Linux Newbie Administrator Guide Table of Contents Linux Newbie Administrator Guide. 1 Linux Newbie Guide: Linux Benefits .1 Fundamentally, why Linux? .2 Is Linux for me? .2a Linux is difficult for newbies.3 What are the Linux benefits? .4 I don’t believe in free software, etc.5 "There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch" .6 I need high security. With commercial software, I can sue them if things go wrong. Big software corporations (Microsoft) provide standards.
7 Linux Newbie Guide: Before Installation .1 Which Linux distribution should I use? .2 What are the Linux hardware requirements? .3 Will my hardware work under Linux? .4 How do I download Linux? .5 How do I get a Linux CD? .6 I have RedHat CD but no install floppy. What do I do? .7 What do I need to read before installation? .8 Can I have MS Windows and Linux installed on the same computer? .9 How do I partition my hard drive? .10 The MS Windows partition occupies my whole harddrive. Can I shrink/split it without a re-install? .11 How do I start the installation? .12 Is the Linux installation difficult? .13 I finished the installation. How do I log-in for the very first time?.
20 Linux Newbie Guide: Resources, Help And Links .1 Any Linux reading materials? .2 Is there a help command? .4 Any Linux Internet links?. 24 Linux Newbie Guide: Basic Operation FAQ .2 What are the different directories for? .3 How do I run a program? .4 How can I change the PATH? .5 How can I shutdown my computer? .6 How do I deal with a hanged program? .2 Users, passwords, file permissions, and security .1 Home directories, root, adding users .2 About password security .3 I forgot the root password .3a I forgot my user password.4 I have file permission problems. How do file ownership and permissions work? .5 My mp3 player chokes. The sound is kind of interrupted (how to set suid).3 Job scheduling with "at", "batch", and cron .1 How do I execute a command at specified time (using "at" or "batch")? .2 How do I set up cron? .1 What is a shell and do I want to use a different one? .2 How do I write a simple shell script? .1 How do I write a simple Python program? .2 How do I write a simple GUI program (using Tk)? .3 How do I write a simple perl script? .4 How do I compile a simple C program? .7 How do I install a program I downloaded from the Internet?.
54 Linux Newbie Guide: Administrator FAQ .1 Linux cannot detect all my memory .2 LILO displays only LI (or LIL) and hangs .3 How can I change the operating system that LILO boots on default? .4 The LILO prompt stays too short (or too long) on the screen during the bootup .2 Accessing my drives .1 Where are my drives? .2 How can I access my CDROM? .3 How to mount a floppy, zip drive, DOS/Windows partition, or a network drive? .4 How to mount a remote MS Windows filesystem through Samba? .5 Any quick way to access a file on a DOS/Windows floppy? .6 Mounting works when I am root. Can a normal user mount? .7 Mounting command is too long, how can I simplify it with an alias? .9 How do I get my parallel-port (external) Zip drive recognized? .10 Can I set 32-bit hard drive I/O? .3 Working with X-windows .1 How do I install kde on RedHat 5.2 How do I setup video card, monitor and mouse for the X-server? .3 How to X-window remotely? .4 Can I have multiple sessions of X running at the same time? .5 Can I have a GUI login prompt? .4 Printer and soundcard .1 How to setup my soundcard? .2 How do I setup my printer? .3 Word Perfect 8 does not have a driver for my printer .5 Setting up a network .1 Would it be worth it to set up my home network? .2 How to set up my home network? .3 I have problems configuring my ppp dial out .4 How to browse the net from my networked computer without a modem? .5 How to use Samba? .7 Simple web server (running Apache) .8 Simple ftp server .9 How can one access my computer from the outside world when I am on the net using my phone ppp conection? .10 Can my home computer get hacked?. 92 Linux Newbie Guide: Kernel Upgrade .2 What is kernel? .4 Where can I get the new kernel? .5 Should I download full source or the patch only? .6 Unpacking the download file .1 Unpacking the patch .2 Unpacking the full source .7 Compiling new kernel .1 Using the patch .2 Using the full source .8 Installing the new kernel .9 What about next kernel upgrade? .10 Notice to Red Hat users .11 About the author. 105 Linux Newbie Guide: Shortcuts And Commands .1 Linux essential shortcuts and sanity commands .2 Common Linux commands--system info .5 Basic administration commands .7 Linux built-in developer tools and programming languages.
117 Linux Newbie Guide: Linux Applications .1 Word Perfect 8 for Linux .2 Star Office Suite .8 Netscape and Lynx (web browsers) .9 Klyx and Latex .10 Writing CD-Rs (cdrecord and cdparanoia). 126 Linux Newbie Guide: Acknowledgments. 132 Our rewards and testimonials. 132 iv THE HOBBY OF THE KLIMAS FAMILY ALWAYS UNDER DEVELOPMENT LINUXNEWBIEADMINISTRATORGUIDELNAG by Stan, Peter, Marie, and Barbara Klimas Easy Answers to the Questions Frequently Asked by the Beginner Users of Linux who Install Linux on their Home Computers or Administer their Home Network Distributed under the General Public Licence http://www.org/copyleft/gpl.
Your feedback, comments, corrections, and improvements are appreciated. Send them to bklimas@magma. We run RedHat mostly -> the solutions might not be directly applicable to other Linux distributions (although most of them probably will). Hope this helps, we try to be as practical as possible.
