DO-IT-YOURSELF RED HAT INSTALLATION

The original release of this web page was in late December, 1997, and covered installing Red Hat 5.0 from a Joliet CD burned from Win95 (or some other OS). Since then, lots has happened, including the release of Red Hats 5.1, 5.2, and 6.0, which obviate the need for a separate FAT-32/Joliet-enabled install floppy (but I'm leaving mine up just in case somebody wants to install Red Hat 5.0).

This latest revision covers Red Hat 6.0, which isn't much different from Red Hat 5.2 in terms of its installation requirements.

If you're trying to set up Linux on a system that already contains one or more OSs, you might be interested in my book, The Multi-Boot Configuration Handbook. This book covers topics including the boot process, partition management, filesystems, cross-platform utilities, and more. I've also written some other books on Linux.

Red Hat Linux is available in three main ways:

1. In an "official" version that sells for about $50-$70, depending upon source. (See Red Hat's official site, or retailers such as LinuxMall, Cheap*Bytes, or local computer stores to buy this version.)
2. On "unofficial" (but perfectly legal) CDs that sell for about $2, typically, though they're sometimes bundled with other CDs, books, or even magazines for more. (See LinuxMall, Cheap*Bytes, or InfoMagic for popular sources of such "unofficial" Red Hat CDs.)
3. For download from the Internet. The canonical site is Red Hat's ftp site, though it's also available from sunsite, among many others. (Note: Red Hat's site is often busy, so that link may not work.)

Those wishing to install Red Hat Linux from the first two classes of sources need not read this web page. Those who wish to download and install it from the net may find this web site helpful, especially if the goal is to burn a CD with the software from a non-Unix OS, or to install it from a FAT-32 partition.

Two other pages on creating Red Hat install CDs may be found at Jussi Torhonen's web site and the Red Hat CD mini-HOWTO. Jussi Torhonen's site provides a brief set of instructions for people who are already running Linux, while the HOWTO gives more details but is still aimed at people who are already running Linux. Mine goes into more details and scenarios which are of primary interest to current Windows users. If you're an experienced Linux user who can burn from Linux, Jussi's page may give you all you need more quickly than mine. Those who need to burn from Windows or who want more detailed explanations may do better with my pages.

If you already have access to an "unofficial" Red Hat CD, it may be duplicated in Windows or other OSes by selecting your CD-R software's "whole-disc" duplication method. This option will duplicate the disk on a byte-for-byte level. The details of what this option is called and how to use it differ substantially from program to program, so check your documentation for details. If you try to duplicate a Red Hat CD using a file-by-file duplication, it will likely fail. You should not duplicate an "official" Red Hat CD, since these contain a few pieces of licensed commercial software (such as BRU).

• Basic instructions. Read this!!!! It includes tips on what files to download, where to put them on a burned CD, etc.
• CD-ROM tips. This includes tips specific to making a Joliet CD, and on creating a Rock Ridge CD from Windows.
• FAT-32 comments. Read this if you intend to install from a FAT-32 partition. This includes vital tips for all 5.x releases of Red Hat.
• Red Hat 5.0-specific comments. As version 5.0 is now rather aged, I've isolated extended discussion of the Joliet-enabled 5.0 boot floppy here. More recent versions of Red Hat include this support by default.
• A discussion of how I created the modified Red Hat 5.0 install disk. This might be of interest if you're trying to do something similar, such as create a Red Hat install floppy with non-standard drivers. (I've a web page for downloading a Red Hat 5.2 install floppy with Initio SCSI support, for instance.)
• Acknowledgements and copyright.

• There's a version of mkisofs for Win95/WinNT available which obviates the need for Joliet install support in many cases. Use the command "mkisofs -r -o redhat.iso /rh5" to create a suitable CD image, then burn that image with your existing software. (The Red Hat install tree, as described in the basic instructions, must exist in the \rh5 directory of the current drive for this to work.) Note that the "-r" switch is case-sensitive; "-r" will work, but "-R" will create a CD with incorrect permissions for installation. The basic instructions section contains information on files, filenames, etc., which are relevant to a Rock Ridge install CD, as well as a Joliet CD.
• Download inode.c, a (slightly) hacked file from the Linux source tree (linux/fs/isofs/inode.c). This file was hacked to force all non-Rock Ridge volumes to be mounted with execute permission on all files. It's derived from the Joliet-patched 2.0.32 source tree. You do not need this just to use the Red Hat 5.0 install floppy!
• Download joliet.zip, the 1.44MB Red Hat 5.0 installation disk image file. Unzip it using PKZIP, InfoZip, etc., then write it to floppy with Unix/Linux dd, DOS/Win95 RAWRITE.EXE, or OS/2 LOADDSKF.EXE. This file includes the contents of this web page, too, as documentation.
• Download rhjol.zip, the contents of this web site in zipped form. This is also available as rhjol.tgz, a gzipped tar file. These files do not include my modified Red Hat 5.0 install floppy.
• Download mv.zip, the Linux "mv" command (zipped mainly to avoid problems with Netscape thinking it's a text file and ruining it). This is often necessary for installing Red Hat 5.2 from a FAT partition.