installation and other general questions

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Installation and Other General Questions

Hardware and Space Requirements

Question: What are the minimum hardware and space requirements for installing Red Hat Linux on my PC?

Answer:

This depends on the version of Red Hat Linux you wish to install. Different releases contain various sets of

application packages and different versions of the Linux kernel, both of which are important when judging system

requirements.

Red Hat Linux 7.1:

• Processor — Any x86 processor (minimum required); Intel Pentium or AMD-K6 (minimum

recommended).

• RAM — 32 MB RAM (minimum required); 64 MB RAM (minimum recommended).

• Hard Drive Free Space — 650 MB (minimum required); 1.5 GB (minimum required for Workstation-class

installation with GNOME and KDE; 1.2 GB with only one); 1.2 GB (minimum required for Server-classinstallation); 1.5 GB (minimum required for Laptop-class installation with GNOME and KDE; 1.2 GB with

only one); 2.4 GB (minimum required for Custom-class installation if every package is selected); 1.2 GB

(minimum required to use automatic partitioning); 3 GB (minimum recommended to allow space for

updates and additional software).

Red Hat Linux 7.0:

• Processor — Any x86 processor (minimum required); Intel Pentium or AMD-K6 (minimumrecommended).


• Hard Drive Free Space — 500 MB (minimum required); 1.5 GB (minimum required for Workstation-class

installation with GNOME and KDE; 1.2 GB with only one); 1.2 GB (minimum required for Server-class

installation); 1.5 GB (minimum required for Laptop-class installation with GNOME and KDE; 1.2 GB with

only one); 2.4 GB (minimum required for Custom-class installation if every package is selected); 900 GB

(minimum required to use automatic partitioning); 2.5 GB (minimum recommended to allow space for

updates and additional software).

Red Hat Linux 6.2:

• Processor — Any x86 processor (minimum required); Intel Pentium or AMD-K6 (minimum

recommended).


• Hard Drive Free Space — 500 MB (minimum required); 1.2 GB (minimum required for Workstation-classinstallation with GNOME and KDE; 700 MB with only one); 1.7 GB (minimum required for Server-class

installation); 1.7 GB (minimum required for Custom-class installation if every package is selected); 2 GB(minimum recommended to allow space for updates and additional software).



Programming Tools and Compilers Included

Question: What programming tools/compilers does Red Hat Linux include with its distribution?

Answer:

C, C++, FORTRAN, Pascal, assembly, BASIC, Perl, Python, Tcl/Tk, LISP, Scheme, as well as a functionaldebugger and memory debugging library.

Multimedia Tools Included

Question: What multimedia tools are shipped with the boxed set of Red Hat Linux 7.1?

Answer:

Image viewers for JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, MPEG, AVI, and Quicktime video viewers.

Graphical Programs Included

Question: What type of graphical program is shipped with Red Hat Linux 7.1?

Answer:

GIMP 1.2.1, an image manipulation, retouching, and paint program. See http://www.gimp.org for more information.

Publishing Tools Included

Question: What types of publishing tools are shipped with Red Hat Linux 7.1?

Answer:

TeX, LaTex, groff text formatting systems, PostScript, PDF, and DVI previewers.

Mail Servers Included

Question: What mail servers are shipped with Red Hat Linux?

Answer:

Sendmail, POP, and IMAP servers are included with Red Hat Linux.

Red Hat Linux as a File Server

Question: Can I use Red Hat Linux as a file server?

Answer:

Yes, Samba and NFS are included to facilitate the use of Red Hat Linux as a file server. Windows clients can accessfiles and print using a Red Hat Linux server in the same way as they can using a native Windows NT/2000 file/print

server.

http://www.gimp.org/






The Graphical Environment for Red Hat Linux

Question: Does Red Hat Linux include an X Window System?

Answer:

Yes, XFree86 version 4.0.3 is included, which supports many advanced 3D, high-end video cards. In addition,XFree86 version 3.3.6 is also included and provides excellent support for older and less powerful video cards.

Both XFree86 versions give you the graphical environment to act as a platform for a variety of window managers

and desktop environments, all of which are entirely configurable to meet your specific needs.

Running Windows Programs in Red Hat Linux

Question: Will my Microsoft applications be able to run on Red Hat Linux?

Answer:

No, only applications compiled for compatibility with the Linux kernel will run on the Red Hat Linux operatingsystem. However, it is possible to run WINE, an implementation of Windows 3.x and Win32 APIs, to run many

DOS and Windows applications. WINE is included with Red Hat Linux PowerTools, and more information about it

can be found at http://www.winehq.com.

You can also run VMware, which provides you with a virtual machine that will run Linux and another operating

system concurrently. For more information, see http://www.vmware.com .

Obtaining Red Hat Linux

Question: How can I get Red Hat Linux?

Answer:

Red Hat Linux is available on CD-ROM directly from Red Hat, Inc., at http://www.redhat.com/commerceor

through various Red Hat Linux resellers. It is also available via the Red Hat FTP server

(ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/) and many mirror sites (http://www.redhat.com/download/mirror.html).

You are also able to purchase official Red Hat Linux boxed products from stores such as Wal-Mart, CompUSA, and

many other retail establishments.

Due to the open source licenses that Red Hat Inc uses for its products, the source code is also available for downloadin SRPM packages. RPM source packages allow for you to install the source code for a particular application on

your computer and build binary RPM files from the source. Red Hat Linux is licensed using the GNU General

Public License. More information about the GPL can be found at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html.

http://www.winehq.com/

http://www.vmware.com/

http://www.redhat.com/commerce/

ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/

http://www.redhat.com/download/mirror.html

http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html


http://www.winehq.com/

http://www.vmware.com/

http://www.redhat.com/commerce/

ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/

http://www.redhat.com/download/mirror.html




Installing Multiple Operating Systems

Question: I have a blank hard drive and would like to install DOS or Windows 95/98/ME and Red Hat Linux onto

it. What is the best method of doing this?

Answer:

It is recommended to install the other operating system first, before installing Red Hat Linux. This allows DOS or

Windows 95/98/ME to configure itself to work correctly with your system's hardware and possibly write values to

the Master Boot Record (MBR) to allow it to boot properly. If Red Hat Linux were installed first, the other

operating system may elect to overwrite existing entries in the MBR, leaving you unable to boot into Red Hat Linux.

By installing the other OS first, Red Hat Linux will allow you to boot into either operating system when your computer starts up.

You will probably need to do the entire process of installing DOS or Windows 95/98/ME using several different

steps. First, start the installation, but if the operating system partitions the entire drive for itself, see if you can exit

the installation program and use the native fdisk to create a primary partition of the size you want to have

available for that particular OS. Then, reboot and go through the installation process again. Normally, DOS or

Windows 95/98/ME will only use the space that you just set aside for it. Once the installation is finished, you can

then begin to install Red Hat Linux.

If you need to install to install Red Hat Linux and Windows NT/2000 on the same machine, please see the section

called Installing Linux and Windows NT on the Same Machine .

