Linux Newbie Administrator Guide

Stan P., Klimas M.

A complete reference for new Linux users who wish to set up and administer their own Linux home computer, workstation and/or their home or small office network. The answers are meant to be simple, with just sufficient detail, and always supported with a readily usable example. The work is still in progress, but we hope the Guide can be helpful already.

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Table of contents :
Introduction……Page 5
0.3€What are the Linux benefits?……Page 8
0.5€”There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch”……Page 10
0.7€I need standards. Big software corporations †Microsoft‡€ provide standards…….Page 11
1.1€Which Linux distribution should I use?……Page 14
1.2€What are the Linux hardware requirements?……Page 15
1.4€How do I download Linux?……Page 17
1.6€I have RedHat CD but no install floppy. What do I do?……Page 18
1.8€Can I have MS Windows and Linux installed on the same computer?……Page 20
1.9€How do I partition my hard drive?……Page 21
1.12€Is the Linux installation difficult?……Page 23
1.13€ I finished the installation. How do I log-in for the very first time?……Page 24
2.1€Any Linux reading materials?……Page 25
2.2€Is there a help command?……Page 26
2.3€Newsgroups……Page 27
2.4€Any Linux Internet links?……Page 28
3.1.1€Filenames……Page 32
3.1.2€What are the different directories for?……Page 34
3.1.3€How do I run a program?……Page 35
3.1.4€How can I change the PATH?……Page 37
3.1.5€How can I shutdown my computer?……Page 38
3.1.6€ How do I deal with a hanged program?……Page 39
3.2.1€Home directories, root, adding users……Page 42
3.2.3€I forgot the root password……Page 43
3.2.4€ I have file permission problems. How do file ownership and permissions work?……Page 45
3.2.5€My mp3 player chokes. The sound is kind of interrupted †how to set suid‡…….Page 49
3.3.1€How do I execute a command at specified time †using “at” or “batch”‡?……Page 50
3.3.2€How do I set up cron?……Page 51
3.4€ Swap space……Page 52
3.4.2€Swap files……Page 53
3.5.1€What is a shell and do I want to use a different one?……Page 54
3.5.2€How do I write a simple shell script?……Page 55
3.6.2€How do I write a simple GUI program †using Tk‡?……Page 56
3.6.3€How do I write a simple perl script?……Page 57
3.7€How do I install a program I downloaded from the Internet?……Page 58
4.1.1€Linux cannot detect all my memory……Page 62
4.1.2€LILO displays only LI †or LIL‡ and hangs……Page 63
4.2.1€Where are my drives?……Page 65
4.2.2€How can I access my CDROM?……Page 66
4.2.3€How to mount a floppy, zip drive, DOS/Windows partition, or a network drive?……Page 67
4.2.5€Any quick way to access a file on a DOS/Windows floppy?……Page 69
4.2.6€Mounting works when I am root. Can a normal user mount?……Page 70
4.2.8€Can I automount?……Page 72
4.2.9€How do I get my parallel-port †external‡ Zip drive recognized?……Page 73
4.2.10€Can I set 32-bit hard drive I/O?……Page 75
4.3.1€How do I install kde on RedHat 5.2?……Page 76
4.3.3€How to X-window remotely?……Page 78
4.3.5€ Can I have a GUI login prompt?……Page 80
4.4.1€How to setup my soundcard?……Page 81
4.4.2€How do I setup my printer?……Page 82
4.5.2€How to set up my home network?……Page 84
4.5.3€I have problems configuring my ppp dial out……Page 87
4.5.4€How to browse the net from my networked computer without a modem?……Page 89
4.5.5€How to use Samba?……Page 90
4.5.6€ Sendmail……Page 92
4.5.7€Simple web server †running Apache‡……Page 93
4.5.8€Simple ftp server……Page 94
4.5.9€How can one access my computer from the outside world when I am on the net using my phone ppp conection?……Page 95
4.5.10€Can my home computer get hacked?……Page 96
5.4€Where can I get the new kernel?……Page 99
5.6.2€Unpacking the full source……Page 104
5.7.1€Using the patch……Page 105
5.8€Installing the new kernel……Page 106
5.9€What about next kernel upgrade?……Page 108
5.12€Changes……Page 109
6.1€Linux essential shortcuts and sanity commands……Page 111
6.2€Common Linux commands–system info……Page 113
6.3€Basic operations……Page 114
6.4€Process control……Page 116
6.5€Basic administration commands……Page 117
6.6€Networking tools……Page 120
6.7€Linux built-in developer tools and programming languages……Page 121
7.2€Star Office Suite……Page 124
7.5€Spreadsheet……Page 125
7.7€CAD……Page 126
7.8€ Netscape and Lynx †web browsers‡……Page 127
7.9€Klyx and Latex……Page 128
7.10€Writing CD-Rs †cdrecord and cdparanoia‡……Page 130
Our rewards and testimonials……Page 136