Installing alt Linux with the second system. Installing ALT Linux Master (Junior). ST \u003d "comp99" # give a unique name for each station
| LinuxInstalling ALT Linux 5 Lite
Initial conditions:
- Linux is installed as the only operating system;
- installation is performed on the entire disk;
- computer names in the class - from comp1 to comp12, teacher computer name - AllClasses;
- two user groups are assumed:
- teachers;
- pupils;
- there will be 5 users in the pupils group:
- class7;
- class8;
- class9;
- class10;
- class11;
- teacher password LitERaturA;
- administrator password (his name is root) ThizIzOurSkola.
After booting from the ALT Linux 5 Lite CD, a menu appears on the screen in which the "Install" item is selected with the cursor keys:
Keystroke<Enter\u003e starts the installation process. The first window is displayed on the screen, in which the dialogue language and the method of switching between Russian and Latin registers are selected (continuation - clicking the "Next" button):
Then - the license agreement:
The next step is to create partitions on the disk for installing the system. Since Linux will be the only operating system, it will take up the entire disk. Options for its breakdown:
- automatically, using unallocated space if the disk is new and contains no partitions;
- automatically, with the deletion of partitions on the disk if the disk has already been used;
- manually, at will or due to the impossibility of performing the previous options.
In the first case, the "Use unallocated space" parameter is set:
The resulting result is shown as an example:
In the second case, the option "Delete all partitions and create partitions automatically" is set.
Third option:
If there are already partitions on the disk, they are deleted one by one (for this, when the partition is selected, use the "Delete" button):
If there are no partitions on the disk, select the unallocated space and click on the "Create Partition" button:
First, let's create a swap partition with a size of 1024 MB (its size is equal to twice the size random access memory). Partition type - swap:
Select the remaining unallocated space to create the root partition and click on the "Create" button:
The proposed volume of the section is not changeable. Set the Linux partition type:
Choosing the Linux file system option:
We set the mount point (in this case, this is the root partition):
We get:
We confirm the changes made:
We select the office applications to be installed and indicate the need to install programs for teachers (iTalc). If your computer has sufficient resources (in particular, RAM) and a satisfactory processor, you can install OpenOffice and iTalc. If your computer resources are limited, you can choose a more economical option:
We select the location of the bootloader installation and the operating system loaded by default. Since the system is one, then the corresponding option is:
If Linux is installed as the second operating system, then to boot by default Windows instead of the one specified in this moment ALTLinux is set to Windows parameter.
Install the second CD-ROM with additional programs into the drive:
After clicking the "Next" button, they are installed. Upon completion, set the computer name (for example, comp8) and configure the network. If there is a DHCP server, we set the corresponding parameter, otherwise we will indicate the IP addresses manually, depending on the settings of the computer class. Example:
The next step is to set the administrator password (his name in the system is root):
We set the name of one of the users this computer and a password for it, for example:
If there is a DNS server in the school (class), set the domain name, otherwise leave the parameter unchanged:
The final step is to set the parameters of the video card and monitor:
After completing the installation process and rebooting, log in to the system as a user (but not an administrator).
ALT Linux installation instructions.It is highly recommended to perform a validation and defragmentation before starting the installation hard drive.
Let's go directly to installing Linux, first, insert the installation disc into your computer's drive. If you are not downloading from installation disk check your Bios setting.
Start installation: boot the system
Booting from the installation disc begins with a menu listing several boot options, with system installation being just one of the options. From the same menu, you can run the program to restore the system or check the memory. The mouse is not supported at this stage of the installation, so you must use the keyboard to select different installation options and options. You can get help for any menu item by selecting that item and pressing F1. In addition to installing from a laser disk, several options for network installation and installation from a hard disk are available (see below).
Pressing F2 selects the country. The choice of the country in the loader determines, firstly, the language of the interface of the loader and the installer, and secondly, which languages \u200b\u200bwill be available in the list of installation languages \u200b\u200b- in addition to the main language for the selected country, the list will also include other languages \u200b\u200bof this territory. By default, "Russia" is offered. If you select the "Other" option, then the list of installation languages \u200b\u200bwill list all possible languages.
Pressing F3 opens a menu of available video modes (screen resolutions). This permission will be used during the installation and boot of the installed system.
To start the installation process, use the cursor keys "up", "down" to select the menu item "Installation" and press Enter. A short waiting time is set in the boot loader: if no action is taken at this moment, the system that is already installed on the hard disk will be loaded. If you missed the right moment, restart your computer and select "Install" in time.
