Chapter 3. Installing Red Hat Linux

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3.6. Installing from a Hard Drive

Note

Hard drive installations only work from ext2, ext3, or FAT file systems. If you have a file system other

than those listed here, such as reiserfs, you will not be able to perform a hard drive installation.

Hard drive installations require the use of the ISO (or CD ROM) images. An ISO image is a file

containing an exact copy of a CD ROM disk image. Because Red Hat Linux has so many packages

included with its distribution, there are several ISO images available. After placing the required ISO

images (the binary Red Hat Linux CD ROMs) in a directory, choose to install from the hard drive.

You will then point the installation program at that directory to perform the installation.

Verifying that the ISO images are intact before you attempt an installation will help to avoid problems

that are often encountered during a hard drive installation. To verify the ISO images are intact prior

to performing an installation, use an md5sum program (many md5sum programs are available for

various operating systems). An md5sum program should be available on the same server as the ISO

images.

Note

ISO images now have an md5sum embedded in them. To test the checksum integrity of an ISO

image, at the installation boot prompt, type:

boot:

linux mediacheck

Figure 3 3. Selecting Partition Dialog for Hard Drive Installation

The Select Partition screen (Figure 3 3) applies only if you are installing from a disk partition (that

is, if you selected Hard Drive in the Installation Method dialog). This dialog allows you to name

the disk partition and directory from which you are installing Red Hat Linux.