% Linux Installation and Getting Started    -*- TeX -*-
% install.tex
% Copyright (c) 1992-1994 by Matt Welsh <mdw@sunsite.unc.edu>
%
% This file is freely redistributable, but you must preserve this copyright 
% notice on all copies, and it must be distributed only as part of "Linux 
% Installation and Getting Started". This file's use is covered by the 
% copyright for the entire document, in the file "copyright.tex".

\subsection{Problems installing the software}
\namedlabel{sec-install-probs-install}{Problems installing the
software}

Actually installing the Linux software should be quite trouble-free,
if you're lucky. The only problems that you might experience would be
related to corrupt installation media or lack of space on your Linux
filesystems. Here is a list of these common problems.

\begin{itemize}

\index{installation!problems!media errors}
\index{installation!problems!errors}
\item {\bf System reports ``{\tt Read error}'', ``{\tt file not found}'', 
or other
errors while attempting to install the software.} This is indicative of
a problem with your installation media. If you are installing from floppy,
keep in mind that floppies are quite succeptible to media errors of this
type. Be sure to use brand-new, newly-formatted floppies. If you have
an MS-DOS partition on your drive, many Linux distributions allow you 
to install the software from the hard drive. This may be faster and more
reliable than using floppies. 

If you are using a CD-ROM, be sure to check the disc for scratches, dust, or
other problems which might cause media errors.

The cause of the problem may be that the media is in the incorrect format.
For example, if using floppies, many Linux distributions require that the
floppies be formatted in high-density MS-DOS format. (The boot floppy is
the exception; it is not in MS-DOS format in most cases.) If all else fails,
either obtain a new set of floppies, or recreate the floppies (using
new diskettes) if you downloaded the software yourself. 

\item {\bf System reports errors such as ``{\tt tar: read error}'' or 
``{\tt gzip: not in gzip format}''.} 
This problem is usually caused by corrupt files
on the installation media itself. In other words,
your floppy may be error-free, but the data on the floppy is in some way
corrupted. For example, if you downloaded the Linux software using text mode,
rather than binary mode, then your files will be corrupt, and unreadable
by the installation software. 

\item {\bf System reports errors such as ``{\tt device full}'' while 
installing.}
This is a clear-cut sign that you have run out of space when installing
the software. Not all Linux distributions will be able to cleanly 
pick up the mess; you shouldn't be able to abort the installation and
expect the system to work. 

The solution is usually to re-create your
filesystems (with the {\tt mke2fs} command) which will delete the 
partially-installed software. You can then attempt to re-install the
software, this time selecting a smaller amount of software to install.
In other cases, you may need to start completely from scratch, and 
rethink your partition and filesystem sizes. 

\item {\bf System reports errors such as ``{\tt read\_intr: 0x10}'' while
accessing the hard drive.}
This is usually an indication of bad blocks on your drive. However, if you
receive 
these errors while using {\tt mkswap} or {\tt mke2fs}, the system may
be having trouble accessing your drive. This can either be a hardware 
problem (see Section~\ref{sec-install-probs-hardware}), or it might
be a case of poorly specified geometry. If you used the 
\begin{tscreen}
hd=\cparam{cylinders},\cparam{heads},\cparam{sectors}
\end{tscreen}
option at boot time to force detection of your drive geometry, and 
incorrectly specified the geometry, you could be prone to this problem.
This can also happen if your drive geometry is incorrectly specified in
the system CMOS. 

\item {\bf System reports errors such as ``{\tt file not found}'' or 
``{\tt permission denied}''.} This problem can occur if not all of the 
necessary files are present on the installation media (see the next 
paragraph) or if there is a permissions problem with the installation
software. For example, some distributions of Linux have been known to
have bugs in the installation software itself. These are usually fixed
very rapidly, and are quite infrequent.
If you suspect that the distribution software contains bugs, and
you're sure that you have not done anything wrong, contact the maintainer
of the distribution to report the bug. 

\end{itemize}

If you have other strange errors when installing Linux (especially if you 
downloaded the software yourself), be sure that you actually obtained all
of the necessary files when downloading. For example, some people use the
FTP command 
\begin{tscreen}
mget *.*
\end{tscreen}
when downloading the Linux software via FTP. This will download only those
files that contain a ``{\tt .}'' in their filenames; if there are any files
without the ``{\tt .}'', you will miss them. The correct command to use
in this case is
\begin{tscreen}
mget *
\end{tscreen}

The best advice is to retrace your steps when something goes wrong. You
may think that you have done everything correctly, when in fact you
forgot a small but important step somewhere along the way. In many cases,
just attempting to re-download or re-install the Linux software can solve
the problem. Don't beat your head against the wall any longer than you have
to!

Also, if Linux unexpectedly hangs during installation, there may be a 
hardware problem of some kind. See 
Section~\ref{sec-install-probs-hardware} for hints. 
