Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4: Installation Guide for x86, Itanium™, AMD64, and Intel® Extended Memory 64 Technology (Intel® EM64T)
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# 2. How to Use This Manual

This manual focuses on a CD-ROM-based installation and is ideal for users (both new and old) who want a quick and simple installation solution. It helps you prepare your system and walk you through the installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux includes multiple installation CD-ROMs. Note that only the first CD-ROM (CD #1) is bootable. The additional installation CD-ROMs are required, even for a minimal installation. Red Hat also provides supplementary CD-ROMs containing source RPMs and documentation for all the packages, as well as a Linux Applications CD (LACD).

| Note

If you currently use Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 (or greater) on an x86 system, you can perform an upgrade.

Although upgrades are supported by the Red Hat Enterprise Linux family on x86 processors, you are likely to have a more consistent experience by backing up your data and then installing this release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux over your previous Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation. This recommended reinstallation method helps to ensure the best system stability possible.

To perform an upgrade, type the following command at the boot prompt:

    linux upgrade

Skim Chapter 2 Steps to Get You Started to review the basics, then read Chapter 4 Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux, following the directions as you go. Once you have chosen to perform an upgrade in the installation program, refer to Appendix A Upgrading Your Current System.

If you are an experienced user and you do not need a review of the basics, you can skip ahead to Chapter 4 Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux to begin the installation process.

## 2.1. We Need Feedback!

If you discover a typo in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Installation Guide or have thought of a way to make this manual better, we would love to hear from you. Submit a bug report against the component rhel-ig-x8664 in Bugzilla at:

    http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/

When submitting a bug report, be sure to mention the manual's identifier:

    rhel-ig-x8664(EN)-4-HTML-RHI (2004-09-24T13:10)

If you have a suggestion for improving the documentation, try to be as specific as possible when describing it. If you have found an error, please include the section number and some of the surrounding text so we can find it easily.

If you have a support question (for example, if you need help configuring X, or if you are not sure how to partition your hard drive[s]), use the online support system by registering your subscriptions at:

    http://www.redhat.com/apps/activate/

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