The initial stage of installation does not require user intervention: the hardware is automatically detected and the installer components are launched. You can view messages about what is happening at this stage by pressing the ESC key.
Other installation sources
Network installation
Installation of ALT Linux is possible not only from a laser disk, it can also be done over the network. A prerequisite for this is the presence on the server of a file tree similar to the contents of the installation disk, and external media with a boot loader. Such media can be, for example, a flash drive, which can be made bootable using the mkbootflash utility.The F4 button allows you to select the source of the network installation: FTP, HTTP or NFS server. You need to specify the name or IP-address of the server and the directory (starting with /) where the ALT Linux distribution is located. For FTP installations, you may also need to enter a username and password.
During a network installation, you may need to define the parameters of the connection with the server, in this case, dialogs will appear on the screen, for example, with a proposal to select a network card (if there are several of them) or specify the type of IP address: static (you will need to enter it yourself) or dynamic (DHCP ).
After a successful connection to the server, an image of the installation disk will be loaded into the computer's memory, after which the installation of the system will begin in the same way as when installing from a laser disk.
Installing from a hard drive
Similar to network installation, you can install ALT Linux from your hard drive. To do this, you need to connect an additional hDD with the distribution kit. To select a connected disk as the installation source, you need to specify the installation method in the Boot Options line of the bootloader menu by writing: automatic \u003d method: disk (where “automatic” is a parameter that determines the progress of the initial installation stage). By pressing Enter and some time later, a dialog for selecting a disk partition will appear on the screen, and after that, choosing a path to the directory with the distribution kit. After specifying the path, the installation of the system will begin. If you wish, you can immediately specify the path to the distribution kit by making an entry in the boot parameters line like this: automatic \u003d method: disk, disk: hdb, partition: hdbX, directory :.Installation sequence
Before the base system is installed on the hard disk, the installer works with the system image loaded in the computer's RAM.If the hardware initialization is successful, the installer GUI will launch. The installation process is divided into steps; each step is dedicated to configuring or setting a specific property of the system. The steps must be passed sequentially, the transition to the next step occurs by pressing the "Next" button. Using the "Back" button, if necessary, you can return to an already passed step and change the settings. However, at this stage of the installation, the ability to go to the previous step is limited to those steps where there is no dependence on the data entered earlier.
If for some reason it becomes necessary to terminate the installation, click Reset on the system unit of the computer. Remember that perfectly safely terminate the installation only before the "Prepare the disk" step, since until that moment no changes are made to the hard disk. If you interrupt the installation between the "Prepare the disk" and "Install the bootloader" steps, it is likely that after that none of the installed systems will be able to boot from the hard disk.
Technical details of the installation progress can be viewed by clicking Ctrl + Alt + F1, return to the installer - Ctrl + Alt + F7... By pressing Ctrl + Alt + F2 the debug virtual console will open.
Every step is accompanied by quick referencewhich can be invoked by pressing F1.
During system installation, the following steps are performed:
Tongue
Notice of rights
Keyboard customization
Timezone
date and time
Preparing the disc
Installing the base system
Saving settings
Additional drives
Additional packages
Installing the bootloader
System administrator
System user
Network configuration
Setting up the graphics system
Completing the installation
Tongue
Illustration 2.Tongue
Installation starts with choosing main language - the language of the interface of the installation program and the installed system. In the list, in addition to the available languages \u200b\u200bof the region (selected at the bootstrap stage), English is also indicated.
Notice of rights
Illustration 3.Notice of rights
Please read the license terms carefully before proceeding with the installation. The license states your rights. In particular, you are assigned the rights to:
operation of programs on any number of computers and for any purpose;
distribution of programs (accompanied by a copy of the copyright agreement);
obtaining source codes of programs.
Keyboard customization
Illustration 4.Keyboard customization
A keyboard layout is the mapping of letters, numbers, and special characters to keys on your keyboard. In addition to entering characters in the primary language, any Linux system must be able to enter Latin characters (command names, file names, and so on), which is usually the standard English keyboard layout. Switching between layouts is carried out using the keys specially reserved for this. For the Russian language, the following layout switching options are available:
Keys Alt and Shift at the same time
Key Capslock
Keys Control and Shift at the same time
Key Control
Key Alt
Timezone
To correctly set the date and time, it is enough to specify the time zone correctly and set the desired values \u200b\u200bfor the date and time.
