TITLE: From Windows to LFS LFS VERSION: any AUTHOR: Paul Campbell paul@cmm.uklinux.net SYNOPSIS: A hint to guide the newcomer to Linux directly from windows to Linux LFS, via a short lived temporary distro. HINT: From Windows to LFS-book Version 3.0-pre4 Paul Campbell 2001 Should also work with new LFS 3.0 rc-1 This document was created Using VIM on BSRG linux i686 (LFS) Available also as HTML @ http://bsrg.dnsalias.org/wintolfs.html _________________________________________________________________ This document aims to guide the average windows user along the path to building an LFS system from nothing but source code, as is the LFS way. The credit for most of the document goes to the entire LFS community and the help that I myself revieved from them, when building my own LFS system. This document does not override or contradict any of the essential information found at [1]The Linux From Scratch Website In fact I prefer to draw your attention to this source rather than repeat it here. Good Luck. _________________________________________________________________ What you'll need * Any modern PC purchased in the last 3 years or so. * A copy of a recent distro (Red Hat, Mandrake, Suse etc.) * About 4Gb HD space, 3Gb Minimum * Time, lots of it * A cdrom (obviously) * Emails to me, or the lfs mailing lists(preferably) for support _________________________________________________________________ First things first, clear some space. For this to work you will require at least 1Gb to install the distro plus at least 2Gb for the LFS system. The actual system is not this size, but the "build" directories during and after compile can be huge! X11 takes a resonable 350Mb to compile from source and mozilla 600Mb. If you keep all you source code after you have installed the packages this will amount to around 3Gb or more. There are messures to prevent this, like deleting the source code after you install each app. Clear out a few of your windows drives so that you have empty partitions amounting to about 3Gb. If you only have one partition eg. C:\ you'll have to seek ways to resize that partition to leave 3Gbs free, to repartition. This is very easy in Linux, but not so in Windows. As a last resort you can reinstall windows. If you have used windows for long you will be used to this process by now. You may want to seek advice on using a Linux boot disk and a copy of "part.exe" or linux "fdisk" as M$ fdisk has some serious known bugs. If you are fresh partitioning the drive from empty, I suggest something like: * 1 or 2Gb - For windows C:\ partition * 1 or 2Gb - For windows D:\ partition but it up to you and the space available to you * 1 or 2Gb - For the Linux Distro partition * 2 or 3Gb - For the LFS system * The rest can be used as you please There are many other partitoning issues that are beyond the scope of the document but you can further partition your drive with ease during and after install of the linux. DONT TRUST Microsoft FDISK with you drive It has known bugs and I personally have lost 10Gb of data whilst using M$ fdisk to partition my drive. _________________________________________________________________ Installing the Linux Distrabution as the host to build on You can install most linux distros by booting the CD as normal. The first thing you really need to know is Linux calls it's drives hd. Basically your drives are as follows: * hda = Primary Master (first HD) * hdb = Primary Slave (usualy your CDrom) * hdc = Secondary Master * hdd = Secondary Slave Where is a partition number 1234 are primarys partitions and 567... are logical parts More than likely you will have your windows partition as hda1 and an extedned as hda2 with logical parts hda5 hda6 hda7 etc. This is the way windows does it. Windows can only handle 1 primary partition. Linux and most other OSes can use 4. Choose what you are sure of to be your empty partitions made above and format them as ext2 file system. Most Linux distros provides a uitility to do this easily during install at the apropriate time. You will also require a SWAP partition, which should be twice your normal memory unless you have 256Mb or more of ram, in which case 256Mb max should be fine. Again there are issues beyond the scope of the document. Install the Linux distrabution, but avoid installing too much stuff if you only have 1 Gb. You will require the devel libraries so install the developement category. You don't need any X11 stuff or KDE/Gnome on this box, it's only to build your own LFS system. If you have only every used windows in your computing history, I would say install KDE if you are frightened by the command line interface as this will at least give you a more familiar enviroment to work in. Again, if you have the space, install them if you want to experiement. Read any documentation you are given with the distro, before during and after the install. A quick beginners guide to Linux should be provided, or you can by a book in most good stores, a investment you will not regret. Don't worry if the system you get doesn't look exactly what you want, it is ONLY to build your LFS system from. You can experiment while you are waiting on the compiling of "gcc" 8-) _________________________________________________________________ After you can boot your Linux system You should now be able to boot into Linux and be presented with the login prompt. This is only an over view of what you will need to build your LFS system, it does not tell you how to find, install or use the software, this documentation is available with your distro, or with the individual packages, get into a habbit of read manuals, 90% of the time the answer is on your own hard-disk already lurking in some documentation directory (/usr/share/doc/) or type "man program_name" for the programs manual. What will I need to have funtioning? * A functioning keyboad and display, duh :) * A working internet connection * An email client * An ftp program (optional) * A web-browser (that can do ftp) What software will you need to find or install? * You will net to at least install "gcc - the compiler" * You will also need the ncurses libraries, which should be available with your distro. Now is the time I suggest you do the following. * Subscribe to lfs-discuss@linuxfromscratch.org mailing list - see [3]Linux From Scratch Website for subscribe info. * Find a working IRC client either on windows or (preffereable) the Linux system (Xchat is good to get started in, this a very opinioned subject but, as with text/code editors), find your way to irc.linuxfromscratch.org #lfs That done your first port of call is the Linux From Scratch book ( 3.0pre-4 is the current at this time, but version 3,0-rc1 is coming soon. You may like to try the CVS version, ask on the mailing list for advice/info. _________________________________________________________________ From here I leave you in the capable hands of the LFS community. The rest of what you need to know is in the book. If you have trouble you can ask on the mailing lists or irc.linuxfromscratch.org #lfs _________________________________________________________________ GOOD LUCK! References 1. http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/ 2. paul@cmm.uklinux.net 3. http://www.linuxfromstratch.org/ 4. mailto:paul@cmm.uklinux.net