Linux pre-installation checklist
v2.2, 29 August 1998

from
Algologic Research & Solutions

How many times have you found yourself fumbling in the middle of a Linux installation process, because some vital information about the target hardware is not known ?

Have you ever crossed your fingers when you were asked by the installation procedure, a simple question, like: "to which COM port is the mouse connected ?

Let's face it, all of us have, at one time or another, felt we should have been better prepared before starting to install Linux. Here is a simple solution, brought to you by


Algologic Research & Solutions.

What does this checklist achieve ?
Who must use this list ?
Where do I find more about installing Linux ?
Japanese version of the checklist
The check list
Give us your feedback



What does this checklist (aim to) achieve ?

This is an aide-memoire which may make installation of Linux a pleasant experience for you. It fills an important role in the promotion of Linux.
It will help you to be prepared with all the answers which may be needed during the course of installation of Linux on your machine or on anybody else's machine. Sometimes, it is very inconvenient and even impossible to find out some details in the middle of an installation procedure. This becomes all the more difficult when you are installing Linux on somebody else's machine, and in somebody else's office.
This checklist, when filled up, will help you go through your Linux documentation and verify in advance whether certain hardware is supported by the distribution you are planning to install. It will also help you to be prepared with the packages you would need to install, and the configuration choices which need to be done.
The idea is to reduce the chances of frustrating surprises.
This checklist is only for installing Linux on PCs. You may use this checklist as a model for other classes of machines (e.g.SUN, Alpha, ...) also.


Where do I find more about Linux ?

This checklist does not give any details about hardware compatible with Linux, or other details about actually procuring or installing Linux. If you want details, just click here.
If you are the impatient type, you can go to the Linux Installation HOWTO directly, by clicking here..

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Who must use this checklist ?

• If you are planning to install Linux on somebody else's machine, or in a location which is not your own work place, you must absolutely get this checklist completed in advance. It is important to get this questionnaire answered by your host, so that you go adequately prepared for the installation.
• If you are planning to organise an "Install fest" (we Indians call it "Linux mela"), ask your participants to come with this checklist answered.
• Conversely, if you are going to an Install fest (aka Linux mela), to get Linux installed on your machine, do your home-work. Go with answers to this checklist.
• If you are going to ask someone to come over and install Linux for you, send him/her this questionnaire with as many responses as you know.
• If you are the D-I-Y type, you must start by answering all these questions, so that you can save time for enjoying your Linux !

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Japanese Version

This checklist is also available in Japanese. The Japanese translation is available as: a plain text file, or as a html file, at the URL given below:
• Japanese Text Version: Click here for a text-only version.
• Japanese html Version: Click here for a html version.
Click here to send a mail to Mrs. Chie Nakatani who did the translation into Japanese. You can also visit her home page, by clicking here.

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Linux Pre-installation checklist

    
    -------------------------------------------------------------                              
				LINUX
	    PRE-INSTALLATION CHECK LIST CUM QUESTIONNAIRE
		       (Ver. 2.2 of 1998-08-29)
    -------------------------------------------------------------
			     prepared by          
	 Algologic  Research  &  Solutions,   Secunderabad, 
				India            
				
			   S. Parthasarathy
		       algolog@hd1.vsnl.net.in

    Updated versions of this checklist will be posted at:
	     http://members.tripod.com/~algolog/lnxchk.htm

    Please  make  sure that you have the latest version  of  this 
    checklist.

    -------------------------------------------------------------

			       Welcome
    
    Welcome to the world of Linux. Your first step in  installing 
    Linux on your PC will begin by answering a few (?), simple(?) 
    questions about your hardware. 
    
    This  is a FREE service from Algologic. Algologic offers   no 
    warranties, and accepts no liabilities in  this exercise. You 
    are using this checklist at your own risk and responsibility.

    This checklist will make it easy for you and us to go through 
    the  installation, painlessly and without  surprises.  Please 
    take  your  own  time and fill up  the  following  checklist. 
    Wherever   possible,  and  necessary,  we  have  given   some 
    suggestions and hints, for your convenience.

    If you don't know all the details, you should be able to find 
    them  in  your  computer's manuals.  Or,  ask  your  hardware 
    vendor, or your local hardware "guru".
    
    If  you still have problems finding answers, don't  worry  -- 
    you   can  just  ignore any areas you don't know.  Bring   in 
    your   machine  and  ALL manuals you have.  The  installation 
    may succeed with some trials and  a lot of luck.

    Remember,  Linux,  like many other software  products,  is  a 
    growing  product.  Some  of your hardware may  still  not  be 
    supported  in  the version of Linux which is being installed. 

    Each question below can be identified by a letter followed by 
    a number  (e.g. G3 is a question on processor speed). If  you 
    need any assistance/clarifications about the questions  asked 
    in this form, please specify the chapter identifier (an alpha) 
    and the question number (a numeral), and send an e mail to:
	 
		       algolog@hd1.vsnl.net.in

    ------------------------------------------------------------

    Assumptions:

    1. You  are  interested  in installing Linux  on  a  PC  (386 
       upwards).

    2. You have a CDROM drive on your PC. You have made sure that 
       your proposed  version of Linux supports this CDROM drive.
       Check  latest  version of Hardware HOWTO of the Linux 
       Documentation Project (LDP).