Illustration 5.Timezone
At this step, you should select the time zone in which you want to set the clock. To do this, select the country and then the region in the corresponding lists. Searching the list can be accelerated by typing the first letters of the search word on the keyboard.
Pay attention to the "Store time in BIOS GMT" checkbox. In the system BIOS clock, it is advisable to set not local, but Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). In this case, the software clock will show the local time in accordance with the selected time zone, and the system does not need to change the BIOS settings when the seasonal clock is changed and the time zone is changed. However, if you plan to use other operating Systems, the mark must be unchecked, otherwise the time may get lost when loading into another operating system.
date and time
Figure 6.date and time
The installation program assumes that the system clock (BIOS) is displaying local time. Therefore, the clock at this step shows either the time corresponding to your system clock, or, if in the previous step, the “Store time in BIOS in Greenwich Mean Time” was selected, the time corresponding to GMT, taking into account your time zone. This means that if the system clock displays local time, and you still checked the "Store time in BIOS GMT" checkbox in the previous step, then the clock will display the wrong time.
Check if the date and time are displayed correctly and, if necessary, set the correct values.
If your computer is connected to local network or to the Internet, you can enable the synchronization of the system clock (NTP) with a remote server, for this it is enough to mark the "Install automatically" item and select an NTP server from the list.
Preparing the disc
It may take some time to get to this step. The waiting time can be different and depends on the performance of the computer, the size of the hard disk, the number of partitions on it, etc.
At this stage, a site is prepared for installing ALT Linux, first of all - free disk space is allocated. For installation with the choice of one of the automatic partitioning profiles, you will need at least 7 GB on one or more computer hard drives. The installer automatically creates three partitions: for the root file system (/) - 4 GB, for the swap area (swap) - 1 GB, and for user data (/ home) - the remaining disk space. When preparing partitions manually, you need to allocate at least 4 GB (3 GB for the root partition and 1 MB for swap). The recommended value is 5 GB excluding the home partition. It is also recommended to allocate an additional 4 GB for the teacher's computer for organizing an FTP, HTTP or NFS server with an image of the disk containing the distribution kit to enable network installation on other computers in the class.
Selecting a partitioning profile
Illustration 7.Selecting a partitioning profile
The list of partitions contains partitions that already exist on hard disks (including removable USB drives connected to the computer at the time of installation). The available partitioning profiles are listed below. A profile is a template for allocating disk space for a Linux installation. You can choose one of three profiles:
Use unallocated space
Delete all sections and create sections automatically
Prepare partitions manually
Automatic partitioning profiles
Application of automatic partitioning profiles occurs immediately by clicking "Next", after which the stage of installing the base system begins directlyIf there is not enough space available to apply one of the automatic partitioning profiles, that is, less than 7 GB, an error message will be displayed: "Profile cannot be applied, not enough disk space".
If this message appears after trying to apply the Use unallocated space profile, you can clean up space by deleting data that is already on the disk. Select Delete All Sections and Create Sections Automatically. When using this profile, the message about insufficient space is associated with insufficient volume of the entire hard disk on which the installation is being performed. In this case, you must use the manual partitioning mode: the "Prepare partitions manually" profile.
Be careful when applying the "Delete all sections and create sections automatically" profile! In this case, the all data from of all disks beyond recovery. It is recommended that you only use this option if you are sure that the discs do not contain no valuable data.
Manual disk partitioning profile
Release if necessary part disk space, you must use a manual partitioning profile. You will be able to delete some of the existing partitions or the file systems they contain. After that, you can create the necessary sections yourself or return to the step of selecting a profile and apply one of the automatic profiles.By clicking "Next" the new partition table will be written to the disk and the partitions will be formatted. The partitions just created on disk by the installer do not yet contain data and are therefore formatted without warning. Already existing, but changed sections that will be formatted are marked with a special icon in the "File system" column to the left of the name. If you are sure that the preparation of the disc is complete, confirm the transition to the next step by clicking the "OK" button.
Do not format partitions with data that you want to keep, such as user data (/ home) or other operating systems. On the other hand, you can format any partition that you want to "clear" (that is, delete all data).
Installing the base system
Figure 8.Installing the base system
At this stage, the installation of the starter set of programs necessary for launching and initial setup Linux. Further, during the installation process, you will be able to select and install all the applications you need to work.