Creating an Installation Boot Disk

Question: How do I create an installation boot disk?

Answer:

Two different methods for producing an installation boot disk exist, depending if you want to create the disk using

UNIX/Linux or DOS/Windows.

Using UNIX/Linux, mount the first Red Hat Linux installation CD-ROM, enter the /images directory, insert a

floppy in your drive, and use the dd command to copy the image to the floppy:

dd if=boot.img of=/dev/fd0 bs=1440k

Using DOS or Windows, use the rawrite command in the /dosutils directory on the CD-ROM.

Documentation on using rawrite in this way is available in /dosutils/rawrite3.doc.

To make floppies under DOS, Win95, or NT, first boot into DOS and change to the CD-ROM directory (for

example, D:).

Enter the dosutils directory and run rawrite.

cd \dosutilsrawrite.exe

When prompted for a disk for the boot image, enter \path\to\boot.img.

http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/faqs/rhl_general_faq/s1-install.html#S2-LINUX-NT









Then run rawrite again and, when prompted, enter \path\to\supp.img.

The .img files are boot images and can be found in the images directory on the first Red Hat Linux installation CD-

ROM.

Difference Between Linux and DOS Disk Names

Question: I have an IDE system, and I am confused by how Linux sets up drives in comparison to DOS. Can you

explain this?

Answer:

Linux sets up the drive system in a very different way than DOS, and this can be quite confusing for a new Linux

user. Instead of calling the first hard drive C:, it will be usually referred to as a combination of letters signifying

what kind of bus (sd for SCSI, hd for IDE) and in which sequence the drive falls on that bus. Finally, a number is

placed onto the end to specify the particular partition on the drive that is being referenced.

For IDE hard drives, the layout depends on which IDE channel the drive is located and whether it is the master or

slave drive on that channel.

Channel Jumper hdx===================================ide0 master hdaide0 slave hdbide1 master hdcide1 slave hddide2 master hdeide2 slave hdfide3 master hdgide3 slave hdh

ide0 = primaryide1 = secondaryide2 = tertiaryide3 = quarternary

The partition number follows an old PC/X86 standard that there is a limit of 4 primary partitions per hard drive, but

one of those partitions can be designated as an extended partition. Inside of this extended partition, logical partitions

can be specified (for most drives you can have up to 12 logical drives in the extended partition, for a total of 16

partitions).

The numbering scheme is broken into the following:

• 1-4 primary partitions• 5-16 logical partitions



Installation Problems with IDE CD-ROM

Question: Red Hat Linux is having trouble detecting my IDE CD-ROM drive during the install. Can I force the

installation program to see it?

Answer:

Sometimes IDE CD-ROM drives will not be detected either due to the fact that they are on a IDE channel your

system's BIOS doesn't know about or that, when queried, the IDE channel replies back with data that the Red Hat

Linux installation program thinks is bogus. (For example, early NEC IDE CD-ROMs respond with data saying that

it is an IDE floppy drive instead of a CD-ROM.)

To solve your problem, you need to specify the the CD-ROM drive from the LILO boot prompt.

When you see boot: or LILO: prompt, you should type linux hd X =cdrom , where X is the IDE letter that

Linux would specify for that drive depending on which IDE bus it is located.

Installing Red Hat Linux from a Hard Drive

Question: I do not have a CD-ROM that will work with Linux, and I can not install from the network. Is there

another method?

Answer:

If you cannot perform a CD-ROM or network installation for whatever reason, you can elect to install using your

hard drive.

Starting with Red Hat Linux 7.1, you must use the ISO disk images of the installation CD-ROMs; you can no longer

pull off each of the various installation directories and properly arrange them on your hard drive. Simply clear

enough space on your hard drive to hold both of the ISO images and download them, placing both of them in the

same directory. Next, create a boot floppy, boot from it, and elect to perform a hard drive installation, pointing the

installation program to the directory holding the ISO images. Then, proceed normally with the installation.

For installations of Red Hat Linux versions prior to 7.1, the following steps are required:

First, have a DOS partition that is formatted in FAT16, and create a directory called RedHat. From there, you

should copy the items from the first Red Hat Linux installation CD-ROM over to the hard drive.

mkdir C:\RedHatmkdir C:\RedHat\basemkdir C:\RedHat\RPMScopy E:\RedHat\base C:\RedHat\basecopy E:\RedHat\RPMS C:\RedHat\RPMS

If you do not have enough disk space for copying the entire RPMS directory tree over to your hard drive, you willneed to look in the \RedHat\base\comps file for the RPMs that are needed in the base and any other

installation sections you would like to install.

Once you have done this, you can start the install using a boot floppy and choose the hard drive installation method.

You will be asked to insert the supplemental floppy and a progress meter will pop up to show you what is

happening. Once the supplemental disk has been loaded, you will be presented with the next screen on the install.



Laptop Installation Problems

Question: I am having trouble getting Linux installed or configured on my laptop computer. What should I do?

Answer:

Laptops are one of the hardest pieces of hardware to support for any operating system. Many times, the companythat constructs the hardware has to tweak a chipset to make it fit in the confined structure or meet certain power

requirements. These changes are usually only documented internally for trade secret reasons and can only be

reverse-engineered or worked around.

When Red Hat Support finds itself with a laptop question, our first (and sometimes only) reference is the Linux

Laptop Pages, which can be found at http://www.linux-laptop.net.

Signal 11 or Signal 7 Problems During Installation

Question: During the install, I get a fatal signal 11 or signal 7. What does this mean, and what can I do?

Answer:

Signal 11's and signal 7's are errors indicating a hardware error in memory or on the bus. This can be due to

problems in executables or with the hardware of the system. The Linux kernel tends to make much greater use of

capabilities of a system's CPU, cache, and memory. Therefore, it is more prone to faulting on marginal or defective

hardware.

The first thing to do is check to see if you have the latest installation and supplemental floppies from Red Hat.

Check the errata page (http://www.redhat.com/support/errata) for updates and also the FTP site (ftp://ftp.redhat.com)

to see if newer versions are available. If the latest images still fail, it may be due to problems with your hardware.

Common suspects are memory (RAM) or the CPU-cache. Try turning off the CPU-cache in the BIOS and see if the

problem goes away. Also try swapping the RAM modules around in the motherboard slots to see if it is either slot or

memory related.

The premier site on the net for this problem can be found at http://www.bitwizard.nl/sigll/.

Upgrade Problem: can't find a valid RPM database Error

Question: I am trying to upgrade my Red Hat system to the current release, but it complains that it can't find a validRPM database. What do I need to do?

Answer:

The problem is that a very few earlier versions of RPM would write the database in a way that seems corrupted to

later versions. Rebuilding the database fixes the install problems. You will need to upgrade the RPM application on

your system to the one on the installation CD-ROM, and rebuild the databases.

