Installing Edubuntu Standalone

To make a stand alone installation of Edubuntu, you will need:

• A computer that meets the future link here to Hardware Reqs for Edubuntu standalone.

• A keyboard and monitor.

• An Edubuntu install CD for your architecture (type of computer). You can order free CDs using [http://shipit.edubuntu.com Shipit], or [http://releases.ubuntu.com/edubuntu/6.06/ download] and burn your own.

• These instructions.

A mouse or trackball is optional, but extremely useful.

Boot to the Edubuntu install CD

Put the CD in your CD drive, turn off the computer, then turn it back on.

If this does not work, turn off the computer again and carefully watch the messages that are displayed when you turn your computer on. Some computers require you to tell them that you want to boot to a CD instead of to your hard drive. If this is the case, your computer's start-up messages will tell you what button(s) to press to boot to CD.

Option one: Look for a message that contains the words "CD", "boot", and/or "media" and a button or buttons to push. It will be similar (but not necessarily identical) to one of the following:

• Press [F12] to change boot order.
• Boot CD/DVD: F2

• Pres and hold <Del> to boot removable media.

• Press Ctrl+B to choose boot media

Pressing the button(s) when asked for will give you a list of things you can boot. Choose the drive your Edubuntu CD is in.

Option two: Look for a message that contains the words "BIOS", "options", "set-up", or "configure", as well as a button or buttons to press. It will look similar (but not necessarily identical) to one of the following:

• Press [Esc] for options.
• Press F4 now to enter BIOS configuration.
• Press the Delete key to enter set-up.

Pressing the correct button(s) when asked will bring up a configuration screen. Each is different, so just read the displayed information and find the option to boot your CD drive first. Make certain that the hard drive boots after the CD drive, or your new Edubuntu system will not boot properly after it is installed.

Note: Often, these start-up messages scroll by so quickly that by the time you've read which button to press, it is too late! Don't worry. Just turn the computer off and on again. When the message comes up this time, you will be ready.

Make sure your Edubuntu install CD is complete and undamaged

Sometimes a CD gets scratched or marked, or there is an error in burning the CD. To prevent install problems, it is wise to give the CD a check-up before installing from it. Use your arrow keys, or the Tab key to highlight "Check CD for defects" and press Enter.

Your computer will load some tools it needs, and then you will see: "Warning: this check depends on your hardware and may take some time. Check CD-ROM integrity?"

Use your tab or arrow keys to highlight <Yes> and press Enter. This is usually a good time to go grab a snack.

If your CD passes its check-up, you will see: "Integrity test successful. The CD-ROM integrity test was successful. The CD-ROM is valid."

*****If you do not see the success message, do not use the CD! Get a new one. Damaged or faulty CDs will not work properly and may cause your computer not to function.*****

When you see the success message, press Enter to continue. You will end up back at the "Warning: this check..." message. You are done, so choose <No> to reboot.

If you had to press a buton to boot your CD last time, you will need to do so again.

You are now ready to install Edubuntu

Choose "Install a workstation" to begin installing Edubuntu. Your computter will load some tools it needs.

[!!] Choose language

Use your arrow keys to select the language you would like the installer to use, and press Enter.

The next screen asks what country you are in. Highlight your country and press Enter, or choose "other" if your country is not listed.

[!] Select keyboard layout

The Edubuntu installer will guess what kind of keyboard your computer has. If you are sure it is correct, just press Enter.

If the layout shown is incorrect, you may choose "Find your layout by pressing some keys" and follow the on-screen instructions to help Edubuntu learn what type of keyboard you have.

If you already know the name of your keyboard layout, you may choose "Select from full keyboard list" to do just that.

If you would like to double-check that you have the correct keyboard layout chosen, choose "Test whether this layout is correct" and type a few letters, numbers, and symbols in the space provided.

Use the tab or arrow keys to select <Continue> and press Enter.

If your typing displayed correctly during the test, you should now highlight the keyboard name on this screen and press Enter.

If the test looked wrong, you should choose "Find your layout by pressing some keys" and then test again when done.

Your computer will now take a closer look at your CD-ROM drive and prepare for the rest of the installation.