Installation takes place automatically in two stages:
Receiving packages
Installing packages
When the base system is installed, you will be able to perform the initial configuration, in particular, configure the network equipment and network connections. It will be possible to change the system properties that were set during installation (for example, the system language) at any time both through the web interface and using standard Linux tools and specialized control modules included in the distribution kit.
Installing the base system can take some time, which you can devote to, for example, reading the manual.
Saving settings
Figure 9.Saving settings
From this step on, the installer works with the files of the newly installed base system. All subsequent changes can be made after the installation is complete by editing the corresponding configuration files.
Once the base system is installed, the save settings step begins. It runs automatically and does not require user intervention; a progress bar is displayed on the screen.
In this step, the settings made in the first five steps of the installation (setting the language, time zone, date and time, switching the keyboard layout) are transferred to the newly installed base system. It also records information about the correspondence of hard disk partitions to file systems mounted on them (the configuration file / etc / fstab is filled in). The repository located on the installation laser disk is added to the list of available sources of software packages, that is, the apt-cdrom add command is executed, which writes to the configuration file /etc/apt/sources.list. For more information, see the APT Package Management System section of the online documentation.
After the settings are saved, it automatically proceeds to the next step.
Additional drives
Figure 10.Additional drives
If the bundle includes a disc with additional software, at this step you can connect it and install the required components. To do this, insert the disc into the laser disc drive and click "Add". The new drive will appear in the list of available drives. Clicking the Next button will be followed by an installation step additional packages.
If the distribution kit and additional software are contained on the same disk, the steps for selecting additional disks and installing additional packages are not displayed.
Additional packages
Figure 11.Additional packages
In any ALT Linux distribution, a significant number of programs are available (up to several thousand), some of which make up the operating system itself, and all the rest are application programs and utilities.
In the Linux operating system, all installation and removal operations are performed on in packages - individual system components. The relationship between a package and a program is ambiguous: sometimes one program consists of several packages, sometimes one package includes several programs.
The system installation process usually does not require detailed selection of components at the package level - this requires too much time and knowledge from the installer. Moreover, the distribution kit is selected in such a way that the existing programs can be used to create a full-fledged working environment for the corresponding user audience. Therefore, during the installation of the system, the user is asked to choose from a small list package groupscombining packages needed to solve the most common tasks. Below the list of groups, the screen displays information about the amount of disk space that will be used after installing the packages included in the selected groups.
After selecting the required groups, click "Next", after which the installation of packages will begin.
Installing the bootloader
Figure 12.Installing the bootloader
Linux bootloader - a program that allows you to boot Linux and other operating systems. If only Linux will be installed on your computer, then there is no need to change anything here, just click "Next".
If you plan to use other operating systems already installed on this computer, then it matters on which hard disk or partition the bootloader will be located. In most cases, the installer will pick the correct boot loader location.
Experienced users may find it useful to fine-tune the bootloader (the "Expert settings" button). The options you can change here are directly related to the corresponding options in the LILO bootloader configuration file (/etc/lilo.conf). For the sake of simplicity, the Latin names of the parameters have been preserved; their meaning can be found in the LILO documentation (lilo.conf (5)).
Users
Linux is a multi-user system. In practice, this means that to work in the system, you need register, i.e., make it clear to the system who exactly is behind the monitor and keyboard. The most common registration method today is using system names (login name) and passwords. This is a reliable tool to ensure that the right person is working with the system, if users keep their passwords secret and if the password is sufficiently complex and not too short (otherwise it is easy to guess or guess).System administrator
Figure 13.System administrator
In any Linux system, there is always one special user - the administrator, he is superuser, the standard system name is reserved for it - root.
It is worth remembering the root password - you will need to enter it in order to get the right to change system settings using standard tools ALT Linux settings.
When typing a password, asterisks are displayed instead of symbols on the screen. To avoid a typo when entering a password, it is suggested to enter it twice. You can use automatic password generation by choosing Generate Automatically. You will be offered a randomly generated and fairly strong password option. You can accept the automatically generated password (do not forget to remember the password!), Or ask for another version of the password using the "Generate" button.
The administrator differs from all other users in that he is allowed to perform any, including the most destructive changes in the system. Therefore, choosing an administrator password is very important point for security: anyone who can enter it correctly (find out or pick it up) will have unlimited access to the system. Even your own indiscretions as root can have disastrous consequences for the entire system.
System user
Figure 14.System user
In addition to the administrator (root), you must add at least one ordinary user... Working as an administrator is considered dangerous (you can inadvertently damage the system), so daily work in Linux should be done as a normal user with limited privileges.