The first thing to do is mount the first Red Hat Linux installation CD-ROM on the system.

mount /mnt/cdrom

After doing this, upgrade the RPM application using the latest version on the CD-ROM:

http://www.linux-laptop.net/

http://www.redhat.com/support/errata

ftp://ftp.redhat.com/


http://www.bitwizard.nl/sig11/

http://www.linux-laptop.net/



http://www.bitwizard.nl/sig11/



cd /mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMSrpm -Uvh --nodeps --force rpm-*rpm

When the new RPM application is installed, rebuild the RPM database.

rpm --rebuilddb

This will put the RPM database in a format that the RPM application used by the Red Hat Linux installation

program can use (since they are the same).

Booting Linux from the Installation Boot Disk

Question: I have Red Hat Linux installed on an IDE drive, and for whatever reason, I need to boot from floppy.

How can I boot my system from the installation boot disk?

Answer:

If you have installed Linux onto an IDE hard drive, you can boot from the installation floppy using the following

method.

Insert the installation floppy and restart the machine. At the boot: prompt, type the following:

vmlinuz root=/dev/hdXY[Example: vmlinuz root=/dev/hdb5 ]

Where X is the IDE drive letter and Y is the partition on the drive where you installed the root (/) partition for Red

Hat Linux.

For more information about the naming conventions for IDE or SCSI hard drives and their partitions, refer to the

section called Difference Between Linux and DOS Disk Names .

Where to Go for Updates

Question: Where can I find updates for packages shipped with Red Hat Linux?

Answer:

Red Hat, Inc. posts all official updates at http://www.redhat.com/support/errata. You can also go to

ftp://updates.redhat.com.

Also check the contrib directory on our FTP mirrors for packages that users have contributed. We also make

periodic announcements to the redhat-announce-list with updates.

http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/faqs/rhl_general_faq/s1-install.html#S2-LINUX-VS-DOS







ftp://updates.redhat.com/








Contents of the Source CD-ROM

Question: During the install, I was not asked to use one of the Red Hat Linux installation CD-ROMs. When I use

the X program glint on it, it reports that there are no RPMs, but when I look at the directories, I see lots of them.What is going on?

Answer:

This CD-ROM in the Red Hat Linux boxed set (known as CD 4 in version 7.0 and higher or CD 2 in version 6.2 and

below) contains the source code RPMs (SRPM) for all of the open source applications that are on the other CD-

ROMs. From these source RPMs, you can build all the open source applications in the Red Hat Linux distribution.

The reason that glint does not see source RPMs is due to the fact that SRPMS are not stored in any of the RPM

databases. This makes it almost impossible to tell if you have installed an source RPM ( package-

name.src.rpm) before or are overwriting an older version. Thus, you will need to use the plain rpm command to

install these items.

rpm -ivh package-name.src.rpm will install the source code into the directory that the maintainer of that

SRPM used. The data in the source RPMs packaged by Red Hat are installed into /usr/src/redhat by default.

Rebuilding and improving on RPMs is beyond the scope of this answer. The book Maximum RPM and the RPMman pages are good sources of information on this subject. An online version of Maximum RPM can be found at

http://www.redhat.com/support/books/max-rpm/max-rpm-html, and the book is also available for sale at the Red HatStore (http://www.redhat.com/apps/commerce).

Installing RPM Packages

Question: How do I install an RPM package?

Answer:

For most RPM packages, you can simply type rpm -Uvh filename.

This will upgrade the RPM, if you already have it on your system, or install it, if it is not already installed.

One notable occasion when you would not want to use the -U flag is when you are installing a kernel RPM. In this

case, you will want to leave your old kernel in place, at least temporarily, in case the new kernel does not boot. Thiscan be accomplished by using the -i flag in the place of the -U flag in the rpm command, such as rpm -ivh

kernel-package-name.

For more information about installing new kernels, please see

http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/howto/kernel-upgrade/kernel-upgrade.html.

http://www.redhat.com/support/books/max-rpm/max-rpm-html

http://www.redhat.com/apps/commerce

http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/howto/kernel-upgrade/kernel-upgrade.html


http://www.redhat.com/support/books/max-rpm/max-rpm-html

http://www.redhat.com/apps/commerce




More About RPM

Question: How do I use RPM? What are some general commands that I will use with this application? Also, for

whatever reason, I think files have changed on my system but I don't know which ones. Can RPM help?

Answer:

In general, normal usage of the rpm command can be summarized as follows:

• Installation/Upgrading/Removalo To install a package: rpm -ivh filename

rpm -ivh somepackage.1.1-4.i386.rpm

o To upgrade a package: rpm -Uvh filename

rpm -Uvh somepackage.1.1-5.i386.rpm

o To remove a package: rpm -e packagename

rpm -e somepackage

o Also, for upgrading or installing some packages, you may need to use additional flags to force the

install to happen. It is only recommended to use these if you know why these flags were needed.

--force will overwrite files that are owned by other packages.

--nodeps will install even if the package needs packages that werenot installed.

• Queryingo To see if a package is installed: rpm -q packagename

rpm -q somepackage

o To get info on an installed package: rpm -qi packagename

rpm -qi somepackage

o To list which files belong to a package: rpm -ql packagename

rpm -ql somepackageo To see what package a file belongs to: rpm -qf path-to-filename

rpm -qf /usr/bin/some_executable

One can usually join various query commands together, so rpm -qil will give info and list all the files in the

package.

To look at an RPM filename that isn't installed, you add the p to the query line.

rpm -qilp somepackage.1.1-4.i386.rpm

This will list the information and the files contained in somepackage.

More Advanced

More advanced usages can be found in the man page for RPM and at the website, http://www.rpm.org.

http://www.rpm.org/

http://www.rpm.org/

http://www.rpm.org/

http://www.rpm.org/



Verification

To see what files on the system may have changed from their initial settings, you can use RPM to check up on them.

The command rpm -Va will give you a list of all files that have changed in one form or another since the package

associated with it was installed. This can be a lot of files (and a lot may be changed due to post installation work).

To just see what packages have changed so that you can verify them more individually, you can do the following:

rpm -Va --pipe "awk '{print $2}' | xargs rpm -qf | sort -u" &> /tmp/file1

Then look in the file /tmp/file1 to see all of the packages that have been changed after their installation.

Getting Started

Question: I have installed Red Hat Linux version 6.2 or earlier onto my machine. I am presented with a prompt that

says:

LILO:

What do I do now? Can you give me instructions on the next steps?

Answer:

Red Hat Linux 7.0 and greater use a graphical boot screen, so you will not see any prompt. If you would like to see a

LILO: prompt with these versions, press [Ctrl]-[X].

After you have completed an installation of Red Hat Linux version 6.2 or earlier, the machine should reboot and you

will be presented with a prompt that looks like:

LILO:

If you press the [Enter] key, it will begin the booting process of the Linux system. After a short time (from 20

seconds to 10 minutes depending on the machine speed and services running), you will see a clear screen with the

text similar to:

Red Hat Linux release 6.2 (Zoot)kernel 2.2.14-5.0 on an i686 login: _

At the login: prompt, you will need to log in as the root user. Type root and press [Enter] again. You should be

prompted for a password:

login: rootpassword: _

Type in the password you set during the install and press [Enter]. For security reasons, the password is not echoed

onto the screen. If all goes well the machine should log you in. If you are prompted for a password again, the text

you typed did not match the install password. Try again, being careful to use correct capitalization. This is the



standard text-mode or runlevel 3 login screen. You may be expecting a graphical login but have ended up at the text-

mode virtual terminal screen.

