1:

        CDROM:RH-DOCShl-cg-en-7.1index.html      - Red Hat Configuration Guide: Dual Boot, Kickstatrt Install, Rescue Mode, RAID, Network, FTP, SSH, Samba, Apache, BIND, Printers, Linuxconf, building a Kernel, RPM, PGP
        CDROM:RH-DOCShl-gsg-en-7.1index.html     - Getting Started Guide: Gnome, KDE, Web, e-mail, Audio, Video, Gimp, sh, general intro
        CDROM:RH-DOCShl-ig-x86-en-7.1index.html  - Red Hat Linux x86 Installation Guide
        CDROM:RH-DOCShl-rg-en-7.1index.html      - Red Hat Reference Guide: File systems, users, groups, boot, init, shutdown, LDAP, CCVS (Credit Card Verification System), Sendmail, Security, PAM, Kerberos, Tripwire, SSH, Apache, Powertools
        CDROM:FAQS...                    - Frequently Asked Questions
        CDROM:HOWTOSINDEX.html           - How To documentation from the "Linux Documentation Project"