Difference between pages "Your first steps on Linux" and "Installing linux"

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(Difference between pages)
imported>ThorstenStaerk
 
imported>ThorstenStaerk
 
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Ok, so you have managed to install Linux on your computer. You have started it and logged in. You now wonder what comes next.  
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So you want to install your first Linux. We assume you already have an operating system. You want to keep it (we tell you that).  
  
= Open a console =
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= Overview =
A console is text-based window where you can enter commands for your Linux. To start a console, type ALT_F2 and enter '''konsole'''. You should see a screen like this:
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You have the following options to run more than one operating system on your computer:
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* Boot Linux from a Life-CD
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: You restart your computer and run (boot) one operating system. Life-CDs can be obtained e.g. from http://www.knoppix.org. The advantage is it does not use any space on your harddisk. The disadvantage is you should not save anything on your harddisk.
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* [[Boot Linux from a USB disk]]
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: This is the same as booting from a life CD, except that you can write to your Linux harddisk.
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* Dual-Boot Linux from your harddisk
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: You install a Linux distribution, e.g. SUSE Linux from www.opensuse.org on your harddisk preserving your original operating system in a special partition. When you boot your computer, you can decide which operating system to boot.
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* Install a virtual machine running on Windows or Linux
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: Install e.g. VirtualBox from http://www.virtualbox.org and run your Linux in a virtual machine. An advantage is that you do not need to reboot in order to bring up your Linux. You can run two operating systems in parallel. You can even copy from your Linux system to your Windows system. This is the option we will chose in this tutorial. We will use the OpenSUSE 11 distribution.
  
[[Image:Konsole.png]]
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= Prepare a virtual machine =
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Install virtualbox from www.virtualbox.org. Create a virtual machine with 20 GB hard disk. To do this, click on "New" and follow the instructions. It will look like this:
  
The background can be black, white, green, any color. So can be the font. "tweedleburg" is my hostname, it can be different for you. Anyway, most important is you can write into it. What you write are commands to be executed. For example the command '''firefox''' will start the firefox browser:
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[[File:Virtualbox-1.png|400px]]
  
[[Image:Konsole-firefox-command.png]]
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= Start the installation =
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Boot your VM from the openSUSE 11 DVD, choose "Installation". You should come to a screen like this:
  
From now on, we will no longer use graphical files to show you what to do, but a box like the following:
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[[Image:Suse-install-welcome.png|700px|center]]
tweedleburg:~ # firefox
 
ok? Super, let's go on. You can also auto-complete your command. Type
 
firef
 
and then the tabulator key once or twice. The system will show you all available commands starting with firef or complete your command automatically.
 
  
= Get help =
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From here you can continue clicking "Next" and filling in the information you would like to. If you are unsure, take the defaults.
To get help you can chat with other Linux users about problems. Everyone who asks questions can at the same time answer. Go to http://webchat.freenode.net/ and join channel #suse for SUSE Linux questions.
 
 
 
= File commands =
 
You can list the files in your directory using the command '''ls''', for example:
 
tweedleburg:/etc/apache2 # ls
 
charset.conv        httpd.conf  mod_autoindex-defaults.conf  mod_status.conf    ssl-global.conf  ssl.key      vhosts.d
 
conf.d              listen.conf  mod_info.conf                mod_userdir.conf    ssl.crl          ssl.prm
 
default-server.conf  magic        mod_log_config.conf          mod_usertrack.conf  ssl.crt          sysconfig.d
 
errors.conf          mime.types  mod_mime-defaults.conf      server-tuning.conf  ssl.csr          uid.conf
 
[[ls|learn more about ls]]
 
 
 
You can find out how much space is available on your disk by typing df -h (disk free, human readable):
 
tweedleburg:~ # df -h
 
Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
 
/dev/sda1            917G  205G  667G  24% /
 
udev                  2.0G  164K  2.0G  1% /dev
 
/dev/sdb2            294G  274G  5.4G  99% /mnt/sdb2
 
On the directories beneath the root ("/"), there are 667 GB free. But under /mnt/sdb2, there are only 5.4 GB available.
 
 
 
= install software =
 
You will normally download software in the form of tarballs. Tarballs are files typically ending in .tar.gz or .tar. You must [[unpack]] them to use them. More info:
 
* [[unpack]]
 
* [[install]]
 
 
 
= Set up a printer =
 
Setting up a printer does not work inside a virtual machine (that is, it does not work without tricks). Anyway, if your Linux is running on real hardware, set up your printer using
 
yast2 printer
 
 
 
= Create an "ll" alias =
 
Often-used console [[commands]] can be made easier by setting sensible alias-names for them. This is a matter of taste and heavily depends on what commands you use and what aliases you are used to. For example I am used to typing ll and getting the output of ls -ltr, the long file list in the directory.
 
To do this, enter in your console:
 
alias ll="ls -ltr"
 
* To have this in future [[logIn shells]], create a file /etc/profile.d/ll.sh containing this line.
 
* To have this in future non-login-shells, add the command to /etc/bash.bashrc
 
 
 
= Create an "ssh" alias =
 
When you [[control a computer via network]] using [[ssh]] you may want to call a graphical program like [[ksar]]. Then you will miss that you did not use ssh -Y. To avoid this, make sure every call to ssh is a call to ssh -Y by creating an alias:
 
alias ssh="ssh -Y"
 
* To have this in future [[login shells]], create a file /etc/profile.d/ll.sh containing this line.
 
* To have this in future non-login-shells, add the command to /etc/bash.bashrc
 
 
 
= Turn off system beep =
 
In an office you will not want your computer to beep every now and then, so [[turn off system beep]].
 
 
 
= Lock screen on PAUSE key =
 
When you take a break at work you will want to lock your screen. I set my PAUSE key to lock the screen. [[set your PAUSE key to lock the screen|Here is how]].
 
 
 
= See also =
 
* [http://librenix.com/?inode=4052 an introduction to Linux in 10 commands]
 

Revision as of 11:14, 26 January 2013

So you want to install your first Linux. We assume you already have an operating system. You want to keep it (we tell you that).

Overview

You have the following options to run more than one operating system on your computer:

  • Boot Linux from a Life-CD
You restart your computer and run (boot) one operating system. Life-CDs can be obtained e.g. from http://www.knoppix.org. The advantage is it does not use any space on your harddisk. The disadvantage is you should not save anything on your harddisk.
This is the same as booting from a life CD, except that you can write to your Linux harddisk.
  • Dual-Boot Linux from your harddisk
You install a Linux distribution, e.g. SUSE Linux from www.opensuse.org on your harddisk preserving your original operating system in a special partition. When you boot your computer, you can decide which operating system to boot.
  • Install a virtual machine running on Windows or Linux
Install e.g. VirtualBox from http://www.virtualbox.org and run your Linux in a virtual machine. An advantage is that you do not need to reboot in order to bring up your Linux. You can run two operating systems in parallel. You can even copy from your Linux system to your Windows system. This is the option we will chose in this tutorial. We will use the OpenSUSE 11 distribution.

Prepare a virtual machine

Install virtualbox from www.virtualbox.org. Create a virtual machine with 20 GB hard disk. To do this, click on "New" and follow the instructions. It will look like this:

Virtualbox-1.png

Start the installation

Boot your VM from the openSUSE 11 DVD, choose "Installation". You should come to a screen like this:

Suse-install-welcome.png

From here you can continue clicking "Next" and filling in the information you would like to. If you are unsure, take the defaults.