Now you should create a new user account and password, one that will be used for day-to-day work with the system. Next, exit and log back in as that user.

Once you are logged in, you can use the command startx to start a GUI environment.

If you are new at using Linux, there are several websites that we recommend, including:

• http://www.redhat.com/support

• http://www.redhat.com/support/manuals/RHL-7.1-Manual/getting-started-guide

• http://www.redhat.com/mirrors/LDP

• http://www.tldp.org

• http://www.linuxnewbie.org

The following good books will also help you get started:

• LINUX in a Nutshell by Ellen Siever, Jessica P. Hekman, Stephen Figgins, and Stephen Spainhour;O'Reilly & Associates

• Running Linux by Matt Welsh and Lar Kaufman; O'Reilly & Associates

• Red Hat Linux for Dummies by Jon "maddog" Hall; IDG

Installing Linux and Windows NT on the Same Machine

Question: How do I install Windows NT and Linux onto the same machine?

Answer:

If you need to install Windows NT and Linux on the same machine, read the Linux and NT HOWTO that has been

prepared by Bernd Reichert. The latest version can be found at http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/mini/Linux+NT-Loader.html.

Since this guide is extremely helpful, only a brief summary is presented below:

• Partition and install Windows NT first, making sure to leave space for Linux to place its partitions. If

possible, do not create any logical partitions, as we have had reports of this causing problems. Get NT

running and its boot loader happy. If you haven't already, make an NT rescue boot floppy just in case

something goes wrong later in this process.

• Install Linux and install LILO to the root (/) partition instead of the Master Boot Record (MBR).

• If you are using Red Hat Linux 5.1 or later, use the rescue boot floppy you created during the install to boot

Linux initially.

•

Edit the /etc/lilo.conf file to remove the prompt line and any other operating systems listed. The prompt action can occasionally confuse the NT boot loader. Here is an example /etc/lilo.conf file

that has been set up for NT.

boot=/dev/hdamap=/boot/mapinstall=/boot/boot.btimeout=50

http://www.redhat.com/support

http://www.redhat.com/support/manuals/RHL-7.1-Manual/getting-started-guide

http://www.redhat.com/mirrors/LDP/

http://www.tldp.org/

http://www.linuxnewbie.org/

http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/mini/Linux+NT-Loader.html



http://www.redhat.com/support

http://www.redhat.com/support/manuals/RHL-7.1-Manual/getting-started-guide

http://www.redhat.com/mirrors/LDP/

http://www.tldp.org/

http://www.linuxnewbie.org/





image=/boot/vmlinux-2.2.12-20label=Linuxroot=/dev/hda5 #(make sure that you put your correct root partitionhere)read-only

• Follow the rest of the directions in the mini HOWTO on making the NT OS loader Linux-aware.

A more recent mini HOWTO that discusses more installation can be found at

http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/mini/Linux+WinNT.html .

Adding Users

Question: How do I add users?

Answer:

First, log in as root and run the adduser command.

adduser username

Make certain that you also set up a password for the new user.

passwd username

Mount Failed Error

Question: I'm trying to install and I keep getting mount failed. What should I do?

Answer:

If you are performing a full installation, make certain that you have set up the partitions as ext2 or Linux Native,

depending on which partitioning tool you used. Also, make sure that you have created and initiated your swap

partition.

There are five virtual consoles available during installation. Two of these consoles, Install Log (accessed by [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F3]) and System Log (accessed by [Crtl]-[Alt]-[F4]) may prove to be beneficial in pinpointing the install

problem you have encountered.

If you are running an upgrade, switch to a virtual terminal and make certain that none of the partitions are already

mounted. Also, check /etc/fstab for filesystem types that aren't listed in /proc/filesystems.

Forgetting the Root Password

Question: I forgot my root password. What do I do?

Answer:

When the system comes to the LILO: prompt, type linux single.

http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/mini/Linux+WinNT.html





When you get the # prompt you will need to type passwd root.

This will update the password to a newer one. At this point you can type shutdown -r now and the system

should boot up normally. You can now use your new root password to gain root access.

Avoiding Running the fsck Command After Each Reboot

Question: Every time I turn my computer off, when I turn it back on, it makes me run fsck command on my

partitions. Why?

Answer:

The most likely cause for this is that your partitions are not being unmounted properly when you last shutdown the

machine. Linux is very much like NT and other operating systems in that it needs to be properly shutdown before being powered off or there could be disk or file corruptions and other inconsistencies.

The most important thing you can do is make sure that you are shutting down the machine properly. This can be

done through one of two methods:

• If you are in text mode (runlevel 3), you should log in as root and type shutdown -r now.

• If you are using the GUI mode (runlevel 5), there should be a system button on the GDM login screen.

(This is the screen that asks for your username and password.) Click on System and then pull down toHalt.

Either of these methods will cleanly halt your machine and you should see a line that says Power Down when it is

safe to turn off the machine. If you are running APM, Linux will try to stop the machine via the BIOS.

Getting Sound to Work With Linux

Question: How do I get sound to work with Linux?

Answer:

Most of the time, you only need to login as root and run the sndconfig command. More information can be found

at http://www.redhat.com/support/manuals/RHL-7.1-Manual/getting-started-guide/ch-fun.html#S1-FUN.

In a few rare cases or when using an older version of Red Hat Linux, setting up sound can be a challenge, primarily because most people have plug and play sound cards. This section of the FAQ tries to attack this issue from several

different angles to try to cover all bases.

http://www.redhat.com/support/manuals/RHL-7.1-Manual/getting-started-guide/ch-fun.html#S1-FUN





First, you will need to either disable plug and play on the card (via jumpers or card setup tools). You can also

change your boot method to use loadlin.exe from Windows (as Windows would then have set up the plug and

play hardware).

The command to set up sound is called sndconfig. You will need to log in as root (and if you are using the X

Window System, open a terminal). At the prompt type sndconfig. This will walk you through setting up your

sound card.

If you have problems with sndconfig, here are a couple of other ways to attack the problem.

The sndconfig program tries to set up a good set of default values for the plug and play settings and then load the

appropriate modules. If it cannot find a good set of values itself, you can also try:

/usr/sbin/sndconfig --noautoconfig

This command will let you manually specify the plug and play values for the card. You need to choose these wisely

however. The values from Windows will probably work if it's the only plug and play device in the machine, but

check out:

cat /proc/interruptscat /proc/ioportscat /proc/dmacat /proc/pci

to find a set of resources that will work.

Enter them in and continue. It should then load the proper modules and play the sound.

