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Chapter 1. Steps to Get You Started

1.1.2. Registering Your Product

If you have purchased the Official Red Hat Linux boxed set, you should register your product. Reg 

istration offers many useful services, such as installation support, access to Red Hat Network, and

more. To register your product, go to:

http://www.redhat.com/apps/activate/

You will find your Product ID on the Registration Information card in your Official Red Hat Linux

boxed set. Once registered, you will have access to all the extras that Red Hat provides to its registered

users.

For more information on registering and the scope of Red Hat's technical support offerings, see Ap 

pendix C.

1.1.3. No Boxed Set? No Problem!

Of course, not everyone purchases a Red Hat Linux boxed set. It is entirely possible to install Red

Hat Linux using a CD created by another company, or even via FTP. In these cases, you may need to

create one or more diskettes to get started.

For information on downloading and installing Red Hat Linux, refer to:

http://www.redhat.com/download/howto_download.html

For people installing Red Hat Linux from a CD ROM not from Red Hat, you may need a boot diskette

(also referred to as a boot disk), or if you are using a PCMCIA device during the installation (such as

a laptop), PCMCIA boot disks. You may also be able to start the installation directly from the CD. We

will discuss this in more detail when we outline the various installation methods. For information on

making diskettes, see Section 1.4.2.

1.2. Is Your Hardware Compatible?

Hardware compatibility is particularly important if you have an older system or a system that you built

yourself. Red Hat Linux 8.0 should be compatible with most hardware in systems that were factory

built within the last two years. However, hardware specifications change almost daily, so it is hard to

guarantee that your hardware will be 100% compatible.

The most recent list of supported hardware can be found at:

http://hardware.redhat.com/hcl/

1.3. Do You Have Enough Disk Space?

Nearly every modern day operating system (OS) uses disk partitions, and Red Hat Linux is no ex 

ception. When you install Red Hat Linux, you may have to work with disk partitions. If you have not

worked with disk partitions before (or need a quick review of the basic concepts) read Appendix E

before proceeding.

If Red Hat Linux will share your system with another OS, you will need to make sure you have enough

available disk space on your hard drive(s) for this installation. Refer to Appendix G for instructions

on creating a dual boot system.