User:Brandished/Sandbox 2


 * Disclaimer: I'm not a Linux expert by far. Right now this book is mostly a regurgitation of the tips and information I found helpful when trying to install Linux myself.

Current possible title for project:
 * "Running with Linux"

Backup book titles ideas
should "Running with Linux" not be usable...


 * Get Linux Running
 * Up and Running with Linux
 * Linux: Up and Running
 * Bugfree Linux
 * Linux: Intstallation to Fully Running
 * Run Ready Linux
 * Linux: Over the Start Hurdles
 * Desktop Linux?
 * Linux Survival Guide
 * Surviving a Linux Install
 * A Quickstart Guide to Installing Linux
 * A Quickstart Guide to Linux
 * Linux Quickstart Guide
 * Basic Computing Using Linux inspired from Basic_Computing_Using_Windows. I wanted to see such book for the newbie of linux.

Book goals / guidelines

 * The goal of this book is to try and provide a copy of these solutions at a centralized and concise source so new users may quickly get through the installation procedure and find answers to common problems they may likely face along the way.
 * a "quickstart" guide to getting Linux installed and to a well / acceptable running state
 * a complete (basic) install and troubleshooting guide
 * try to cover install issues without getting overly technical at risk of loosing the reader
 * avoid sending the reader off on a google hunt for answers and explanations
 * make sure reader at least learns enough as understand what caused the problem and how to fix it
 * make sure at least one type of install is fully covered before adding alternatives

Questionable guidelines worth considering

 * Target only desktop type installation?
 * Minimal computing knowledge should the reader have?
 * PC-BSD?

Outline / Topics

 * Quick Intro / Overview
 * What can and cannot be done with Linux
 * Can my computer run Linux?


 * Choosing your distro


 * Choosing a method for install
 * Live CD / DVD
 * Graphical
 * Text based
 * USB
 * Network?


 * Testing basic hardware compatibility with an ISO (live CD/DVD)
 * What you can't test
 * Booting from CD / DVD
 * Opening the BIOS
 * Altering the boot disk priority
 * Partitioning
 * Swap partitions
 * Virtual Memory or RAM
 * Choosing a file system
 * ext2, ext3, ext4, FAT, ZFS
 * boot loaders
 * What are boot loaders?
 * grub
 * Installing a boot loader
 * Installing the files
 * Why is the install taking so long?
 * Limited ram
 * Security
 * creating an admin account
 * superuser privileges
 * sudo
 * the terminal
 * Hardware \ Compatibility
 * Drivers
 * Driver Types
 * binary / proprietary drivers
 * binary compatibility
 * legacy drivers
 * Computer Monitor
 * Display Modes
 * VGA
 * DVI
 * Keyboard and Mouse
 * Mod2 issues
 * Sound Cards
 * Multiple sound card issues
 * Creative Audigy
 * AlsaMixer
 * Network Harware : Connecting to the net
 * Going wireless
 * WiFi drivers
 * MadWiFi
 * wlan
 * ifconfig
 * ndiswrapper
 * compatibility list
 * detecting a local network
 * Encryption: WEP \ WPA
 * Wireless passkey
 * Video Acceleration \ Video Cards and GPUs (Moving this to bottom as it usually requires a machine reboot, not sure about leaving it here though, closely tied with monitors)
 * NVidia and ATI
 * envyng
 * Video Driver Issues
 * Which driver do I choose?
 * Why is my screen black after rebooting?
 * Fixing a bad driver install
 * Mounting devices\other drives (CDROM, DVD, Floppy, Flash\USB sticks)
 * Software
 * Picking the packages
 * Terminating a frozen / non-responsive program
 * Getting more help
 * MAN pages
 * Forums
 * IRC