You can also try letting sndconfig configure itself as close as it can get to the real values of your card. Then, you

can edit /etc/modules.conf (or /etc/conf.modules in early version of Red Hat Linux) to use the correct

values. Your /etc/modules.conf may have a couple of lines that look something like:

alias sound sboptions sb irq=7 io=0x320 dma=3,5

To reload the modules type:

/etc/rc.d/init.d/sound stop/etc/rc.d/init.d/sound start

This should load up the sb module with the proper resources.

You can also try this:

cd /etcpico modules.conf (or conf.modules)delete any lines about sb or opl3save the filereboot



Then run /usr/sbin/sndconfig again.

Finally, you can try using the isapnptools programs.

Type this:

/sbin/pnpdump > /etc/isapnp.conf

The pnpdump command probes to see what plug and play devices are installed and generates a template file called

/etc/isapnp.conf for isapnp to read.

Once you have chosen a good set of resources for the card, make sure they don't conflict with any other cards. To

see other resources, check the following:

cat /proc/pcicat /proc/interruptscat /proc/ioportscat /proc/dma

Then type

/sbin/isapnp /etc/isapnp.conf

to set up the devices. If this does not work, you can edit this file with a text editor (vi, pico, emacs, etc.) and adjust

the values to fit those of your card. The file format is a little obtuse, so you may want to check

http://www.roestock.demon.co.uk/isapnptools for more information.

If it's not a plug and play sound card, and you know the values for the resources it uses, you can just set them

manually by editing /etc/modules.conf (or /etc/conf.modules for older versions of Red Hat Linux).

----example---------alias sound sbalias midi opl3options opl3 io=0x388options sb io=0x220 irq=7 dma=0,1 mpu_io=0x300----example---------

You can also type man isapnp.conf for a more detailed description of the format.

Then run:

/etc/rc.d/init.d/sound stop/etc/rc.d/init.d/sound start

You may need to go though this a few times to get good values. This is what sndconfig is supposed to do

automatically, but it doesn't always work for all cards.

If all this fails, report problems to the [email protected] so that they can be worked on.

Screen Blanking

http://www.roestock.demon.co.uk/isapnptools/


mailto:[email protected]






Question: Every time I leave my computer for a few minutes, the screen goes blank. How can I fix this?

Answer:

If you have a screen saver running, you may want to turn it off. In text mode, the kernel will "screen-save" your

system unless you use:

setterm -powersave off -blank 0

Otherwise, if you hear disk drives speed up or other sounds, this is probably APM kicking in. Disable APM from

starting at boot time by logging in as root and typing ntsysv . Then deselect APM. Leave ntsysv and you will need

to reboot the machine. (This is one of the few services that you have to restart the system, as APM is so deeply

connected to the kernel that a full reset is needed.)

bash: command not found

Question: I compiled a program called hello but when I try to run it, the command line responds with bash:

hello command not found. Why won't my programs run on Red Hat?

Answer:

This problem is generally caused by the location of the program not being specified in your general path. The path is

where Linux (like Windows) will search for a working executable. The current working directory is not in your path

because of possible security exploits of a command masking itself as another one.

To run your file, you can either put the directory with hello in your path (you can find out what the path is by

typing echo $PATH) OR move the hello program into a directory that is in your path. Alternatively, and perhaps

most common, you can simply run hello by typing ./hello from within the directory containing the program.

Getting Online With a Modem

Question: I can't get my modem to work. Can you help?

Answer:

First, check to see if your modem is a supported device. Double-check the Hardware Compatibility List athttp://hardware.redhat.com.

Verify that your modem is being detected by the system and that it is not conflicting with other resources. You can

check this with the following commands (as seen in this example):

cat /proc/ioports

http://hardware.redhat.com/





0000-001f : dma10020-003f : pic10040-005f : timer0060-006f : keyboard0070-007f : rtc0080-008f : dma page reg00a0-00bf : pic200c0-00df : dma200f0-00ff : fpu0170-0177 : ide101f0-01f7 : ide00220-022f : soundblaster02f8-02ff : serial(auto)0330-0333 : MPU-401 UART0376-0376 : ide10388-038b : Yamaha OPL303c0-03df : vga+03f6-03f6 : ide003f8-03ff : serial(auto)d000-d07f : eth0

d800-d807 : ide0d808-d80f : ide1 cat /proc/interrupts

CPU00: 1296380 XT-PIC timer1: 30736 XT-PIC keyboard2: 0 XT-PIC cascade5: 1 XT-PIC soundblaster8: 1 XT-PIC rtc10: 73593 XT-PIC eth012: 159669 XT-PIC PS/2 Mouse

13: 1 XT-PIC fpu14: 246863 XT-PIC ide015: 584998 XT-PIC ide1NMI: 0

Examples of conflicting resources would be your modem and some other port sharing an interrupt. In the PC world,

COM 1 (/dev/ttyS0) and COM 3 (/dev/ttyS3) will try to share the same interrupt unless told otherwise.

While this works in some systems, we have generally found that it leads to a degradation of service.

Next, we recommend that you use minicom to double-check that you are getting a signal back from your modem.Once you have determined this, refer to the following sites for information on setting up a PPP connection using rp3

and wvdial:

• http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/tips/PPP-Client-Tips/PPP-Client-Tips.html• http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/tips/Network-Config-Tips/Network-Config-Tips.html

Questions like this are also excellent questions for the Red Hat users' mailing list. There are many experienced Red

Hat users on the list who might be of assistance on a matter of this sort. To subscribe to redhat-list, go tohttps://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/redhat-list.

There is also a compiled listing of past posts to this group. You may find the answer to your question here:

http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/tips/PPP-Client-Tips/PPP-Client-Tips.html

http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/tips/Network-Config-Tips/Network-Config-Tips.html

https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/redhat-list


http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/tips/PPP-Client-Tips/PPP-Client-Tips.html

http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/tips/Network-Config-Tips/Network-Config-Tips.html




• http://www.redhat.com/mailing-lists

Preventing Netscape From Crashing

Question: Netscape keeps crashing when I reach a page with Java applets in it. I have also noticed that some of my

applications do not display fonts correctly. What is going on?

Answer:

If could be possible that your system does not have a complete list of fontpath for X to use.

To see if this is the problem you are facing, use the command:

chkfontpath --list

You should get output that looks like the following:

Current directories in font path:1: /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc:unscaled2: /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi:unscaled3: /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi:unscaled4: /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc5: /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type16: /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo

You should then add the 75dpi scaled font to your path list using the command:

chkfontpath --add /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi

This should fix the problem you are seeing.

However, if problems persist. refer to http://home.netscape.com/eng/mozilla/4.6/relnotes/unix-4.6.html#unix (or

Help - Release notes in the menu).

Basically, if Netscape exhibits consistent problems on pages containing Javascript, check your ~/.mailcap file,

and remove this line if it is in that file:

application/x-javascript;;\

x-mozilla-flags=save

Problems Trying to Connect with Netscape

Question: I can dial up to my ISP just fine, but I can't use Netscape. It says cannot connect to remote

host. What is wrong?

