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• Life with Linux, Part III:

Installing the Software - True Stories

Wednesday 6 January (cont'd)

I installed Linux -- four times, actually. The first time, Linux found two hard drives -- C: and D:. C: is my computer's 8GB hard drive; D: is the 2GB Jaz drive. I decide to install Linux on D: since that would solve the problem of possible data loss. Recall that Corel's documentation is not clear whether all my computer's data gets wiped out when installing Linux to co-exist with Windows.

Installation Attempt #1: Installation proceeds until the progress meter shows 25%. It then appears to stall. After waiting a while, I reboot the computer, and restart Linux installation.

Installation Attempt #2: This time, Linux does not see the D: drive (later, I find out why). I grit my teeth, and select drive C:, specifying 1.7GB for Linux. Installation proceeds until the progress meter shows 50%. It then appears to stall again. Again, I reboot the computer. To my relief, Windows 98 starts up: Linux hasn't wiped out all my data! I notice, however, that 1.7GB of disk space is used up; I wonder what happened to it. At this point, I decide to look for some technical help at the http://linux.corel.com Web site. I find a PDF document that states that the "stall" during installation is normal (Linux is hunting down hardware) and just wait it out.

Installation Attempt #3: I start installation a third time. This time, I notice the hard drive is down to 1GB free disk space. Again, I wonder what happened to the other 1.7GB. For this reason, I specify just 800MB for Linux. It's a good thing I bought a spare 20GB hard disk, I think to myself. This time, I wait it out -- about 30 minutes. During installation, one false status message is unsettling: Linux reports it is "Partitioning/formatting drive..." when in fact formatting does not take place with Option 4.

When installation is complete, the computer reboots, and Windows 98 appears. To start Linux, I select Start | Shut Down | Restart in MS-DOS Mode. Once the DOS prompt appears, I type startcdl to activate Linux. After a few minutes of text scrolling on the screen (along with some hilariously-worded messages), the KDE interface appears. Success! My son and I try out WordPerfect, the help system (based on HTML and Netscape), fool around with settings, and settle down to try out the ten games included with Corel Linux.

Later that day, I realize what happened to the "missing" 1.7GB, as well as why the D: drive disappeared from the list of acceptable drives. Recall that Option 4, which I selected, installs the Linux operating system in a Windows directory called \CDL.

• The first time, when I attempted to install Linux on the 2GB Jaz drive, I had gotten impatient waiting. Nevertheless, Linux had already created the \CDL directory on the Jaz drive, along with nearly 2GB worth of IMG files that simulate the disk partition.
• During the second installation, Linux saw that the Jaz drive had only 50MB free disk space. The drive was "full," so that's why C: appeared alone on the list of acceptable drives. This is a flaw in the installation: I should be allowed to install over an existing Linux installation. During the second installation, Linux again created the \CDL directory, this time on the C: drive, and filled it with 1.7GB of IMG files. These were the 1.7GB got used up.
• When I installed Linux the third time, it renamed the first \CDL directory as \CDL_1, and proceeded to create a second \CDL directory. To recover the "missing" 1.7GM, I simply deleted the \CDL_1 directory and its contents.

Installation Attempt #4: After realizing all that, I thought: "Hmmm... I wonder if I can reinstall Linux on the Jaz drive after all?" I erased the \CDL directories from both the hard drive and the Jaz drive. I installed -- for the fourth time -- Linux, this time to the Jaz drive. I knew enough to go for a 3/4-hour walk with my wife. When we returned, installation was complete.

The first time Linux boots, it takes about 12 minutes to configure itself for my computer's hardware. Running off the Jaz drive worked fine.

Next week, Part IV: My first experiences with Linux