![[Tip]](./stylesheet-images/tip.png) | Latest Release Notes on the Web |
|---|---|
These release notes may be updated. Visit http://docs.fedoraproject.org/release-notes/ to view the latest release notes for Fedora. |
![[Important]](./stylesheet-images/important.png) | Fedora Installation Guide |
|---|---|
To learn how to install Fedora, refer to http://docs.fedoraproject.org/install-guide/. |
| Installation issues not covered in these release notes |
|---|---|
If you encounter a problem or have a question during installation that is not covered in these relese notes, refer to http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FAQ and http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Bugs/Common. |
Anaconda is the name of the Fedora installer. This section outlines issues related to Anaconda and installing Fedora 7.
![[Note]](./stylesheet-images/note.png) | Downloading Large Files |
|---|---|
If you intend to download the Fedora DVD ISO image, keep in mind that not
all file downloading tools can accommodate files larger than 2 GiB in
size. Tools without this limitation include |
Anaconda tests the integrity of
installation media by default. This function works with the CD, DVD,
hard drive ISO, and NFS ISO installation methods. The Fedora Project
recommends that you test all installation media before starting the
installation process and before reporting any installation-related
bugs. Many of the bugs reported are actually due to
improperly-burned CDs or DVDs. To use this test, type linux
mediacheck at the boot: prompt.
The mediacheck function is highly sensitive, and may
report some usable discs as faulty. This result is often caused by
disc writing software that does not include padding when creating
discs from ISO files. For best results with mediacheck,
boot with the following option:
linux ide=nodma mediacheck
After you complete the mediacheck function
successfully, reboot to return DMA mode to its normal state. On many
systems, this results in a faster installation process from the
disc. You may skip the mediacheck option when
rebooting.
| BitTorrent Automatically Verifies File Integrity |
|---|---|
If you use
BitTorrent, any
files you download are automatically validated. If your file
completes downloading, you do not need to check it. Once you burn
your CD or DVD, however, you should still use
|
You may perform memory testing before you install Fedora by pressing
Esc twice, then entering memtest86
at the boot: prompt. This option runs the
Memtest86 stand alone memory testing
software in place of Anaconda.
Memtest86 memory testing continues until
the Esc key is pressed.
| Memtest86 Availability |
|---|---|
You must boot from Installation Disc 1, the DVD, or a rescue CD in order to use this feature. |
Fedora 7 supports graphical FTP and HTTP installations. However, the
installer image must either fit in RAM or appear on local storage,
such as Installation Disc 1. Therefore, only systems with more than
192MiB of RAM, or which boot from Installation Disc 1, can use the
graphical installer. Systems with 192MiB RAM or less fall back to
using the text-based installer automatically. If you prefer to use
the text-based installer, type linux text at the
boot: prompt.
Many minor user interface changes:
Ability to select the boot drive
Advanced storage options, including the ability to add an iSCSI target and disable dmraid devices
The time zone page includes a magnification slider to zoom into different areas of the world when choosing location
Improved Live images support
Ability to install from Live image running from RAM or USB stick
Improved IEEE-1394 (Firewire) support
Improved installation for Sony PlayStation 3
French keyboard layout uses latin9
Improved kickstart installation
Use of
/dev/hdXis deprecated on i386 and and x86_64 for IDE drives, and has changed to/dev/sdXexcept on PPC. See note about the importance of labeling devices for upgrades from FC6.
Some Sony VAIO notebook systems may experience problems installing Fedora from CD-ROM. If this happens, restart the installation process and add the following option to the boot command line:
pci=off ide1=0x180,0x386
Installation should proceed normally, and any devices not detected are configured the first time Fedora is booted.
Not all IDE RAID controllers are supported. If your RAID controller is not yet supported by dmraid, you may combine drives into RAID arrays by configuring Linux software RAID. For supported controllers, configure the RAID functions in the computer BIOS.
Some servers with multiple network interfaces may not assign
eth0 to the first network interface as BIOS knows it, which can
cause the installer to try using a different network interface
than was used by PXE. To change this behavior, use the following
in pxelinux.cfg/* config files:
IPAPPEND 2 APPEND ksdevice=bootif
The configuration options above causes the installer to use the same network interface as BIOS and PXE use. You can also use the following option:
ksdevice=link
This option causes the installer to use the first network device it finds that is linked to a network switch.
Refer to http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DistributionUpgrades for detailed recommended procedures for upgrading Fedora.
A change in the way that the linux kernel handles storage
devices means that device names like /dev/hdX or /dev/sdX may
differ from the values used in earlier releases. Anaconda solves
this problem by relying on partition labels. If these labels are
not present, then Anaconda presents a warning indicating that
partitions need to be labelled and that the upgrade can not
proceed. Systems that use Logical Volume Management (LVM) and
the device mapper usually do not require relabeling.
To view partition labels, boot the existing Fedora installation, and enter the following at a terminal prompt:
/sbin/blkid
Confirm that each volume line in the list has a
LABEL= value, as shown below:
/dev/hdd1: LABEL="/boot" UUID="ec6a9d6c-6f05-487e-a8bd-a2594b854406" SEC_TYPE="ext2" TYPE="ext3"
If any filesystem labels were added or modified, then the
device entries in /etc/fstab must be
adjusted to match:
su -c 'cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab.orig' su -c 'gedit /etc/fstab'
An example of a mount by label entry is:
LABEL=f7-slash / ext3 defaults 1 1
If the label for the / (root) filesystem was
modified, the kernel boot parameter in the grub configuration
file must also be modified:
su -c 'gedit /boot/grub/grub.conf'
A matching example kernel grub line is:
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.20-1.2948.fc6 ro root=f7-slash rhgb quiet
If partition labels were adjusted, or the
/etc/fstab file modified, then boot the
existing Fedora installation to confirm that all partitions
still mount normally and login is successful. When complete,
reboot with the installation media to start the installer and
begin the upgrade.
In general, fresh installations are recommended over upgrades, particularly for systems that include software from third-party repositories. Third-party packages remaining from a previous installation may not work as expected on an upgraded Fedora system. If you decide to perform an upgrade anyway, the following information may be helpful:
Before you upgrade, back up the system completely. In particular, preserve
/etc,/home, and possibly/optand/usr/localif customized packages are installed there. You may wish to use a multi-boot approach with a "clone" of the old installation on alternate partition(s) as a fallback. In that case, create alternate boot media, such as a GRUB boot floppy.System Configuration Backups Backups of configurations in
/etcare also useful in reconstructing system settings after a fresh installation.After you complete the upgrade, run the following command:
rpm -qa --last > RPMS_by_Install_Time.txt
Inspect the end of the output for packages that pre-date the upgrade. Remove or upgrade those packages from third-party repositories, or otherwise deal with them as necessary.