Answer:

What you are seeing occurs from one of two possible problems.

http://www.redhat.com/mailing-lists

http://home.netscape.com/eng/mozilla/4.6/relnotes/unix-4.6.html#unix


http://www.redhat.com/mailing-lists




The first problem could be that your DNS (Domain Name Server) information may not being set correctly during

dial-up.

Red Hat Linux 6.2 uses wvdial which can determine this for most ISPs, but may have problems with some.

For Red Hat Linux 6.0 and earlier you will need to specify your ISP's DNS servers in your /etc/resolv.conf.

Contact your ISP for this information and edit the file to include those settings.

Here's an example:

search example.com example.comnameserver 198.79.53.11nameserver 198.79.53.10

Another possible reason for this problem may be that you are expecting action like what might be seen in a

Windows environment. When Windows detects that you are looking for something on a network and you have amodem in your system, it will try to start that modem connection. Linux requires you to start the connection

manually (most easily done through the Main Menu => Programs => Internet => RH PPP Dialer in the GNOME

menu, or by using the much older the X Window System program usernet).

Boot Hangs During sendmail, httpd , or smb

Question: I have installed Linux, and it seems to initially start booting. However, it gets down to something called

sendmail, httpd, or smb and then the machine seems to hang. What is happening and what should I do?

Answer:

If, after the install, the system seems to hang when it reaches certain processes like Sendmail, Apache, or Samba,

there is probably a network problem. The most common cause is that Linux can not look up the name of the

machine you have called the box (if you set up networking to have a machine name). The machine is currently

paused waiting for the network timeout of DNS lookups and will eventually bring up the login prompt. Login in as

root and check the usual culprits for a problem.

If you are directly on a network with a DNS server, make sure the file /etc/resolv.conf has the correct values

for your machine's DNS server. Check with your system administrator to make sure that the values are correct.

If you are using Linux on a network without a DNS server (or this box is going to be the DNS server), then you will

need to edit the /etc/hosts file to have the hostname and IP address so that the lookups will occur correctly. The

format of the /etc/hosts file is:

127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost192.168.200.1 mymachine.mynetwork.net mymachine

Boot Loader Questions

Error When Installing LILO to the Master Boot Record (MBR)

Question: The installation went fine, but when I tried to write the LILO information to the MBR, I got a vague error that said the installation program could not write this info to the MBR. What should I do?

Answer:



The MBR may be locked. You need to access your system's BIOS and verify that the MBR is not write-protected.

Also, double-check that you do not have a virus scan enabled in the BIOS that may interfere with writing to the

MBR. Depending on the system, you may already have another boot loader in the MBR that conflicts with LILO.

Once you have enabled the ability to write to your MBR, follow these steps to install LILO there:

1. Boot your system into Linux. (If your system cannot boot into Linux from the hard drive, boot using your boot floppy. Then, at the boot prompt, type vmlinuz root=/dev/hda5 at the LILO: prompt or the

location of your Linux root partition.)

2. Once your system is finished booting, login as root and check your /etc/lilo.conf file to make sure

everything is correct. Here is an example lilo.conf file:

boot=/dev/hdamap=/boot/mapinstall=/boot/boot.bprompttimeout=50message=/boot/message

lineardefault=linux

image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.2.17-14label=linuxinitrd=/boot/initrd-2.2.17-14.imgread-onlyroot=/dev/hda5

image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.2.16-22enterpriselabel=linux-2.2.16-22initrd=/boot/initrd-2.2.16-22.imgread-only

root=/dev/hda5

3. Type man lilo.conf for more information about configuring /etc/lilo.conf.

4. Once you are sure that /etc/lilo.conf is properly configured, run /sbin/lilo -v -v. If you

receive any errors, stop and verify that your lilo.conf file is correctly configured. If the lilo

command works correctly, type shutdown -r now to reboot your system.

These steps should install LILO to your MBR properly and allow you to boot without using a boot disk.

Problems Booting to Windows After the Installation of Red Hat Linux

Question: I have installed Linux to dual boot with Windows. My first drive, /dev/hda is Linux, and my second

drive is my Windows drive. Windows worked fine until after I installed Linux. Now, when I select "dos" from theLILO: prompt to boot to Windows, all I get is "Starting...." and then my machine locks, up. My entry for Windows

in my /etc/lilo.conf file looks like this:

other=/dev/hdb1label=dostable=/dev/hdb

Why is this happening and how can I work around it?



Answer:

Windows is expecting to be the first disk in your computer and does not know what to do when you try to boot it as

the second drive. In order to work around this, you must modify your /etc/lilo.conf file so that the entry for

Windows looks like this:

other=/dev/hdb1label=dostable=/dev/hdbmap-drive = 0x80to = 0x81map-drive = 0x81to = 0x80

Once you have done this, you must re-run LILO so that your changes take effect. To do this, type /sbin/lilo

-v -v.

What this does is fool DOS/Windows into believing that it is the first drive in your system.

What to Do When You Get 'LI' on Boot

Question: When my machine boots, all it says is 'LI' and then it freezes. What is the problem?

Answer:

This means that LILO (the Linux bootloader) is having problems bootstrapping itself to the system. There are a

couple of possible situations that may be causing this:

• You may have installed LILO above the 1024th cylinder on your hard drive. The kernel needs to reside

entirely below the 1023rd cylinder on the drive. If this is the case, you need to create a /boot partition

that resides in these limits and reinstall LILO.

• You may also need to go into your system's BIOS and make certain that LBA mode is enabled. If LBA wasoff, you will need to repartition and reinstall.

When to Use Loadlin

Question: When do I need to use loadlin?

Answer:

You will need an alternative to LILO if you can not install the Linux kernel to where the BIOS can reach it or you

do not wish to use it. The BIOS may not be able to reach it for one of the following reasons:

• The kernel is above the 1023 cylinder of the hard drive.

• The kernel is on a drive the BIOS cannot boot to (not on Primary IDE or SCSI chain).

• Other esoteric kernel/BIOS problems.

• You have hardware that can only be initialized in DOS (Plug and Play, etc).

You will probably need to use the Loadlin boot loader that is provided on the CD-ROM in \dosutils. You will

need to copy this directory over to your DOS hard drive partition and edit the autoboot.bat file to point to its

new position and removing the initrd= line. If your system is a SCSI system, you will need to go into rescue



mode and copy the /mnt/boot/initrd.img from the hard drive over to the DOS partition, and use it for

booting.

Changing the Default OS That Boots with LILO

Question: I installed LILO fine and can boot to either OS. How can I change the default OS that it boots to?

Answer:

For newer versions of Red Hat Linux, /etc/lilo.conf accepts a default= line that specifies the label of the

image section that will be used to boot the machine by default. So, for example, a /etc/lilo.conf file may

look like this:

boot=/dev/hdamap=/boot/mapinstall=/boot/boot.bprompttimeout=50message=/boot/messagelineardefault=linux

image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.2.17-14label=linuxinitrd=/boot/initrd-2.2.17-14.imgread-onlyroot=/dev/hda5

image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.2.16-22label=linux-oldinitrd=/boot/initrd-2.2.16-22.imgread-only

root=/dev/hda5

The default= line points to the label=linux as the default image to use when booting the system.

