[CentOS] Newbie: how to install from Windows?

[John Bowden]

On Thursday 27 September 2007 20:01:45 Labaki wrote:
> Hello!
>
> I just joined this mailing list a couple of minutes ago. I'll start to
> use CentOS for academic purposes. We'll try to build a cluster
> based in machines with this OS.
>
> First of all, I'd like to beg you for patience, because I'm comple-
> tly new in Linux.
>
> My first question is: every tutorial on installation talks about
> inserting an installation CD, but I'm not sure about what do it
> means... I've downloaded the four files .iso availabe in CentOS.org,
> but I don't know what to do with them. Should I burn this files
> into de CD the way they are? Should I unzip them before this?
>
> Details: I'm using Windows, trying to install CentOS 4 in a 32
> bit's PC. I've downloaded CentOS-4.5-i386-bin.......iso.
>
> Thank you for any help!
>
> ~
> J. Labaki
> Computational Structural Mechanics Labs
> Dept. of Computational Mechanics
> Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
> Campinas State University/SP - Brazil
> http://www.fem.unicamp.br/~labaki
>
> "Time is the best teacher; unfortunately, it kills all its students."
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> http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

As an almost X windows user may I make some suggestions? The CD ISO files you 
have down loaded are an exact copy of the CD dumped into one file with a map 
of the layout of the original disk. Use "Nero" or another windoz burning 
software and go to the "burn" an ISO file option. This will unpack the ISO 
file onto the CD into the right folders. After burning if you look at the 
file with "windows explorer" it should show a root directory with a bunch of 
files and sub folders. If you have just one file CentOSXXX.iso then you have 
copied the ISO file which is wrong.
Then get a copy of "partition magic and install it in windoz. Run partition 
magic and shrink your windows partition to give Linux (CentOS) some room, You 
will probably need a minimum of 25Gb of free space on your hard drive to 
install CenOS in, for a decent system to play with.
Leave this space empty, (no partition in it). Then put CentOS disk 1 in grab a 
note pad, (to make a note of passwords and other settings) and reboot the 
windows machine. Make sure you have boot from CD set in your BIOS and then 
follow the prompts that the CentOS installer gives you. When you get to the 
part where you are asked where you want to install to (the partitioning bit 
in the installer) just tell the installer to use the "free space.
You will find the Linux world very help full and friendly. If you have any 
problems come back to the list with it. Give as much info about the problem, 
what version of CentOS you are using and any error messages you are getting 
and I'm sure we can help. Not that you will need it but Good Luck!

-- 
Guy Fawkes, the only man to enter the house's of Parliament
with honest intentions, (he was going to blow them up!)
Registered Linux user number 414240