Installing Linux and Windows NT on the Same Machine
Question:
How do I install Windows NT and Linux onto the same machine?
Answer:
If you need to install Windows NT and Linux on the same machine, read the Linux and NT HOWTO that has been prepared by Bernd Reichert. The latest version can be found at http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/mini/Linux+NT-Loader.html.
Since this guide is extremely helpful, only a brief summary is presented below:
• Partition and install Windows NT first, making sure to leave space for Linux to place its partitions. If possible, do not create any logical partitions, as we have had reports of this causing problems. Get NT running and its boot loader happy. If you haven't already, make an NT rescue boot floppy just in case something goes wrong later in this process.
• Install Linux and install LILO to the root (/) partition instead of the Master Boot Record (MBR).
• If you are using Red Hat Linux 5.1 or later, use the rescue boot floppy you created during the install to boot Linux initially.
• Edit the /etc/lilo.conf file to remove the prompt line and any other operating systems listed. The prompt action can occasionally confuse the NT boot loader. Here is an example /etc/lilo.conf file that has been set up for NT.
boot=/dev/hda
map=/boot/map
install=/boot/boot.b
timeout=50
image=/boot/vmlinux-2.2.12-20
label=Linux
root=/dev/hda5 #(make sure that you put your correct root partition here)
read-only
• Follow the rest of the directions in the mini HOWTO on making the NT OS loader Linux-aware.
A more recent mini HOWTO that discusses more installation can be found at http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/mini/Linux+WinNT.html.
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Adding Users
Question:
How do I add users?
Answer:
First, log in as root and run the adduser command.
adduser username
Make certain that you also set up a password for the new user.
passwd username
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Mount Failed Error
Question:
I'm trying to install and I keep getting mount failed. What should I do?
Answer:
If you are performing a full installation, make certain that you have set up the partitions as ext2 or Linux Native, depending on which partitioning tool you used. Also, make sure that you have created and initiated your swap partition.
There are five virtual consoles available during installation. Two of these consoles, Install Log (accessed by [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F3]) and System Log (accessed by [Crtl]-[Alt]-[F4]) may prove to be beneficial in pinpointing the install problem you have encountered.
If you are running an upgrade, switch to a virtual terminal and make certain that none of the partitions are already mounted. Also, check /etc/fstab for filesystem types that aren't listed in /proc/filesystems.
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Forgetting the Root Password
Question:
I forgot my root password. What do I do?
Answer:
When the system comes to the LILO: prompt, type linux single.
When you get the # prompt you will need to type passwd root.
This will update the password to a newer one. At this point you can type shutdown -r now and the system should boot up normally. You can now use your new root password to gain root access.
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Avoiding Running the fsck Command After Each Reboot
Question:
Every time I turn my computer off, when I turn it back on, it makes me run fsck command on my partitions. Why?
Answer:
The most likely cause for this is that your partitions are not being unmounted properly when you last shutdown the machine. Linux is very much like NT and other operating systems in that it needs to be properly shutdown before being powered off or there could be disk or file corruptions and other inconsistencies.
The most important thing you can do is make sure that you are shutting down the machine properly. This can be done through one of two methods:
• If you are in text mode (runlevel 3), you should log in as root and type shutdown -r now.
• If you are using the GUI mode (runlevel 5), there should be a system button on the GDM login screen. (This is the screen that asks for your username and password.) Click on System and then pull down to Halt.
Either of these methods will cleanly halt your machine and you should see a line that says Power Down when it is safe to turn off the machine. If you are running APM, Linux will try to stop the machine via the BIOS.
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Getting Sound to Work With Linux
Question:
How do I get sound to work with Linux?
Answer:
Most of the time, you only need to login as root and run the sndconfig command. More information can be found at http://www.redhat.com/support/manuals/RHL-7.1-Manual/getting-started-guide/ch-fun.html#S1-FUN.
In a few rare cases or when using an older version of Red Hat Linux, setting up sound can be a challenge, primarily because most people have plug and play sound cards. This section of the FAQ tries to attack this issue from several different angles to try to cover all bases.
First, you will need to either disable plug and play on the card (via jumpers or card setup tools). You can also change your boot method to use loadlin.exe from Windows (as Windows would then have set up the plug and play hardware).
