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Download a Test Release

Read through all the instructions before you begin downloading.

The following steps need to be taken to download and install :

  1. Understand What You Are Doing
  2. Make Room on Your System
  3. Download the Files You Need
  4. Write Files to Media
  5. Boot From the CD-ROM to Run the Installation Program
  6. Check for Updates
  7. Get Help If You Need It

Understanding What You Are Doing

You are downloading an entire operating system, and in most cases, you are then going to install the operating system on your computer.

If you are connected to the Internet via a slow connection, like a modem, then downloading will be an extremely time-consuming process. The time it takes to download the installation files for depends greatly upon your connection speed to the Internet. For example, if you are downloading the installation disk images (called ISOs), then each image file will weigh in at just under 650 MB. This means that with a 56K modem connection it will take approximately 27 hours to complete the download of just one disk, and most installations require more than one.

Make Room on Your System

If you intend to transform your existing single-boot system into a dual-boot system, you need to make room for . You can do this by adding a new hard drive or by modifying the existing partitions on the hard drive already in the system.

Refer to Configuring a Dual-Boot System for more detailed instructions.

Download the Files You Need

To install , download the four ISO images of the installation CD-ROMs, even if you are planning to perform a hard drive installation.

Downloading the ISO Images

The ISO images of 4 test 3 are located at the following URL:

http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/test/3.92/i386/iso/ or http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/test/3.92/ppc/iso/ or http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/test/3.92/x86_64/iso/

Download the following ISO image files as needed:

FC4-test3-i386-DVD.iso (sha1sum: 0936ab6d113339c0ee29b5271d3c11a322077597)
FC4-test3-i386-disc1.iso (sha1sum: 4f105f43434a1630988910f9e94435725369f77a)
FC4-test3-i386-disc2.iso (sha1sum: f0b6a922eccade7a9c56be14ed007aba0e3c6f8f)
FC4-test3-i386-disc3.iso (sha1sum: 5d095f589e17d31d676a6be9fe4a3bbc1d559a78)
FC4-test3-i386-disc4.iso (sha1sum: 11cbb2be45d7dec6c3f5db65fc296541db7c1864)
FC4-test3-ppc-DVD.iso (sha1sum: d2b967625fc34f5b2671204d165f86ec98c74f1e)
FC4-test3-ppc-disc1.iso (sha1sum: 0045a3ac8172fa5690355c94436cc86f82dcb4df)
FC4-test3-ppc-disc2.iso (sha1sum: 2e9637ada0ad13c1b520601b3cfafd25286fa021)
FC4-test3-ppc-disc3.iso (sha1sum: bea5a838e864dba34f42131e1b609df48cf18fc0)
FC4-test3-ppc-disc4.iso (sha1sum: 0c9c4d5312d58a2ce69208d77e141828614cfb7b)
FC4-test3-ppc-disc5.iso (sha1sum: 3778e548b4f288c94b48df417e556c3081134d5e)
FC4-test3-x86_64-DVD.iso (sha1sum: 50938d81a4cf0429cea6b41b3123ccb9fa6d7994)
FC4-test3-x86_64-disc1.iso (sha1sum: cd50871fa781e0fe04400b280546c5aa019b4067)
FC4-test3-x86_64-disc2.iso (sha1sum: d03492c6faedc7dacb335f4a86eef77771b025d2)
FC4-test3-x86_64-disc3.iso (sha1sum: 1967e832c825d3d52bfc87e298f3a16c9779bb26)
FC4-test3-x86_64-disc4.iso (sha1sum: f189f9368ad4fc2b92d310fa1af45899c4238a01)
FC4-test3-x86_64-disc5.iso (sha1sum: 862c058ff9043e60b94f29b81855018dbd4f4409)

Since the Red Hat FTP site can experience extremely high volume, you may have better success using a mirror site. Alternatively, you can join the torrent.

ISO images containing the source RPMs are also located in the same directory as the ISO images containing the binaries; however, they are not required to install .

After downloading the ISO images, check the SHA1 checksums for the ISO images to ensure that your download was successful. Do this by running the sha1sum program from a shell prompt against your ISO images and comparing the values returned against the ones published by Red Hat. The file from Red Hat containing the official sha1sum values is called SHA1SUM and is located in the same directory as the ISO images on the FTP site.

The following illustrates the correct syntax for the sha1sum command:

sha1sum <isofilename>

In the above command, replace <isofilename> with the correct file name.

If the SHA1 sums match, burn the ISO images to CD-Rs or CD-RWs. Note: writing the ISOs to CD requires a program such as cdrecord. If you want to perform a hard drive installation instead, copy the ISO image files to a location on the hard drive that will not be reformated for .

Mounting ISO Images

If you are already running Linux, you can save an ISO image to a directory on your machine or another machine on the network. You may then mount the ISO image to look at or copy files. To mount an ISO image, use the following command:

mount -o loop -t iso9660 <isofilename> <mountpoint>

In the above command replace <isofilename> and <mountpoint> with the correct file name and mount point respectively. The directory given as the mount point must exist.

Write files to media

Note: ISO images are not written to CD-ROMs the same way as files.

If you are already running , refer to CR-Rs and CR-RWs for instructions on using cdrecord to burn the ISOs to CD.

Be sure to label the CDs after burning them.

Boot From the CD-ROM to Run the Installation Program

Note that 4 test 3 does not come with floppy boot images. You must boot from CD, or via methods such as PXE.

The ISOs have an sha1sum embedded in them. It is strongly recommended you verify the sha1sum on any CD-ROMs you create using downloaded ISO images. This will ensure that the disk was burned correctly and prevent installation failures related to bad media. To test the checksum integrity of the CDs, boot off the first CD, and type the following command at the boot: prompt:

linux mediacheck

The checksum operation can be performed in any order.

Boot from the first CD-ROM to start the installation program.

Check for Updates

You can use the Red Hat Update Agent (up2date) to check for updates.

Get Help If You Need It

If you need help installing, configuring, or using , join a mailing list or an IRC channel. There are plenty of users and developers ready to help you.

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