    3. You  have at least one 3.5" floppy diskette drive  on  
       your system.

    4. The 3.5" diskette drive is a BOOTABLE drive.

    5. You will keep readily available, three,   bad-sector-free,
       formatted  (3.5"), blank   diskettes,  for use in the 
       installation procedure.

    6. If you wish to install   Linux   over  a   LAN,  you  have 
       confirmed  that your network interface card  is  supported 
       by your version of Linux. Check latest version of Hardware 
       HOWTO of LDP.

    -------------------------------------------------------------
			    
			    CHECKLIST


    A. ABOUT YOU       
	   
	1* Your Name ____________________

	2* Your contact phone numbers:


	3* Your email adress ____________________

	4* Have you used Linux before ? What distribution? 

	5* Have you used any version of Unix before ? Which one ?
	   On what hardware platform ?

	6* Is this an upgrade to an existing Linux distribution ?

	7* What will be the end-use of this Linux installation  ?

	8* Do you wish to retain DOS/Win/any other OS  along with 
	   Linux, on your system ?

	9* Any other detail you want to add:

	   _____________________________________________________
     
	   _____________________________________________________
    
    -------------------------------------------------------------

    G.  GENERAL

	1* CPU type [i386, i486 DX2...]:

	2* Bus type [ISA, EISA, VESA, PCI, MCA ... ]:
	 
	3* Processor speed (MHz) ?
	
	4* What size is your RAM (minimum 4 MB needed) ?         

	5* Do   you  want  X Window System  (i.e.  Graphic  User 
	   Interface for  Linux) to  be installed on your system ?

	6* How many serial ports (COM ports) do you have on your PC ? 

	7* Are you planning to add dumb terminals to your PC ? 
	   How many ?

	8* Please mention below, any additional details you wish  to 
	   add:


	   __________________________________________________

	   __________________________________________________

	   __________________________________________________
 
    -------------------------------------------------------------       
    M. MOUSE

	1* To which port  is your mouse connected ? What IRQ ?

	2* What type of mouse are you using 
	   [Microsoft, Busmouse, PS/2 ..] ?               
	
	3* How many buttons does the mouse have ? 


    -------------------------------------------------------------     

    C. CDROM

    Useful tips: If you are not sure if your CDROM is bootable or 
    not, power on the machine and go to BIOS settings (do not let 
    the PC bootup). Look  for  bootable drive options in the BIOS 
    settings.

	1* What is the make and type of CDROM drive  
	   [e.g. IDE ATAPI, Sony, S-B Pro/Panasonic,  SCSI,  true 
	   IDE ..]  ?

	2* On  which drive interface [1st IDE, 2nd IDE, 3rd  IDE, 
	   4th  IDE, SCSI, proprietary interface] and which drive 
	   [drive 1 , drive 2, SCSI-ID 5]  is  the CDROM connected 
	   (e.g. drive 2 of 1st IDE, SCSI-ID 5 of built-in SCSI 
	   interface) ?


	3* Is your CDROM a bootable drive ?


    -------------------------------------------------------------       

    F. FLOPPY DRIVES
	   
	1* Do you have a 3 1/2" floppy drive?

	2* Is the 3 1/2 " floppy drive a bootable drive ?
  
	3* Do you have a 5 1/4" floppy drive?

	4* Is the 5 1/4 " drive a bootable drive ?
  
    -------------------------------------------------------------       
    
    T. TAPE DRIVES
	   
	1* What  type  of tape drive do you have (can  be   NONE) 
	   [floppy interface type, SCSI, parallel port ..] ? 

	2* Do  you  have a secondary floppy controller  for  your 
	   tape drive?
	   
    _____________________________________________________________
	   
    D. DISK
    
    Useful tips: At this point, you must be clear  about  how your 
    Linux will be  installed and  on which disk etc. You must also 
    be   clear   how  your  Linux   will  be   booted  (there are 
    different possibilities).

    Read the  installation  HOWTO before you answer the following 
    questions.


	1* What type of drive do you have [IDE, SCSI, RLL, MFM ....] ?
	
	2* How many partitions are there on your first disk drive ? 
	   Name, type, size ? Collect these details also for other
	   disk drives you may have on this machine.

	3* On which drive are you planning to install Linux (e.g. drive
	   2 of first IDE, or SCSI-ID 5 of built-in SCSI interface)
	   
	4* Can  we  re-partition your disk ? (All  existing  data 
	   will be lost)

	5* Which  partitions can be reformatted to  become  Linux 
	   partitions ? Note: All  information  recorded  in this 
	   partition will be erased.

	6* How  much of disk space can you give for  Linux 
	   [50 MB minimum] ?

	7* What is your second hard disk (if any)?

	8* What is your third hard disk (if any)? 

