Red Hat 6.2 Installation [maybe ??]

[Robert Keneely]

As part of my effort to "learn" Linux, I bought a manual that included a Red Hat 6.2 CD. I set up my "old" computer [NEC 166 MHz] by partitioning the 20 gig HD [15 = Win98 & 5 = Linux].

I started the inst. and all appeared to go well UNTIL I got to the final step "Install Packages" and clicked the NEXT button. There was non-stop HD "activity" for 8 to 10 minutes, then "nothing".

On the monitor, there are three lines labeled - Package - Size - Summary - In the manual some "info" is shown next to each - On my monitor "nothing" !!

There is a chart with columns - Status - Package - Size - Time
All these show "zero totals".

After the HD activity stopped I "poked around" with the mouse trying to get something going again and Message Window popped up "Creating loopback file system on device /dev/hda5".
When in reality "nothing has happened" for the last 15 minutes.

Can anyone explain what is going on and what I need to do to complete the installation ???

[Robert Keneely]

After posting the original message [above] I shut down the NEC and booted up again in WIN98SE.

When I check the D:\ partition [now /dev/hda5 ??] I found a "Windows icon" labeled RedHat.Img which is 1.99 GB in size.

I appears that Red Hat 6.2 just might have installed but I did not get the boot-loader that I was expecting.

My "new question" might be -

"How do I create a dual-boot setup ??

[EugeneTSWong]

Hi Robert.

I've used RH 6.* for quite a while now and only recently switched to Gentoo 1.4.

I don't quite understand your problem here. I think that it may go all the way back to the part where you partitioned your disks and selected the one for the root file system. Which partitions did you select for your Windows partition, swap partition [did you select one?], & root partition? Did you select one for a boot partition too?

[Robert Keneely]

Hi Eugene,

Thanks for response. The "step-by-step" in the manual does not show as much detail as the on screen help does.

As I "remember" RH refered to a "partition-less" option. The partitioning step showed two lines one was 15,000 - FAT32 [which would be the C:\ partition where Win98SE is] and the other was 5,000 which I selected to install Red Hat. The only real choice I had was for a "root" directory.

As I said before, everything seem to go according to the manual until the actual "Installing packages".

One last question - Should I have formatted the D:\ partition "one last time" to remove any "traces" of Windows ??

[EugeneTSWong]

Hmm...I'm still not sure that I understand what you were doing, because I don't recall being able to make those choices.

You definitely do not need to format D:\ as long as you have enough free space.

Generally speaking, you'll want to dual boot unless you have no other choice.

I think that you installed an image that allows you to boot Linux from Windows. You'd turn on the computer, boot up Windows, browse D:\ & then click on something.

According to this (http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-6.2-Manual/install-guide/ch-part-less.html), you were supposed to make a boot disk using a floppy disk. At any time, did you insert a blank floppy for the install process to do anything with it? If so, then restart your computer, but before it starts to boot up, insert the boot disk and see if it boots up your RH 6.2 system. This floppy disk definitely isn't the same as the install floppy that some people have.

I strongly recommend that you follow these instructions (http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-6.2-Manual/install-guide/), if you haven't already. Be sure to check out the Getting Started Guide (http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-6.2-Manual/getting-started-guide/) & the Reference Guide (http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-6.2-Manual/ref-guide/) for more information, if you haven't already.

After thinking a bit more about this, I would say that the image size of 1.2 GB [or whatever size it was], is a good indicator that something did get copied over. Most people probably install well over 1 GB. In fact, they would have to consciously pick their install packages to keep it all under 1 GB.

Another suggestion is to take notes in your manual, because the book may not be as thorough as you'd like, and in the future you may want to read up on the topic again. This will save you time with surfing the Internet.

If I forgot to answer any questions, then please let me know.

[Robert Keneely]

Hello again, Eugene,

According to the manual, there was suppose to be one final screen. "Congratulations, installation is complete". I never got this screen because the prior screen [with the bar graphs and number totals] never ran !! See my original posting about the MISSING "Box chart" with labels and running totals as each package was installed.

The very next page of the manual covers "boot disks" and "recovery disks" BUT it starts from the Gnome desktop [there is an icon there] which I never got to.

Eugene, I also discovered something "weird" with the HD formatting. I hope you are familar with Windows.

1) When I boot up DIRECTLY from a Win98SE start up disk and run fdisk Option #4 it shows the partitions are "corrupted" [two non-dos partitions with no FAT].

2) When I turn on computer and allow Win98 to load then use the option to "Shut down a restart in MS-DOS" and run fdisk Option #4 from this A:\> prompt I get "correct" partition info.
C:\ is "active" and Primary partition. 15 GB
D:\ is Extended partition 5 GB

I am going to have to contact people on a Windows forum I use and find out what is going on.

I will have to get back to this story later, when I know more.

[EugeneTSWong]

Originally posted by Robert Keneely
Hello again, Eugene,

According to the manual, there was suppose to be one final screen. "Congratulations, installation is complete". I never got this screen because the prior screen [with the bar graphs and number totals] never ran !!
Oh yeah, I forgot about that screen.
The very next page of the manual covers "boot disks" and "recovery disks" BUT it starts from the Gnome desktop [there is an icon there] which I never got to.
I think that the manual is wrong. It sounds like a catch-22. You'd have to boot up, to get to the desktop, to get to the boot-disk maker, to make the boot-disk, to boot up, to...etc.

According the to references that I gave you, you should be able to delete these image files to uninstall the FAT32 installation of RH. This is very consistent with my understanding of it.

According to what you said regarding fdisk, it is inconsistent with what I know about Windows & Linux. I get the impression, that typically, manuals not made by the original software producer tend to be sub-par. This isn't true, but it sure does give me this impression, especially when it comes to RH. The best RH paper docs that I've seen so far [and I've only seen about 2 or more], is the genuine RH manuals. Give the links above a try.
Eugene, I also discovered something "weird" with the HD formatting. I hope you are familar with Windows.
I am. I have a Microsoft certification, for better or for worse. What you have said regarding fdisk gives me the impression that fdisk may be "broken". The FAT32 install isn't supposed to mess with the partition information, nor is it supposed to corrupt anything. On the other hand, the installation software may have done something to it. Unfortunately, it would be difficult to tell without someone commenting who had that same experience, but without the Linux install.

You mentioned Win98SE & Win98. Are they exactly the same? After all, one fdisk may be better than another.
I will have to get back to this story later, when I know more.
I'm looking forward to hearing what you came up with.

[Robert Keneely]

Morning Eugene,

I really should be doing "yard work" instead of this.

You are correct, and caught me doing a few "short cuts". The very next line on the "Congratulations screen" is "Press return to reboot", this gets you to the Gnome desktop. From here there are detailed instructions on how to type in instructions in Command mode to create the boot & recovery disks.

Also all Windows references are to Win98 Second Edition, which is not the same as Win98, you caught me there too.

When I ran fdisk the "exact" readings were:

C: 1_____Primary DOS_______14308MB______FAT32_____75%
__2_____Extended DOS_______4777MB_______________25%

I now "suspect" that Extended DOS partition is what screwed up the final steps of the Red Hat inst.
I plan to remove that partition and try RH inst. again.

Later, Robert