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Operating System Tools

Notes In order to avoid the headache of missing drivers, it’s important to do a little research before
installing your Linux distribution. While it’s unlikely that you’ll have a problem with modern
distributions, you’ll still want to do the research just to avoid any hardware issues.
In order to be able to complete the installation procedure smoothly, you should collect certain
information about your system before beginning the installation. Often the installation utility
will be able to determine your system configuration automatically but when it fails to do so, you
must be prepared to supply the needed information. Otherwise, you’ll be forced to terminate the
installation procedure, obtain the information, and restart the installation.
The following Table 1.1 specifies the configuration information you need. To obtain this
information, you can consult your system documentation and the documentation for any devices
installed by you. If your documentation is missing or incomplete, you may need to contact your
hardware vendor or manufacturer. Alternatively, you may be able to find the needed information
on the manufacturer’s web site; use a search engine such as Yahoo! or Google to discover the URL
of the web site.
Table 1.1: Configuration Information Needed to Install Linux

Device Information Needed
Hard Drive(s) The number, size, and type of each hard drive
Which hard drive is first, second, and so on
Which adapter type (IDE or SCSI) is used by each drive
For each IDE drive, whether or not the BIOS is set for LBA mode
RAM memory The amount of installed RAM
CD-ROM Drive(s) Which adapter type (IDE, SCSI, or other) is used by each drive
For each drive using a non-IDE, non-SCSI adapter, the make and model
of the drive
SCSI Adapter (if any) The make and model of the card
Network Adapter The make and model of the card
(if any)
Mouse The type (serial, PS/2, or bus)
The protocol (Microsoft, Logitech, MouseMan, etc.)
The number of buttons
For a serial mouse, the serial port to which it’s connected
Video Adapter The make and model of the card
The amount of video RAM

To obtain the needed information, you may need to examine your system’s BIOS settings or open
your system’s case and examine the installed hardware. Consult your system documentation to
learn how to do so.

1.1.1 Hardware

Linux supports a wide range of PC hardware; but not even Linux supports every known device
and system. Your PC must meet certain minimum requirements in order to run Linux.
First, determine what kind of hardware you have. Prepare a checklist to assist you.
Be as precise as possible, but don’t get carried away.

Example:If you have an Ethernet card, you need to know what kind (e.g., SMC-Ultra, 3Com
3C509, etc.), base I/O (e.g., io = 0 x 300), interrupt (IRQ 10), but not the hardware address (00 00 a6 27

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