[REBOL] Re: Rebol & Linux
From: philb:upnaway at: 4-Feb-2002 23:35
Hi Jason,
I would have tried this all long ago if I was free to wipe my hard disk.
However I have to run Wondoze for my work.
As I work from home .... I really cant afford to be without my machine for too long.
And I dont want to really have to re-install all my software.
I read a bit about fips and didnt feel confident with that.
I have a copy of Mandrake which came with a Book for Xmas, I also have a copy of Suse
... but have been looking at RedHat whih is available to buy here relatively cheaply.
The decieding factor for me is how easy/safe am I going to be when partionin my hard
drive.
Cheers Phil
=== Original Message ===
> I want to test my Rebol scripts on Linux.
> Dont want to start a flame war .... but can anyone suggest a *simple*
Linux installation, one that preferably has partitioning as part of the
setup, or even doesnt need partitioning.
> I was considering RedHat 7.2 .... but this may be overkill for what I
want.
Q1: Do you want to keep an existing OS/Partition for running say Windows?
I am no expert, but may be this is helpful to you:
RedHat 7.2 installation includes options for partitioning with choice of
several tools. You can choose
= Automatically partition and REMOVE DATA
= Manually partition with disk druid
= Manually partition with fdisk[experts only]
The automatic partitioning is a reasonable place to start, especialy if you
are free to wipe data. After you select it it still allows you
see and edit the partitions via clean interface. You can step back and redo
befoer comit. The worst that will happen is you might decide to redo your
intallatino again a couple of times to get more familiar, tweak things or if
you mess it up. This morning it only took me 30 mins to do a fresh install
of 7.2. If you don't have any legacy data this is perhaps quickrest way to
get real familiar with installation options. Just run throught them over the
weekend.
If you have only one disk and need to keep an existing OS and files in place
for a dual boot, then you need to be more careful. [see below]
AS long as you dont have some low level hardware voodoo incompatibility,
RedHat 7.2 is a very easy install. RedHat package management is easy.
Each step has some basic guide docs on screen next to back/next buttons. You
can see a preview right of that what it will be like:
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-7.2-Manual/install-guide/
[text+screenshots]
Today I chose GRUB, which is the new default loader instead of traditional
LILO. They both work well, but GRUB is supposed to be friendlier for
multiple operationng systems and has better features if you do run into
trouble or want to change settings during the bootup.
If your are installing on laptop you may want to do some reasearch first on
Linux Laptop site:
I did install Caldera a couple of years ago on an older Win95 laptop for an
experiment, precisely because it did not involve any repartitioning.
Installed just like a windows program. It was very easy to remove. Then I
installed 'System Commander' which is still one the most highty rated tools
for booting multiple OS. It has a sister program whihc lets you change
partitions pretty much on the fly without damage. I installed Mandrake was
easy. The default GUI then was KDE which I think they developed a lot of.
RedHat 7.2 has good options for GUIs. At installation you just tick 'em off:
Classic Xwindows, X Windows, Gnome, KDE.. Your system can boot directly into
one these, or select 'choose login as text'. You can launch the GUI with
'startx' command. If you have space install XWindows and KDE and Gnome and
see what you prefer.
my impressions..
a. = Suse seems to have really good search docs on line.
http://sdb.suse.de/sdb/en/html/key_form.html is helpful if you have a
problem with another distro.
b. = Debian is very cool but requires deeper learning curve and readiness to
juggle with config files.
++ ???
I'd like to learn what you decide on and how it goes.
good luck...
../Jason