To change the default image to use when booting, simply change the default= line to point to the correct label

value (in this example, linux-old). Save /etc/lilo.conf and run the lilo -v -v command to save the

change.

For older Red Hat Linux systems, you will also need to edit the /etc/lilo.conf file. However, since these

versions cannot specify a default= line, you will need to change the order of the operating systems that LILO

sees in its configuration file. In other words, you will need to place the lines that point to the operating system you

would like to boot by default ahead of the others.

In the following example we change the order of booting so that DOS gets booted by default instead of Linux:

pico /etc/lilo.conf

Here is the old version:

boot=/dev/hdamap=/boot/map



install=/boot/boot.bprompttimeout=50

image=/boot/vmlinux-2.2.12-20label=linuxroot=/dev/hda2read-only

other = /dev/hda1label = dostable = /dev/hda

You would then change it to the following:

boot=/dev/hdamap=/boot/mapinstall=/boot/boot.bprompt

timeout=50

other = /dev/hda1label = dostable = /dev/hda

image=/boot/vmlinux-2.2.12-20label=linuxroot=/dev/hda2read-only

Save your changes to the file. At the shell prompt, run the command /sbin/lilo -v and the updated LILO will

be written to the boot device. On reboot, the machine will now boot into DOS by default instead of Linux.

Removing LILO Information from the Master Boot Record (MBR)

Question:

How can I remove the LILO information from my Master Boot Record (MBR)?

Answer:

There are several methods to removing LILO from the Master Boot Record of the machine. Inside of Linux, you can

replace the MBR with an earlier saved version of the MBR using the /sbin/lilo command:

/sbin/lilo -u

In DOS, NT, and Windows 95 you can use the fdisk command to create a new MBR with the "undocumented" flag/mbr. This will rewrite the MBR to only boot the primary DOS partition:

fdisk /mbr

X Window System Questions



Installing X

Question: I didn't install the X Window System during the install. How can I install it now?

Answer:

First, mount your CD-ROM and cd into your RPMS directory. From that point, you will want to follow thedirections at our http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/howto/XFree86-upgrade/XFree86-upgrade.html.

Black Screen While Starting X

Question: I run startx and get a black screen. What do I do?

Answer:

To get out of the black screen mode, try typing [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[Backspace].

This keystroke combination should cause the X server to exit, if possible. If that does not work, you may need to

reboot the system. After the system has come up again, you should make certain that all your video hardware iscompatible. Check the Hardware Compatibility List at http://hardware.redhat.com.

Also, make sure that you have the latest version of XFree86 from http://www.redhat.com/support/errata.

We have an update HOWTO for XFree86 located at http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/howto/XFree86-

upgrade/XFree86-upgrade.html.

It is possible that your video card or monitor was not configured correctly. You may need to reconfigure the

hardware. To do this, log in as root and run either Xconfigurator (recommended first) or XF86Setup and

specify the type of hardware that you are using. Then try running startx again.

errno 111 When Starting X

Question: When I run startx, I get errno 111. What does this mean?

Answer:

This is a message from an X client (any program running on your XFree86 X server, for example the window

manager) telling you that it tried to connect to the X server but failed to do so for some reason. You generally onlysee the last few lines of the error message. For the entire message (to help troubleshoot this issue) type:

X -probeonly >& startx.out

This will create a file called start.out which contains the complete error message. Read through the error

information carefully for clues concerning the real problem with starting X.

Getting X to Start on Boot

Question: How do I have X start up at boot versus having to type startx every time?

Answer:

http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/howto/XFree86-upgrade/XFree86-upgrade.html


















To enable X to run at boot time (assuming you are using gdm, kdm, or xdm to log in) you need to change the/etc/inittab file.

Edit your /etc/inittab file by replacing the line:

id:3:initdefault:

With this one:

id:5:initdefault:

Hardware Questions

Problems With Linux Finding All of a Machine's RAM

Question: My machine has 128 MB of RAM. However, Linux only sees 64 MB of it. What is going on, and how

can I fix it?

Answer:

On most systems, the reason is that the BIOS has a limit of how much memory it will tell the operating system is

present in the machine, even though the motherboard can have more. Common limits seen with this problem are

16M, 32M, 64M, and 128M. To get around this, we need to explicitly specify the amount of memory to the kernel at boot time via the mem=<actual_memory_goes_here> flag.

In the following example, we have a 128M machine but only 64M are being seen by Linux. At the LILO: prompt,

type:

LILO: linux mem=128M

After the machine boots, we use the free command to see if the larger amount of memory was recognized by the

kernel. If so, we can add an append= line to the /etc/lilo.conf file and rerun LILO to make it happen

permanently. The example from above would to edit their lilo.conf file to look like the following:

boot=/dev/sdamap=/boot/mapinstall=/boot/boot.bprompttimeout=50

image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.2.12-20label=linuxroot=/dev/sda1initrd=/boot/initrd-2.2.12-20.imgread-onlyappend="mem=128M"

Do not forget to run /sbin/lilo -v after editing the file.

Problems with Machine Speed and Large Amounts of RAM



Question: I have over 64 MB in my Pentium or greater machine. However, it seems sluggish when doing anything.

If I tell Linux to use only 64 MB with the mem=64M option in the lilo.conf file and rerun lilo -v, it seems

to speed up the machine. What is going on and can I do anything about it?

Answer:

The most likely answer to this problem has to do with the motherboard of the computer. Many motherboards limitthe L2 cache to be able to access up to 64 MB. The ones that we know of to be affected by this problem are the NX

(I believe this was only for Pentium 60-90), FX, VX, and TX boards from Intel. These are limited to a maximum of

512K of L2 cache. There may be other boards that have this problem, but these are our current candidates.

The following is from a user who researched the problem for us:

... typically have a maximum of 512k of L2 cache (either on the motherboard,orin a COAST module - looks a little like a DIMM, but a bit shorter) and canonlycache up to 64 meg. If Linux utilizes memory the same way as Microsoft OSesdo,

it goes from the top of the memory stack and works its way down. This canresult in a pretty significant slowdown unless you really need the additionalmemory. The exception to this was the HX chipset, which was also the onlychipset (i think) that could handle dual or quad processor Pentium boards (andeven MMX). However, the vast majority of HX boards that I have seen alsorequired a TAG-ram chip to cache over 64 meg, and still had a limit as to howmuch it could cache (the exact number escapes me at the moment).

There were ways around this - the most obvious being a non-Intel basedmotherboard. The VIA motherboards are a good option here, and very often canbefound with 1 meg of cache (or even, a little more rarely, 2 meg). Theseboards

can cache between 512 and 1 gig of memory, depending on the exact variation ofthe chipset.

Getting a Zip Drive to Work

Question: How can I get my Zip drive to work with Red Hat Linux?