Of course, we provide no warranty whatsoever! Part 0: For the Undecided (Linux Benefits) If you wonder what are Linux pros and cons, and whether Linux is for you. Part 1: Before Linux Installation What distribution should I use, how to obtain it, Linux hardware requirements, how to partition your hard drive, about dual boot, and how to login the very first time. Part 2: Linux Resources, Help and Some Links If you would like to know how to access the Linux documentation, wonder if Linux has a help command, or wanted to visit some Linux-oriented newsgroups or websites. Part 3: Basic Operations FAQ After you installed Linux, here are answers to some questions that Linux newbie users/administrators may have when trying to perform every-day tasks: how to run a program, shut down your computer, set up the path, add users, work with file permissions, schedule jobs with "at" and cron, set up the swap space.
Part 4: Linux Newbie Administrator FAQ More easy answers to questions that Linux newbie administrators frequently encounter: LILO issues, mounting drives, using X-windows, setting up network, ppp connection, printer, soundcard, remote access to your computer. 1 Part 5: How to upgrade the kernel (by Alesh Mustar) All you need to know to upgrade the Linux kernel. Part 6: Linux Shortcuts and Commands Maybe this should come first. A practical selection of Linux shortcuts and commands in tabular form.
Perhaps this is everything what a newbie Linuxer really needs. Part 7: Essential Linux applications (proprietary or not) Essential and/or famous Linux applications are mentioned with some hint/comments (this is just started and will be expanded). Acknowledgments The master copy of this page: http://sunsite.dk/linux-newbie/ (Denmark, Europe) Mirror: http://www.ca/~bklimas/ (Ontario, Canada) Mirror: http://www.com/newbie/ (Australia) A Russian translation (ver.ru/rider/book/(Russia) A Chinese translation of the "Linux Shortcuts and Commands" (ver.32) is available here. Penguin from Deep River, Ontario :-) We are proud Canadians of Silesian background.57 1999-11-15 Part 0: For the Undecided (Linux Benefits) by Stan and Peter Klimas Answers to Some Frequently Asked Linux Questions Distributed under the General Public License http://www.org/copyleft/gpl.
Your feedback, comments, corrections, and improvements are appreciated. Send them to bklimas@magma.ca Quick site navigation: Start: Linux Newbie Administrator Guide Part 0: >For the Undecided (Linux Benefits)< Part 1: Before Linux Installation Part 2: Linux Resources, Help and Some Links Part 3: Basic Operations FAQ Part 4: Linux Newbie Administrator FAQ Part 5: How to Upgrade the Kernel Part 6: Linux Shortcuts and Commands Part 7: Essential Linux applications (proprietary or not) Contents of this page: 0. For the Undecided (Linux Benefits) 0.1 Fundamentally, why Linux? [p 4] 0.2 Is Linux for me? [p 4] 0.3 What are the Linux benefits? [p 4] 0.4 I don’t believe in free software, etc.5 "There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch" [p 6] 0.6 I need high security. With commercial software, I can sue them if things go wrong.
Big software corporations (Microsoft) provide standards. For the Undecided (Linux Benefits) 3 0.1 Fundamentally, why Linux? If you truly enjoy working with computers, Linux is the operating system of your dreams. It is more fun than any other computer operating system around. However, the reason why Linux is truly revolutionary is that it is Open Software.
Our science and technology works owing to the free availability of information and peer review. Would you fly a plane that was based on proprietary science and unreviewed design, a plane at the internals of which nobody but the manufacturer could look? Then, why would you trust a closed, unreviewed, proprietary operating system? Linux is ideally suited for a mission-critical application. Making horseshoes was once a closely guarded trade secret. Science and technology exploded 500 years ago thanks to sharing the knowledge by the means of printing.
In the early days of printing, many of those who dared to share were assassinated for revealing "trade secrets". Linux is for the computer age what Gutenberg was for writing. Hopefully there will be no assassinations this time :-) .2 Is Linux for me? Only you can answer this question. Linux is a mature, powerful and extremally versatile UNIX-like operating system.
The power and versatility come with a price--you may need to be computer-literate in order to set-up and maintain Linux. Linux is relatively easy to use once the operating system and applications are set up properly. So, your mother will also be able to use Linux, if you set up an easy graphical account for her and put the proper icons/menus on her GUI desktop. Linux is secure, so your mother will not be able to damage the system no matter how hard she tries--unless it’s with a hammer :-).
Linux is quite different than MS Windows, so do not expect that if you can get around MS Windows, Linux will be obvious to you. You may need to learn. On the other hand, if you come from UNIX, Linux will be easy for you. If you don’t know much about computers or you don’t enjoy them, chances are Linux administration is not for you.
If you don’t know your hardware, Linux installation may be a challenge for you.2a Linux is difficult for newbies. This may be true. But the question is: do you really want to learn it?? None of the Klimas family (that writes this guide) has any computing science background, yet we use Linux every day and we love it.3 What are the Linux benefits? Linux can give you: o A modern and very stable multi-user, multitasking environment on your inexpensive PC hardware, at no (or almost no) monetary cost for the software. Linux is a rich and powerful platform--don’t think of it as a "poor people" operating system.
Out-of-box Linux has as much capability as MS 4 Windows NT with $5000 in software add-ons, is more stable, and requires less powerful hardware for comparable tasks. o Unsurpassed computing power, portability, and flexibility.
