Chapter 1. Steps to Get You Started

13

The disk space used by Red Hat Linux must be separate from the disk space used by other OSes you

may have installed on your system, such as Windows, OS/2, or even a different version of Linux. At

least two partitions (

/

and

swap

) must be dedicated to Red Hat Linux.

Before you start the installation process, one of the following conditions must be met:

Your computer must have enough unpartitioned

1

disk space for the installation of Red Hat Linux.

You must have one or more partitions that may be deleted, thereby freeing up enough disk space to

install Red Hat Linux.

1.3.1. Installation Disk Space Requirements

Note

These recommendations are based on an installation that only installs one language (such as En 

glish). If you plan to install multiple languages to use on your system, you should increase the disk

space requirements.

Personal Desktop

A personal desktop installation, including a graphical desktop environment, requires at least 1.5

GB of free space. Choosing both the GNOME and KDE desktop environments requires at least

1.8 GB of free disk space.

Workstation

A workstation installation, including a graphical desktop environment and software development

tools, requires at least 2.0 GB of free space. Choosing both the GNOME and KDE desktop

environments requires at least 2.3 GB of free disk space.

Server

A server installation requires 1.3 GB for a minimal installation without X (the graphical environ 

ment), at least 1.4 GB of free space if all package groups other than X are installed, and at least

2.1 GB to install all packages including the GNOME and KDE desktop environments.

Custom

A Custom installation requires 400 MB for a minimal installation and at least 4.5 GB of free

space if every package is selected.

If you are not sure that you meet these conditions, or if you want to know how to create free disk

space for your Red Hat Linux installation, please refer to Appendix E.

1. Unpartitioned disk space means that available disk space on the hard drive(s) you are installing to has not

been divided into sections for data. When you partition a disk, each partition will behave like a separate disk

drive.