When adding a user, you are prompted to enter the user account name (login name). The account name is always a single word, consisting only of lowercase Latin letters (capital letters are not allowed), numbers and the underscore "_" (moreover, the number and the "_" cannot be at the beginning of a word). To avoid typos, the user password is entered twice. As with selecting the administrator (root) password, you can create a password automatically.
During the installation process, it is proposed to create only one regular user account - so that on his behalf system Administrator could perform tasks that did not require superuser privileges.
Accounts for all other users of the system can be created at any time after its installation.
Network configuration
Figure 15.Network configuration
There are a number of network parameters that are common to all network connections and must be determined even when the computer is not connected to any network. To connect to a local network, you must also configure network connection, which is usually tied to a specific physical device - a network card (Ethernet).
In the "Fully qualified domain name of the computer" field, you must specify the network name of the computer in the form computer.domain. Despite the fact that this parameter is not transmitted to any of the neighboring computers on the network (unlike, say, on behalf of a computer in a Windows network), many network services use it, for example, a mail server. If the computer is not connected to the local network, the domain name can look anything, you can leave the default value (localhost.localdomain).
In the case of a local area network, the installer will automatically configure all installed on the computer network interfaces (network cards). If there is a DHCP server in the network, all the necessary parameters (IP address, netmask, default gateway, addresses dNS servers) will be received automatically. If a dHCP server no, when connected to the network, the interface will be configured using IPv4LL technology, which automatically selects a free IP address that is not used by other computers on the network and assigns it to the network interface.
You can refuse automatic tuning network connectionsby unchecking the box “automatically configure all network cards”. After the installation is complete, you can configure network access yourself at any time.
ANDillustration 16.Setting up graphics system
Modern graphics hardware is in most cases amenable to automatic detection, although some very new or rare hardware may not be in the database. The automatically detected video card and monitor will be listed in the Detected Hardware section. The "Current Settings" section will suggest the most appropriate graphics mode settings - you should try them first. Quite often, a video card can work with several different drivers. By default, the one that is considered the best for the given model is offered.
It should be noted that optimal settings - these are not always the maximum values \u200b\u200bpossible (resolution, color depth, etc.). When specifying the recommended values, the properties of the specific hardware and driver are taken into account, so choosing higher values \u200b\u200bdoes not necessarily lead to an improvement in image quality. If the hardware was not automatically detected, then the driver for the video card and the monitor model will have to be selected manually.
You can check the performance of the selected parameters by clicking on the "Check" button. In case of successful activation of the graphic mode with the new parameters, you will see a message on a black screen, where you can either confirm the operability of the graphic mode by pressing the "Yes" button, or abandon the current settings by clicking "No". The "Stop" button is used to pause the delay counter before returning to the graphics mode settings dialog. If you press any buttons in the video mode testing window, for example, if, due to incorrect graphics mode settings, this message was not displayed at all on the screen, then after a few seconds the initial state will be returned, where you can select more suitable settings.
Pay attention to the "Boot into graphical mode" checkbox: a Linux newbie needs to make sure it is installed. Otherwise, the download will end with an invitation to register in the system (login :) in text mode.
Changing the video card driver
If necessary, you can change the video card driver. The list contains the names of the available drivers, specifying the manufacturer and, in some cases, models of video cards separated by a hyphen. You can choose the one that you think is the most suitable. The driver recommended for use is marked "Recommended".If there is no driver in the list for your video card model, you can try one of the two standard drivers: "vga - Generic VGA Compatible" or "vesa - Generic VESA Compatible".
Selecting a monitor model
Models of monitors can be selected by manufacturer: button "Other manufacturer". You can speed up movement through the lists by typing the first letters of the desired word. After selecting a manufacturer, the monitor models of this manufacturer become available in the list. It is not always necessary to match the monitor to the exact model number: some items in the list do not contain a specific model number, but refer to a range of devices, such as the "Dell 1024x768 Laptop Display Panel".If there is no manufacturer or similar model in the list, then you can try one of the standard monitor types. To do this, select “Generic CRT Display” (for cathode ray monitors) or “Generic LCD Display” (for liquid crystal monitors) from the list of manufacturers, and then select a model based on the desired resolution.
Completing the installation
Figure 17.Completing the installation
The screen of the last step of the installation displays information about the location of the installation log (directory /root/.install-log). After clicking the Finish button and restarting your computer, you can boot installed system normally.