Answer:

There are excellent references in the ZIP HOWTOs at http://www.redhat.com/mirrors/LDP/HOWTO/HOWTO-

INDEX/hardware.html#HWJAZZIP .

In Red Hat Linux 6.2, there are a few extra steps needed to get a parallel port Zip drive to work:

Edit your /etc/conf.modules and add:

alias parport_lowlevel parport_pcalias scsi_hostadapter ppa

Then log in as root and run modprobe ppa command.

http://www.redhat.com/mirrors/LDP/HOWTO/HOWTO-INDEX/hardware.html#HWJAZZIP







cp filename /mnt/floppy

Using Your CD-ROM

Question: How do I mount my CD-ROM drive?

Answer:

If your system was installed properly, typing

mount /mnt/cdrom

should work. If it does not, you must edit your /etc/fstab file and add a line that refers to your CD-ROM

device.

Here's an example:

/dev/hdc /mnt/cdrom iso9660 noauto,ro 0 0

(CD-ROM device) (mount point) (filesystem type and options)

In more recent versions of Red Hat Linux, your CD-ROM is more likely to be something like /dev/cdrom. To

find out what the CD-ROM device is for your system, type

dmesg | more

and scan it for information regarding your CD-ROM.

If you wish to mount the CD-ROM without adding this to your /etc/fstab, just type:

mount -t iso9660 /dev/hdc /mnt/cdrom

Using Two Ethernet Cards

Question: I have two Ethernet cards. How can I get both of them recognized?

Answer:

First, make certain that both cards are supported. Check the hardware compatibility list at

http://hardware.redhat.com.

This further depends on whether the cards use the same driver or if they use different drivers. If they use different

drivers, you simply need to set up the second network interface and edit your /etc/conf.modules (Red Hat

Linux 6.2 and earlier) or /etc/modules.conf (Red Hat Linux 7.0 and greater) file to point to the specific driver

for the second card. If they use the same driver, you may need to recompile your kernel, but several modules nowallow for multiple cards. It may be that you just need to use boot time arguments, such as:

boot: linux ether=11,0x300,eth0 ether=5,0x340,eth1






This option can be made permanent so that you do not have to re-enter it every time your system boots. See the

LILO configuration option append= in the lilo.conf man page.

The Ethernet HOWTO is an excellent source of information on how to do this. It can be found at

http://www.redhat.com/mirrors/LDP/HOWTO/Ethernet-HOWTO.html .

Ethernet Card Detection

Question: How can I tell if my Ethernet card is being recognized?

Answer:

There are two commands you can run to verify that your network interface is running properly: ifconfig or

netstat.

You can also go through some of your files in the /proc directory, such as /proc/interrupts, /proc/pci,

and others to see if you can find information about your card there.

WinModems (TM) and Linux

Question: How can I get my WinModem(TM) to work with Linux?

Answer:

Unfortunately, WinModems(TM) are completely incompatible with Red Hat Linux version 6.0 and earlier. There is

no work-around for this issue at this time. The problem is that WinModems(TM) and similar type modems use the

CPU to emulate various hardware that is removed to save on costs. These hardware parts that are removed would

have to be "emulated" by the Linux kernel and would require the hardware maker of the modem to write such

drivers.

There are a few (very few) winmodem chipsets that are compatible with the 6.x versions of Red Hat Linux. The best

place to go for more information on these versions is the www.linmodems.org and

http://www.idir.net/~gromitkc/winmodem.html. Both have links to information and drivers for various

WinModems(TM).

For Red Hat 7, there is, unfortunately, even less support. This is because many of the drivers available (such as the

popular ltmodem driver) are compiled for versions of the Linux kernel that are old by today's standard. Red Hat 7ships with the 2.2.16-22 kernel which has shown some trouble with some of the drivers. The ltmodem driver, which

was compiled for kernel 2.2.12-20 seems to become unstable at 2.2.14-12 (the errata release kernel for Red Hat 6.2)

though it seems to be usable.

We have no direct knowledge of other modem drivers, however, and welcome more information (see the contact

information at the top of this document).

http://www.redhat.com/mirrors/LDP/HOWTO/Ethernet-HOWTO.html

http://www.linmodems.org/


http://www.idir.net/~gromitkc/winmodem.html


http://www.redhat.com/mirrors/LDP/HOWTO/Ethernet-HOWTO.html





Printers and Red Hat Linux

Question: How do I get my printer to work with Red Hat Linux?

Answer:

First make certain that your printer is a supported device. Check http://www.redhat.com/support/hardware/index.html for that information. If it is supported, log into the GUI mode

(X Window System) as the root user, open your Control Panel and start Printtool or select Printer Configuration

from the main GNOME or KDE menu to set up the proper /etc/printcap settings.

Additional information is available at the following sites:

• http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/tips/Printer-Tips/Printer-Tips.html

• http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/howto/lpd/lpd_remote.html

• http://www.redhat.com/mirrors/LDP/HOWTO/Printing-HOWTO/index.html

In Red Hat Linux 6.1, there are a few extra steps needed to get a parallel port printer to work. This step is no longer

necessary under Red Hat Linux 6.2:

Edit your /etc/conf.modules and add:

alias parport_lowlevel parport_pc

Then log in as root and run modprobe lp.

Some people have had problems if they daisy chain a printer through a parallel port Zip drive. Currently, we

recommend that you use either the printer or the Zip drive.

System Freezes When Trying to Shutdown or Reboot

Question: Whenever I try to shutdown my machine or reboot it with the commands (reboot, halt, shutdown

-r now, or shutdown -h now), the shutdown process executes correctly, but then the display blanks and the

system hangs. Only way to recover is to use a hard reset.

Answer:

At the point the system hangs, the control has been handed back from Linux to the firmware, and it is up to the

firmware to reboot the system correctly. There are some possible workarounds as Linux lets you pick multiple

reboot methods to try and deal with broken BIOSes or hardware.

At the LILO: boot prompt, you can specify:

reboot=X ,Y

where X is either

hard - reboot by reset line

bios - reboot by bios vector

http://www.redhat.com/support/hardware/index.html


http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/tips/Printer-Tips/Printer-Tips.html

http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/howto/lpd/lpd_remote.html

http://www.redhat.com/mirrors/LDP/HOWTO/Printing-HOWTO/index.html


http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/tips/Printer-Tips/Printer-Tips.html

http://www.redhat.com/support/resources/howto/lpd/lpd_remote.html

http://www.redhat.com/mirrors/LDP/HOWTO/Printing-HOWTO/index.html



and Y is either

warm - warm boot (similar to [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[Del])

cold - cold boot (similar to power on)

So if you boot with

LILO: linux reboot=bios,warm

Linux will reboot by the BIOS vector with a warm reboot.

You can hopefully find a boot sequence that does not trip the bugs in the system BIOS. Theappend="reboot=..." option in /etc/lilo.conf will let you set it by default by adding:

append="reboot=bios,warm"

into lilo.conf for the Linux image.

Then rerun /sbin/lilo -v to write the change to your boot device.

installation and other general questions

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