2.4. Can You Install Using the CD-ROM?
There are several methods that can be used to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Installing from a CD-ROM requires that you have purchased a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 product, or you have a Red Hat Enterprise Linux CD-ROM, and you have a CD-ROM drive. Most new computers allow booting from the CD-ROM. If your system supports booting from the CD-ROM, it is an easy way to begin a local CD-ROM installation.
Your BIOS may need to be changed to allow booting from your CD-ROM drive. For more information about changing your BIOS, refer to Section 4.3.1 Booting the Installation Program on x86, AMD64, and Intel® EM64T Systems.
2.4.1. Alternative Boot Methods
- Boot CD-ROM
If you can boot using the CD-ROM drive, you can create your own CD-ROM to boot the installation program. This may be useful, for example, if you are performing an installation over a network or from a hard drive. Refer to Section 2.4.2 Making an Installation Boot CD-ROM for further instructions.
- USB pen drive
If you cannot boot from the CD-ROM drive, but you can boot using a USB device, such as a USB pen drive, the following alternative boot method is available:
To boot using a USB pen drive, use the dd command to copy the diskboot.img image file from the /images/ directory on CD-ROM 1. For example:
dd if=diskboot.img of=/dev/sda
Your BIOS must support booting from a USB device in order for this boot method to work.
2.4.2. Making an Installation Boot CD-ROM
isolinux (not available for Itanium systems) is used for booting the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation CD. To create your own CD-ROM to boot the installation program, use the following instructions:
Copy the isolinux/ directory from the Red Hat Enterprise Linux CD #1 into a temporary directory (referred to here as <path-to-workspace>) using the following command:
cp -r <path-to-cd>/isolinux/ <path-to-workspace> |
Change directories to the <path-to-workspace> directory you have created:
cd <path-to-workspace> |
Make sure the files you have copied have appropriate permissions:
chmod u+w isolinux/* |
Finally, issue the following command to create the ISO image file:
mkisofs -o file.iso -b isolinux.bin -c boot.cat -no-emul-boot \ -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table -R -J -v -T isolinux/ |
 | Note |
|---|---|
The above command was split into two lines for printing purposes only. When you execute this command, be sure to type it as a single command, all on the same line. |
Burn the resulting ISO image (named file.iso and located in <path-to-workspace>) to a CD-ROM as you normally would.