
   
   
   
   
                      "LINUX PRE-INSTALLATION CHECKLIST"
                                       
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 ?
   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 are
   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,
   ...).
   
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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.
   
   Goto top 
   
   
   
  Linux Pre-installation checklist

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

                                LINUX
            PRE-INSTALLATION CHECK LIST CUM QUESTIONNAIRE
                       (Ver. 1.7 of 1998-01-27)
    -------------------------------------------------------------
                             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 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.

    This  is a FREE service from Algologic. Algologic offers   no
    warranties, and accepts no  liabilities  in  this exercise.

    Each question below can be identified by a letter followed by
    a numeral (e.g. G4 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 CD ROM drive on your PC.

    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, blank, bad-sector-free,
       formatted  (3.5")   diskettes,  for use in the installation
       procedure.

    If  your answer to any one of the above assumptions is a  NO,
    please get in touch with Algologic first.

    -------------------------------------------------------------
                            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 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 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. GUI for  Linux)  to  be
           installed on your system ?

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

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

        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 ..] ?

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

    C. CD ROM

        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] and which drive [drive 1 , drive 2]  is  the
           CDROM connected (e.g. drive 2 of 1st IDE) ?

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

    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

        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 ?

        3* Can  we  re-partition your disk ? (All  existing  data
           will be lost)

        4* Which  partitions can be reformatted to  become  Linux
           partitions ?

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

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

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

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

        9* Do you have any SCSI device ? Which SCSI controller do
           you have (if any)?

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

    V. VDU

        1* What kind of monitor do  you have [Monochrome, Colour]
           [EGA, VGA, CGA ..] ? What make ?

        2* Size of screen [14", 15", 19"] ?

        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 (could be
           a range)?

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

        6* VDU Control card : make and model ?

        7* Chip set used in VDU control card ?

        8* Monitor's horizontal sync. frequency ?

        9* Monitor's vertical sync. frequency ?

        10* Monitor's bandwidth ?

        11* Video RAM size ?


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

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

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

        8* Will this machine use a PPP connection to a server ?

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

    P. PRINTER

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

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


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

    X. MISC.

        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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   ------ http://members.tripod.com/~algolog/lnxchk.htm -----
   ------- This page last modified on 1998-01-27 ----------
   
   Thank you for your visit.
   Algologic Research & Solutions. 
