Load up the Linux! Place the first Linux CD in the drive and reboot the computer. When the screen comes up, you know Linux has found drivers for your monitor, video board, and keyboard. The installer program sequences are different for each vendor, but SUSE and Red Hat give you a workable system if you choose the default settings and keep it simple. Later, after some experience, you can optimize the system for workstation or server use.

Step through the screens and selections, taking the default settings and simplest choices. Read the Help text for each screen to get familiar with configurations. The keys to keeping things simple are:

• Accept default selections when in doubt
• Install all the software

Points to watch for Red Hat: Choose "Custom" to allow installing all software, but when you see the Disk Partitioning Setup screen, be sure to choose "Automatic Partition." Points to watch for SUSE: Accept the disk-partitioning proposal. For software selection, choose "Detailed Selection" and select all software. And please, remember to write down your IDs and passwords, because it is not easy for the novice to re-set them.

There is a final choice of whether to proceed with the installation or cancel it. Until this point, nothing has been written to disk, and you can cancel out of the installation without changing the disks in any way. You can cancel right now and go back through the installation again, choosing different options. When you finally summon the courage to make that last click, the disk partitioning and data writes begin. The installer program does an automatic reboot and then requests the remaining CDs to finish the install process.

Next: Step 4: Feed CDs and Enjoy »