Good luck with ALT Linux!
Setting up a proxy in mozilla browser Firefox.
To start configuring the proxy, go to the Edit menu item and select the Settings menu.
Next, select the Advanced tab -\u003e Network -\u003e and click on the Configure button 
In the tab Additionally select bookmark Netclick the Configure button. 
Next, we indicate the IP address and port of the proxy and put a tick Use this proxy server for all protocols.
After clicking the OK button, the changes will take effect.
Setting up a local proxy. (If all computers in the classroom go to the Internet through the teacher's computer).
On the teacher's computer, click on the desktop right click mouse and select Start terminal.
acl our_networks srchere you need to specify the range of IP addresses of computers that can access the Internet.
cache_peeryou need to specify the IP address (example: 172.22.30.130), port (example: 8080), and specify the login and password separated by a colon (example: login \u003d login: password)
acl all src 0.0.0.0/0.0.0.0
acl manager proto cache_object
acl localhost src 127.0.0.1/255.255.255.255
acl to_localhost dst 127.0.0.0/8
acl SSL_ports port 443 # https
acl SSL_ports port 563 # snews
acl Rsync_ports port 873
acl Jabber_ports port 5222 5223
acl Safe_ports port 80 # http
acl Safe_ports port 21 # ftp
acl Safe_ports port 443 # https
acl Safe_ports port 70 # gopher
acl Safe_ports port 210 # wais
acl Safe_ports port 1025-65535 # unregistered ports
acl Safe_ports port 280 # http-mgmt
acl Safe_ports port 488 # gss-http
acl Safe_ports port 563 # snews
acl Safe_ports port 591 # filemaker
acl Safe_ports port 777 # multiling http
acl Safe_ports port 631 # cups
acl Safe_ports port 873 # rsync
acl Safe_ports port 901 # SWAT
acl CONNECT method CONNECT
http_access allow manager localhost
http_access deny manager
http_access deny! Safe_ports
http_access deny CONNECT! SSL_ports! Jabber_ports! Rsync_ports
acl our_networks src 192.168.1.0/24
http_access allow our_networks
http_access allow localhost
http_port 8080
cache_peer 172.22.30.130 parent 8080 0 proxy-only default no-query no-digest login \u003d login: password
hierarchy_stoplist cgi-bin?
cache_mem 64 MB
minimum_object_size 100 KB
access_log /var/log/squid/access.log squid
acl QUERY urlpath_regex cgi-bin \\?
cache deny QUERY
refresh_pattern ^ ftp: 1440 20% 10080
refresh_pattern ^ gopher: 1440 0% 1440
refresh_pattern. 0 20% 4320
acl apache rep_header Server ^ Apache
broken_vary_encoding allow apache
never_direct allow all
coredump_dir / var / spool / squid
If you specified the proxy port 8080 , then you need to disable the Web interface service, which uses this port... To do this, run the commands sudo chkconfig httpd-alterator off and sudo service httpd-alterator stop
After that you need to enable squid to start at startup. This is done by the following command sudo chkconfig squid on
If you have a Minolta / QMS magicolor 2200 DL / 2300 DL printer, Konica Minolta magicolor 2430 DL, Minolta Color PageWorks / Pro L, HP Laser Jet 1010, 1015, 1018, 1020, 1022, then you need to install the package with the following command sudo rpm -Uvh foo2zjs
Setting up the printer
To set up the printer, you need to do the following:
Connect the printer to the computer;
Turn on the printer and computer, wait for the desktop to load;
Launch an application for Internet access;
In the address bar, enter http: // localhost: 631;
On the resulting page, click Add printer (Add Printer)
Enter printer name (use only Latin letters) and press Continue
Select your printer model from the drop-down list and click Add printer
Select a driver for your printer or a similar model. It is usually automatically highlighted by the system. Click Add Printer
After the actions taken, a message will appear about the successful addition
By going to the tab Printers, you can see the installed printer
Installation completed.
Now in the media there is a lot of talk about the non-competitiveness of Russian products. But open systems are largely a self-regulating market. Most distributions are distributed free of charge, or they are assigned low price, in the case of boxed versions of products. This means that the user can focus solely on the quality of specific distributions without looking at the price tags. Most often, it is enough to download the image, write it to optical disc, and you're done - you can start the installation. Against this background, the high popularity of ALT Linux on the territory of the CIS countries forces us to take a closer look at this distribution.
