Linux install?

Question

I have downloaded all 6 iso software from Redhat.

However, I can't seem to boot any of the CD I installed them in.

What must I do to download the Linux iso to my hard disk to use them?

If there is something I need to install the Linux, may I know what is it and how I get it?

Can someone use layman's language. If it is too technical, I wouldn't know. I have went to Redhat's site, but I got more condfused after reading the pages and finding the correct pages.

I now have 6 iso CDs lying wasted.

I don't believe it. Why no answers?

Answer 1

I'll try to help you, but more information is needed.

1) Can you boot your system on any CD {Win-XP for example} or do you need to use a boot floppy that loads CD-ROM support? If you are not sure, you need to go into the BIOS set up and see if you can set the boot device and sequence. If your system supports booting on the CD then the boot sequence needs to be set to try the CD-ROM first then the Hard Disk.

To get to the BIOS set-up you need to reboot your system. After the POST messages you will see a prompt to press DELETE {or perhaps F1 or some other key} to enter set-up. Once in set-up, you will usually need to look at ADVANCED BIOS settings for the BOOT DEVICE SEQUENCE. If it is not set to boot the CD-ROM device first, you need to change and save this setting. Otherwise, you will have confirmed that the system either DOES NOT support booting on the CD-ROM or that it is ALREADY set to boot on the CD-ROM if a bootable one is found.

2) Do you know how to burn an ISO? You *must* choose the option on your CD Burner software {Nero perhaps??} to burn an ISO image. If you created your 6-CD's by any method other than this, you will need to re-do them. I suggest three things: 1) check the MD5 signatures on the ISO's you downloaded. Any that don't match are probably corrupted and you will need to re-download it.
2) use the option on your burner software to 'verify' the ISO after the burn. 3) burn the ISO at a slow speed {say 8x on a 16x drive}.

3) at this point, you know your system supports booting on a CD and you have a good bootable CD. Now *IF* the system does not boot you may have a bad drive. Otherwise, you now know your system won't boot from a CD so you need to make a boot floppy to start the install. Directions for that can be found at:
http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/linux-create-an-installation-boot-disk/

One other thought is that you *might* want to try a LiveCD so you can try it on your hardware before you actually commit to a full on install. An advantage of that is that only ONE ISO needs to be burned to a CD to begin tests. I don't know what version of Red-Hat/Fedora you are using, but you might want to look at:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FedoraLiveCD
...for more information. If you have questions on what to download look at:
http://docs.fedoraproject.org/install-guide/f7/en_US/sn-which-files.html

I will check back to see if you post any additional details uncovered as you work through these steps, and provide additional info as an update if needed.

hth.