	9* What is your fourth hard disk (if any)? 
	   
	10* Do you have any SCSI device ? Which SCSI controller do 
	    you have (if any)?

	11* Do you plan to boot from your hard disk or floppy?

	12* On which hard  disk  partition  do you want LILO boot 
	    loader to reside?

	13* Do you wish to retain the original boot sector/master 
	    boot record that is currently on your hard disk?

	14* On which disk partitions will your Linux root reside?


	15* Do you access the IDE drive in LBA mode (check your BIOS 
	    settings) ?


    -------------------------------------------------------------

    V. Video Display Unit (Monitor and controller)

    Useful tips: If you do not  have good documentation  on  your 
    VDU, try to look at the sticker (nameplate) on  the  back  of 
    your VDU, you may find the answers  to  some of the questions 
    given below.
    
	1* What kind of monitor do  you have [Monochrome, Colour] 
	   [EGA, VGA, CGA ..] ? What make ?

	2* Size of screen [14", 15", 19"] ? Is it an
	   interlaced monitor ?

	3* What  are  the  resolutions, and  number  of   colours 
	   possible on this monitor [600x480, 800x600, 1024x768]?

	4* What is your monitor's vertical refresh rate / vertical
	   sync. frequency (could be a range)?

	5* What is your monitor's horizontal refresh rate / horizontal 
	   sync. frquency (could be a range) ?

	6* Monitor's bandwidth ?

	7* Video RAM size ?


	8* VDU Control card : make and model ?


	9* Chip set used in VDU control card ?


    -------------------------------------------------------------

    N. NETWORKING

	1* Are you using an internal modem | external modem ?

	2* What make ?

	3* On which COM port is the modem connected ? What IRQ ?

	4* What is the speed of the modem [bps] ?

	5* What serial interface chip does your computer use (e.g.
	   8450, 16550C) ?

	5* Is it a "Windows only" modem [WIN-MODEM...] ?

	6* Which  ethernet card do you have [10base2 or  10baseT; 
	   NONE for none] ? What type ?

	7* Will  this  machine  be  a part  of  Internet  or  any 
	   Intranet ?

	8* Will this machine use a dialup connection / PPP connection 
	   to an Internet/Intranet server ?


	9* Will this machine be used as an Internet or Intranet server ?

	10* What will be the hostname of your computer (e.g. penguin) ?

	11* What will be the domain name, if any, of your computer 
	    (e.g. family_name.city.country)

	12* What will be the IP address, if any, of your computer 
	    (e.g. 123.1.2.3) ?

	13* What is the IP address of the DNS server (can be none) ?


	14* What is the IP address of the default router (can be none) ?


    ------------------------------------------------------------

    P. PRINTER

	1* Have you connected any printer on the parallel port of 
	   your PC ?

	2* What is the type, make of the printer ?


    -------------------------------------------------------------

    L. LAPTOP

	1* Number and type of PCMCIA slots on your Laptop ?

	2* PC cards you plan to use ?

	3* Built-in devices on your laptop (e.g. trackball,
	   pointer, touchpad) ?

	4* COM ports used for the above built-in devices ?

    ------------------------------------------------------------ 

    X. MISCELLANEOUS

    Useful tip:  Try to make a  consolidated hardcopy list of I/O 
    addresses, IRQs, DMA-addresses  used by the different devices 
    in your machine. Take  care  to find out  the   configuration 
    details of your VDU-driver card, Ethernet card, SCSI card etc.
    
    
	1* Does  your keyboard use a round connector  (DIN-5)  or 
	   PS/2 connector?

	2* Do  you  plan to use keyboard mapping to  any  non-US 
	    keyboards [French, Greek, Cyrillic, ..] ?

	3* Are you using any Plug & play devices ?

	4* Are  you using any sound card ? What card ? What  I/O, 
	   IRQ, DMA does it use ?
					    
	5* How many ISA spare  slots do you have ? 

	6* How many EISA spare slots do you have ? 

	7* How many VESA spare slots do you have ? 

	8* How many PCI spare slots do you have ? 

	9* How many other (describe) spare slots? 
	   
	10* What  kind of other removable media do you have  (can 
	    be NONE)?
	
	11* Do you have any other interesting hardware?


	12* Please add any details you wish to highlight:

	   __________________________________________________

	   __________________________________________________

	   __________________________________________________


    Did   you  find  this  form  clear  ?  Any  suggestions   for 
    improvement ?


	   __________________________________________________

	   __________________________________________________

	   __________________________________________________

       

    -------------------------------------------------------------       
    That  is all. Thanks for filling out the form.  
    
    Please crosscheck the above  responses, and keep the checklist
    handy at the time of installation.

			      ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS   

    Algologic acknowledges with gratitude the useful  suggestions 
    and  inputs  from many members of the  Linux  community,  for 
    preparation of this checklist. This checklist is proof of the 
    cooperation  and goodwill which exists between  Linux  users. 
    Algologic submits this checklist to the Linux community, as a 
    humble tribute to the "spirit of Linux".


    ********Endchecklist

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