The software product provided by the company was packaged in a DVD-box, additionally covered with transparent film. It is not made in a bag (as is often found in pirated items), but in the form of a tight-fitting shell. The box itself is made of white matte translucent plastic.
Inside the box is a single layer dVD disc with color printing. The blank is recorded on a burner. This is not stamping, as is the case with Mandriva PowerPack. Important note - this disk was not read on both computers where testing is performed software... The installation did not even start, the computer was freezing. On one of the machines, an attempt to copy disk files failed by 71%, on the second - by 80%. A question to a company representative: how is this possible when a paid product is distributed on unreadable discs? Answer: indeed, part of the circulation came out defective, but cooperation with a company that produced low-quality discs was terminated.
However, the low quality of the media was not fatal. An image of the distribution kit was downloaded from the official website of the project, and it was written to disk on its own. Subsequently, there were no problems with reading the data. This is an important difference between open systems and their closed competitors. You can always legally download a copy of the distribution and use it, with virtually no restrictions. For a simple user, the GPL license, one might say, does not impose any restrictions. The paid status of a product is determined only by additional services: high-quality box and documentation, technical support, club membership and other bonuses.
ALT Linux license text covers separate document... Glossy paper, excellent printing, stylish design, large print - all of this is in stark contrast to what was suggested in Mandriva PowerPack. In the previously reviewed distribution kit, a small leaflet with a license was attached, rather, for show. Here is a perfectly prepared document, which is not only possible, but even pleasant to read.
The Mandriva PowerPack comes with a five-page insert with brief description product installation. The ALT Linux developers offer this documentation: an 80-page book. And again we are met by printing high Quality, comfortable font, lots of illustrations. Despite the technical specifics, the text is easy to read, its meaning will be clear, perhaps, even to beginners who install Linux for the first time. The back cover contains serial number... It is needed for technical support product. But we'll talk about it later. 
Before installing ALT Linux (as well as any other distribution kit), you need to take care of the availability of free disk space. The product documentation describes in detail a set of steps that will help you save your data, as well as ensure the successful creation of new partitions. In addition, on the pages of the user manual, you can get acquainted with the basics of the Linux file system, with the purpose of some standard directories, and read tips on disk partitioning. It is clear that users do not like to read the documentation, but in the case of ALT Linux, for some reason this does not cause negative emotions. Instead of tedious study of the FAQ of various forums, saving individual pages, printing them on a printer with empty toner, we are offered a convenient single document.
All is ready? Install in BIOS boot from optical media, insert the ALT Linux disc into the drive and restart the computer. 
The disc's start menu is presented in Russian, which cannot be found in foreign products. You can continue booting from your hard drive, starting a Linux installation, or booting into LiveCD mode. A similar feature is available in Ubuntu. It lies in the fact that the system can be booted directly from the optical media. No installation takes place. The user can work for some time in the system, evaluate its pros and cons, and draw a final conclusion - whether it is necessary to install it on a hard drive.
If you move away from the computer for a while, the first item will be selected by default - booting from the hard disk. You can immediately select the country, which is something like the installation language. In reality, it switches only for Russia and Ukraine. For Belarus and Kazakhstan, Russian is also used, and the Other item (that is, all other countries) is English.
Screen resolution selection is a formality. On both computers where the distribution kit was tested, the list consisted of one item - 800x600. You can also specify software sources, but this article is for the DVD version. In this case, the presence of a network at the stage of product installation is not required - everything you need is on the installation disk.
The next step of the ALT Linux installation wizard is to select the system language. Four points are offered: English, Russian, Tatar and Ukrainian. However, when choosing the third option, the language remains Russian. Why? Only KDE has been translated into Tatar. The distribution kit itself (installer and branded packages), as well as most applications, do not have a Tatar interface. 
Another important difference between ALT Linux and most competitors (including, by the way, Linux XP) is the documentation accompanying the installation process. Here it is in Russian, and the text has a pleasant style, it is easy to read.
The license agreement is also presented in Russian. It is enough to agree with it, and the button for going to the next step becomes active. 
When choosing a keyboard layout, the default option is offered, which is used in Windows as an alternative. Many Linux distributions use the key Caps lock for similar purposes. Here, apparently, the developers took the path of the greatest continuity of skills.
To indicate the time zone, a list of cities in the country selected at the beginning of the installation is offered. Convenient solution. Most distributions harvest the city's harvest from all over the world.
