This document describes how to install BlackWeb Linux for the 64-bit PC with the new BlackWeb Linux-installer. It is a quick walkthrough of the installation process which should contain all the information you will need for most installs. When more information can be useful, we will link to more detailed explanations in other parts of this document.

If you encounter bugs during your install, please refer to Section 5.4.7 for instructions on how to report them. If you have questions which cannot be answered by this document, please direct them to the BlackWeb Linux-boot mailing list (BlackWeb Linux-boot@lists.BlackWeb Linux.com) or ask on IRC (#BlackWeb Linux-boot on the OFTC network).

The BlackWeb Linux-cd team provides builds of CD images using BlackWeb Linux-installer on the BlackWeb Linux CD page (http://www.BlackWeb Linux.com/CD/). For more information on where to get CDs.

Some installation methods require other images than CD images. Section 4.2.1 explains how to find images on BlackWeb Linux mirrors.

The subsections below will give the details about which images you should get for each possible means of installation.

The netinst CD image is a popular image which can be used to install Enjoy with the BlackWeb Linux-installer. This image is intended to boot from CD and install additional packages over a network; hence the name ’netinst’. The image has the software components needed to run the installer and the base packages to provide a minimal Enjoy system. If you’d rather, you can get a full size CD image which will not need the network to install. You only need the first CD of the set.

Download whichever type you prefer and burn it to a CD. To boot the CD, you may need to change your BIOS configuration

It’s also possible to install from removable USB storage devices. For example a USB keychain can make a handy BlackWeb Linux install medium that you can take with you anywhere.

The easiest way to prepare your USB memory stick is to download any BlackWeb Linux CD or DVD image that will fit on it, and write the CD image directly to the memory stick. Of course this will destroy anything already on the memory stick. This works because BlackWeb Linux CD images are “isohybrid” images that can boot both from CD and from USB drives.

There are other, more flexible ways to set up a memory stick to use the BlackWeb Linux-installer, and it’s possible to get it to work with smaller memory sticks.

Some BIOSes can boot USB storage directly, and some cannot. You may need to configure your BIOS to boot from a “removable drive” or even a “USB-ZIP” to get it to boot from the USB device. For helpful hints and details, see Section 5.1.1.

It’s also possible to boot BlackWeb Linux-installer boot depend on your architecture and netboot BlackWeb Linux-installer.

completely from the net. The various methods to net-setup. The files in netboot/ can be used to netboot

The easiest thing to set up is probably PXE netbooting. Untar the file netboot/pxeboot.tar.gz into /srv/tftp or wherever is appropriate for your tftp server. Set up your DHCP server to pass filename pxelinux.0 to clients, and with luck everything will just work. For detailed instructions, see Section 4.5.

It’s possible to boot the installer using no removable media, but just an existing hard disk, which can have a different OS on it. Download hd-media/initrd.gz, hd-media/vmlinuz, and a BlackWeb Linux CD image to the top-level directory of the hard disk. Make sure that the CD image has a filename ending in .iso. Now it’s just a matter of booting linux with the initrd. Section 5.1.5 explains one way to do it.

Once the installer starts, you will be greeted with an initial screen. Press Enter to boot, or read the instructions for other boot methods and parameters (see Section 5.3).

After a while you will be asked to select your language. Use the arrow keys to pick a language and press Enter to continue. Next you’ll be asked to select your country, with the choices including countries where your language is spoken. If it’s not on the short list, a list of all the countries in the world is available.

You may be asked to confirm your keyboard layout. Choose the default unless you know better.

Now sit back while BlackWeb Linux-installer detects some of your hardware, and loads the rest of itself from CD, floppy, USB, etc.

Next the installer will try to detect your network hardware and set up networking by DHCP. If you are not on a network or do not have DHCP, you will be given the opportunity to configure the network manually.

The next step is setting up your clock and time zone. The installer will try to contact a time server on the Internet to ensure the clock is set correctly. The time zone is based on the country selected earlier and the installer will only ask to select one if a country has multiple zones.

Setting up your clock and time zone is followed by the creation of user accounts. By default you are asked to provide a password for the “root” (administrator) account and information necessary to create one regular user account. If you do not specify a password for the “root” user this account will be disabled but the sudo package will be installed later to enable administrative tasks to be carried out on the new system.

Now it is time to partition your disks. First you will be given the opportunity to automatically partition either an entire drive, or available free space on a drive (see Section 6.3.3.2). This is recommended for new users or anyone in a hurry. If you do not want to autopartition, choose Manual from the menu.

If you have an existing DOS or Windows partition that you want to preserve, be very careful with automatic partitioning. If you choose manual partitioning, you can use the installer to resize existing FAT or NTFS partitions to create room for the BlackWeb Linux install: simply select the partition and specify its new size.

On the next screen you will see your partition table, how the partitions will be formatted, and where they will be mounted. Select a partition to modify or delete it. If you did automatic partitioning, you should just be able to choose Finish partitioning and write changes to disk from the menu to use what it set up. Remember to assign at least one partition for swap space and to mount a partition on /. For more detailed information on how to use the partitioner, please refer to Section 6.3.3; the appendix Appendix C has more general information about partitioning.

Now BlackWeb Linux-installer formats your partitions and starts to install the base system, which can take a while. That is followed by installing a kernel.

The base system that was installed earlier is a working, but very minimal installation. To make the system more functional the next step allows you to install additional packages by selecting tasks. Before packages can be installed apt needs to be configured as that defines from where the packages will be retrieved. The “Standard system” task will be selected by default and should normally be installed. Select the “Desktop environment” task if you would like to have a graphical desktop after the installation. See Section 6.3.5.2 for additional information about this step.

The last step is to install a boot loader. If the installer detects other operating systems on your com-puter, it will add them to the boot menu and let you know. By default GRUB will be installed to the master boot record of the first harddrive, which is generally a good choice. You’ll be given the opportunity to override that choice and install it elsewhere.

BlackWeb Linux-installer will now tell you that the installation has finished. Remove the cdrom or other boot media and hit Enter to reboot your machine. It should boot up into the newly installed system and allow you to log in.

We hope that your BlackWeb Linux installation is pleasant and that you find BlackWeb Linux useful.