The command to set up sound is called sndconfig. You will need to log in as root (and if you are using the X Window System, open a terminal). At the prompt type sndconfig. This will walk you through setting up your sound card.
If you have problems with sndconfig, here are a couple of other ways to attack the problem.
The sndconfig program tries to set up a good set of default values for the plug and play settings and then load the appropriate modules. If it cannot find a good set of values itself, you can also try:
/usr/sbin/sndconfig --noautoconfig
This command will let you manually specify the plug and play values for the card. You need to choose these wisely however. The values from Windows will probably work if it's the only plug and play device in the machine, but check out:
cat /proc/interrupts
cat /proc/ioports
cat /proc/dma
cat /proc/pci
to find a set of resources that will work.
Enter them in and continue. It should then load the proper modules and play the sound.
You can also try letting sndconfig configure itself as close as it can get to the real values of your card. Then, you can edit /etc/modules.conf (or /etc/conf.modules in early version of Red Hat Linux) to use the correct values. Your /etc/modules.conf may have a couple of lines that look something like:
alias sound sb
options sb irq=7 io=0x320 dma=3,5
To reload the modules type:
/etc/rc.d/init.d/sound stop
/etc/rc.d/init.d/sound start
This should load up the sb module with the proper resources.
You can also try this:
cd /etc
pico modules.conf (or conf.modules)
delete any lines about sb or opl3
save the file
reboot
Then run /usr/sbin/sndconfig again.
Finally, you can try using the isapnptools programs.
Type this:
/sbin/pnpdump > /etc/isapnp.conf
The pnpdump command probes to see what plug and play devices are installed and generates a template file called /etc/isapnp.conf for isapnp to read.
Once you have chosen a good set of resources for the card, make sure they don't conflict with any other cards. To see other resources, check the following:
cat /proc/pci
cat /proc/interrupts
cat /proc/ioports
cat /proc/dma
Then type
/sbin/isapnp /etc/isapnp.conf
to set up the devices. If this does not work, you can edit this file with a text editor (vi, pico, emacs, etc.) and adjust the values to fit those of your card. The file format is a little obtuse, so you may want to check http://www.roestock.demon.co.uk/isapnptools for more information.
If it's not a plug and play sound card, and you know the values for the resources it uses, you can just set them manually by editing /etc/modules.conf (or /etc/conf.modules for older versions of Red Hat Linux).
----example---------
alias sound sb
alias midi opl3
options opl3 io=0x388
options sb io=0x220 irq=7 dma=0,1 mpu_io=0x300
----example---------
You can also type man isapnp.conf for a more detailed description of the format.
Then run:
/etc/rc.d/init.d/sound stop
/etc/rc.d/init.d/sound start
You may need to go though this a few times to get good values. This is what sndconfig is supposed to do automatically, but it doesn't always work for all cards.
If all this fails, report problems to the sound-list@redhat.com so that they can be worked on.
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Screen Blanking
Question:
Every time I leave my computer for a few minutes, the screen goes blank. How can I fix this?
Answer:
If you have a screen saver running, you may want to turn it off. In text mode, the kernel will "screen-save" your system unless you use:
setterm -powersave off -blank 0
Otherwise, if you hear disk drives speed up or other sounds, this is probably APM kicking in. Disable APM from starting at boot time by logging in as root and typing ntsysv. Then deselect APM. Leave ntsysv and you will need to reboot the machine. (This is one of the few services that you have to restart the system, as APM is so deeply connected to the kernel that a full reset is needed.)
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bash: command not found
Question:
I compiled a program called hello but when I try to run it, the command line responds with bash: hello command not found. Why won't my programs run on Red Hat?
Answer:
This problem is generally caused by the location of the program not being specified in your general path. The path is where Linux (like Windows) will search for a working executable. The current working directory is not in your path because of possible security exploits of a command masking itself as another one.
To run your file, you can either put the directory with hello in your path (you can find out what the path is by typing echo $PATH) OR move the hello program into a directory that is in your path. Alternatively, and perhaps most common, you can simply run hello by typing ./hello from within the directory containing the program.
Regards,
Vishnu