It is possible to synchronize time with a special server. Only one address is offered. The system itself can operate as a time server. 
Modern Linux distributions contain partition managers hard drives... The product in question was no exception. Two automatic and one manual modes are offered. The system was installed on two computers. One of them had an unpartitioned disk, and the second had pre-prepared partitions. Mandriva PowerPack was previously installed there. In both cases, ALT Linux refused to work in both automatic modes. 
Curious: the outdated version of the ALT Linux 3.0 Compact product, which has a similar partition manager, has passed the test perfectly on a clean hard drive! The same computer, identical hardware. Seemingly, a new version product should only bring improvements. But in practice, everything turned out differently.
You can create and delete sections. But with a change in their size, the situation is more complicated. 
Creation of new sections is allowed. You don't have to format it right away. In this case, it is possible to change its size. As soon as a file system is added, the options to reduce or increase the size are gone. In other words, formatted partitions and, moreover, those that have any data, cannot be touched in the ALT Linux installer. For this reason, the functionality of the partition manager of the distribution in question is approximately on a par with the same windows component XP. 
All the previous Linux variants reviewed had more functional disk preparation components that allowed resizing even NTFS partitions without much risk of data loss. Despite this, if you are using a clean hard drive, you can get by with the ALT Linux installer. It supports the two file systems used by Linux, ext3 and XFS. 
After completing the creation of partitions and their formatting, the installer immediately proceeds to transfer the main packages. No questions asked. The installation starts immediately. The proposed set is already enough to run Linux and run most applied tasksfor example, navigate the Web or prepare documents in a word processor.
The bootloader, unlike Linux XP, can be installed on any disk, on any partition. LILO is used, not GRUB as in most modern distributions. On a computer with installed Windows XP and two hard drives, as many as three were found windows systems! In fact, there was only one link in the loader that was working, leading to the correct section. 
You can install additional sets of packages. They are a linear list. The amount of disk space required for your set is shown under the item selection window. In earlier versions of ALT Linux user made you puzzle over the choice of individual packages. Fortunately, this is no longer there, the installation has become much easier. 
The administrator account on open systems is called "root". The ALT Linux installer does not enforce password length restrictions like other distributions do. Indeed, it is better for the user to know how long to use the password. Moreover, he is a system administrator.
After entering the root account, you must specify at least one user. However, at this stage, the installer will not allow you to enter more than one account. 
During the product installation phase, you can configure the network settings. A list of detected devices is displayed. Automatic configuration via DHCP is offered by default. However, you can switch to manual mode. The IP address is entered by the user. The subnet mask is selected from the list. Alternatively, you can enter the name of the local computer. 
The installation of the system is gradually coming to an end, and now, it remains only to check the video parameters. An open driver is used by default. However, it is immediately proposed to replace it with a closed analogue (applicable for NVIDIA and AMD) to make it work hardware acceleration OpenGL. Again, it fails to test the video settings. The system displays a message about a driver conflict (for example, nv and nvidia). 
In addition, on both tested computers, right after the system installation was completed, the resolution was set to 800x600, despite the fact that the settings were different. On one machine, the monitor was identified as "unknown, 1024x768", although its native resolution is 1280x1024. In addition, 16-bit color depth was offered by default, although after manually switching to 32-bit (16.7 million colors) everything worked fine.
Next, a window appears with a message about the successful completion of the product installation. The system goes into a twenty-second reboot wait state! The rest of the distributions are deprived of a similar, not entirely clear pause.
ALT Linux installation has changed noticeably since version 3.0. The installer design has become more pleasant. Dark, oppressive, acidic tones were replaced by a light, "vegetable" scale. Some points that complicate the process have been removed from the installation. Most notably, there is no longer a selection of individual Mandriva-style packages. User installing new systemmost likely, he does not know such subtleties, and forcing him to make a difficult choice at the current stage is not the best way. However, the installation principle remained the same. Two stages. The basic packages are migrated first. Then, the user can add additional applications. 
The installation process in ALT Linux 4.1 Desktop is not cloudless. First, it is advisable to have prepared partitions on the hard disk in advance, or at least you need to provide free space. The installer cannot resize partitions without losing data in them. The second possible problem is the video card detection. Some kind of chaos is going on here. Driver conflict, wrong resolution, wrong color depth. However, there is nothing fatal here either. Everything is corrected manually, after the installation of the system. And how ALT Linux 4.1 Desktop will behave further, we will talk in the next part of the article.
