Preparing your system for installation

Back up your data

This ought to be a no-brainer, but it doesn’t hurt to have a reminder. If you have any data on the system you wish to keep, move it to external storage (such as DVD backup, external hard drive, or network server).

Do not trust that you or the tools you will be using will keep important data intact.

Start the machine

With a Live CD

1. If you are using a Live CD, insert the media into the system and, if necessary, configure your BIOS to boot from it.

2. A screen should appear which displays a message similar to Automatic boot in 10 seconds.... At this screen, press Tab.

3. Use the arrow keys to select Boot, then press Tab to edit options. A list of kernel parameters should appear.

4. Add 3 selinux=0 to this list of parameters. This instructs the operating system to not start a graphical user interface and to disable SELinux.

   Note

   If you are having trouble with your installation, remove quiet from the kernel parameters, or check /var/log/messages and dmesg.

   Note

   It is generally not recommended to disable SELinux on a system. This guide cannot, however, assume that installing with SELinux turned on will work on all platforms with all package sets. For more information, see What this manual won’t tell you.

5. Press Enter to start the system. When the system is done starting, a message similar to the following will display:

   Distribution Name version 1.0 (Release name)
   Kernel 2.6.32-123.4.5.el6.x86_64 on an x86_64
   

6. Log in with the username root. You should not be prompted for a password. If you are, check your distribution’s documentation for details.

With another installation

Boot your system and log in. You will need root privileges to install the operating system on another device.