[!!] Configure the network

The Edubuntu installer will now ask you to choose the network connection to use for the install. If you are not sure what to choose, try the interface that the installer has highlighted for you. (If this turns out to be incorrect, you can always go back and try again.)

If you do not have a network connection, that is fine. You will not be able to download updates to software packages at the end uf the install process, but you can still install all of the great software found on your Edubuntu install CD.

If your only network connection is in a cafe or library, you may not be able to use this connection to install. These connections often require that you visit a local web page from your computer and enter a password or agree to a usage policy before connecting to the internet. This is okay! Just do the install without a network connection, and then add the connection after you boot to your new Edubuntu system, following the instructions under "What now?" at the end of this chapter.

If you are using a wireless network, the installer will ask you for a WEP key. If you do not know what this is, you probably don't need one and can just choose <Continue>.

The installer will try to detect your network settings for you. However, in some cases this is not possible, and the installer will prompt you for an IP address, netmask, and gateway. The person who manages your network will know what the correct settings are. For a small home network, some good guesses are:

IP: 192.168.0.something or 192.168.1.something, where "something" is a whole number between 2 and 254 netmask: 255.255.255.0 gateway: 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1

Still not sure? If you have another computer on this network, look at its network settings. Use the same netmask and gateway, and an IP where the first three numbers are the same and the last is slightly higher than the other computer.

[!!] Choose a mirror of the Ubuntu archive

This section asks for proxy information. If you are unsure, you probably don't need a proxy. In this case, just choose <Continue>.

[!!] Partition Disks

In this step, you tell the Edubuntu installer how to set up your computer's hard drive.

Most people will want to choose the second option, "Erase entire disk:..." This will erase everything on your hard disk and use the entire hard disk for your new Edubuntu system.

If you plan to dual-boot Edubuntu and another operating system, you probably want to choose the first option, "Resize..."

Do not choose the third or fourth options, "Erase entire disk and use LVM..." and "Manually edit..." unless you are sure you know what you are doing with them.

The next screen will tell you about the changes being made to your hard disk. Select <Yes> to continue.

If your hard drive is large, this is a good time to go look for a beverage to go with your snack.

[!] Configure time zone

Select your time zone and press Enter.

[!!] Set up users and passwords

This section walks you through creating a log-in for your first user. This user is the one responsible for installing and removing software, managing system-wide settings, and other maintenance.

Note: If you have used other Linux distributions before, you may be expecting to create a root login password. The user you are creating now is a normal user, not root, but will have sudo privileges for package management and other tasks normally performed by root. By default, logging in directly as root is disabled on Edubuntu. If you don't know what this note means, just ignore it. You won't think anything is weird.

Once this user has been created, the Edubuntu installer will load the Edubuntu operating system and a selection of great applications on to your hard disk.

Note: The "Select and install software" progress bar stays at 5% for what seems like a very long time. Don't worry, the install is still progressing normally. The progress bar will move again after a few minutes.

[!!] Finish the installation

Take out your Edubuntu install CD and choose <Continue> to restart your computer using your newly installed Edubuntu system.

Congratulations!

You now have a fully-functional Edubuntu system!

Enter the user name and password you created during the install process to log in.

What Now?

• Install updates. If your computer is connected to the internet, a message will appear in the top, right-hand corner of the screen to let you know that software updates are available. The Edubuntu team and the teams that develop each of the applications for Edubuntu are always hard at work fixing bugs, closing security holes, and adding new features.

Installing updates regularly will help keep your computer secure and running smoothly. It is highly recommended that you install all updates as they become available. Your first update will probably take quite a while, but if you update daily when Edubuntu reminds you to do so, it won't normally take this long. It is perfectly all right to do other things on your computer while the updates download and install.

When the update is finished, you may be asked to restart your computer, or just a certain program, so that all changes will take effect.

• Add additional users. It is very important that each user has his or her own log-in and password, both for security reasons and so that each user can have his or her own preferences, bookmarks, files, and shortcuts. The first user will be able to reset other users' passwords if they are forgotten, so don't worry about the kids not being able to use their accounts if they lose a password.

To add new users, click on "System" on Edubuntu's top menu bar. Move your mouse over "Administration" and click on "Users and Groups". When doing administrative tasks like this, you will be asked to input your password again as a security measure.

Click the "Add User" button on the right-hand