The IEEE Computer Society Student Chapter @ UWM invites you to attend a Linux Seminar, where we will guide you through the installation of GNU/Linux on your desktop or notebook computer.

Previous Seminar Details

While we don't have another installation seminar planned at the moment, if you are interested in one-on-one help, or just have questions, please feel free to contact us!

• DATE: TBD
• TIME: 9:00am-12:00pm
• DISTRO: Fedora 8
• SPACE: EMS-E295, courtesy of CEAS @ UWM
• IS MY COMPUTER READY? Your computer will need one of the following:
  • A computer that can be completely erased (i.e. reformatted).
  • A computer with a secondary drive that can be completely erased.
  • A computer which has a 5GB+ unformatted portion on a hard drive.
• WHAT TO BRING: A functioning desktop or laptop computer with:
  • An IBM-compatible 32-bit processor (Pentium, Celeron, K6-2, Duron, or similar) or an x86 64-bit machines (Xeon, Athlon, Turion, Sempron, etc).
  • A monitor (though one can be provided if necessary)
  • A suitable A/C power cord.
  • A keyboard and a mouse.
• WHAT WE'LL BRING FOR YOU TO USE:
  • Linux installation media (which you'll get to keep).
  • Ethernet network cables.
  • Monitors, PS/2 keyboards, PS/2 mice if requested.
  • Knowledge, guidance, and the desire to help you learn.
• COST:You only pay $5.00 per person.

NOTE: If your computer is older than six years old or if you have any questions, please contact us to ensure that your computer can handle the installation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Linux?

Quoted from linux.org: "Linux is a free Unix-type operating system originally created by Linus Torvalds with the assistance of developers around the world. Developed under the GNU General Public License, the source code for Linux is freely available to everyone."

What is GNU?

Quoted from gnu.org: "The GNU Project was launched in 1984 to develop a complete UNIX like operating system which is free software: the GNU system, (GNU is a recursive acronym for 'GNU's Not UNIX'; it is pronounced guh-noo, like canoe). Variants of the GNU operating system, which use the kernel Linux, are now widely used; though these systems are often referred to as 'Linux', they are more accurately called GNU/Linux systems."

What's the Linux part, and what's the GNU part?

Speaking generally, Linux is the 'kernel' or innermost core of the operating system, and GNU is a big collection of handy programs and applications that complement the kernel. Together, they provide a powerful and flexible computing environment suitable for students, professionals, and casual end-users. Some variations (called "distros", or distributions) of Linux are ideal for home and office use. That's not all; many of the top 500 supercomputers worldwide are running Linux.

What will Linux look like on my computer?

Modern end-user distros have a graphical desktop that's similar in appearance to the desktop interfaces of leading proprietary operating systems, with menu bars, desktop buttons, and application windows. Here's an article from RedHat Magazine that includes some screenshots from Fedora Core 4.

What kinds of programs can I run?

Linux supports a HUGE variety of great software packages! There are well-known applications such as Mozilla's Firefox web browser and Thunderbird email/newsgroup client; productivity suites like OpenOffice.org; programming tools like Eclipse ; a very solid set of programming language compilers; educational tools such as the Kalzium Periodic Table of Elements, KmPlot Mathematical Function Plotter, Kig Interactive Geometry, and KStars Desktop Planetarium; PDA syncing applications, games, multimedia players, optical disk burners, PDF file creators, and tools to accomplish thousands of other tasks. Incredibly, all of this software is FREE!

What about the data on my hard drive?

At the seminar, we will help you create free space on your hard drive, add partitions in that space for Linux, and install Linux. Per your preference, this can be done so that your computer runs only Linux, or so that your computer can dual-boot into a choice of operating systems.

WARNING: There is a possibility that some or all of the data on your hard drive, including the old operating system, all programs, and all files, could be inadvertently deleted or corrupted during the seminar. Therefore, you are strongly advised to back up the contents of your computer's hard drive(s) before bringing it to the seminar. The integrity of your data is your responsibility alone. We cannot accept responsibility for corruption or loss of your data, including your operating system, programs, or files. We will not be prepared to help you back up your data at the seminar or to recover it if it is lost.

What exactly is dual booting, and how will it work?

A computer can be configured to offer the user a choice of operating systems at boot time. This means that the user can choose between, for example, Linux and Microsoft Windows each time the machine is turned on. This is called "dual-boot capability".

The best, safest, and easiest way to prepare a machine for dual-booting is to install an extra hard drive to hold the new operating system and all of its files. Seminar participants who wish do to this but need help installing the new hard drive should contact the event coordinator at least four days prior to the seminar.

It is also possible to install more than one operating system on the same hard drive, provided that the hard drive has sufficient storage capacity. (We recommend a minimum of 5GB for this install seminar, though it is possible to use less.) To prepare a computer for dual-booting from a single drive, several preliminary steps are necessary:

• Verify that there is enough unused space on the hard drive (5GB recommended)
• Run the defragmenting utility (This reduces the likelihood of data corruption)
• Resize the existing drive partition to create un-allocated free space
• Do the linux installation, allocating the drive's free space to a new set of partitions
• Do post-installation steps to make the computer offers a choice of operating systems at boot time

We will be prepared to help seminar participants configure their machine to dual-boot using either method. Participants who want to use the single-drive method MUST verify that they have at least 5GB free space on their hard drive and run their defragmentation utility before arriving at the seminar. We will assist participants with partition resizing, linux installation, and post-install configuration.

What about networking?

The linux installation software is very good at detecting and configuring your hardware, including wired ethernet adapters. In fact, it's strongly recommended that your machine be connected to the internet during installation, to permit configuration of built-in tools to automatically update your software when new releases become available.

A word of caution: Wireless networking can be tricky. These days, many hardware manufacturers don't provide drivers to make their hardware, including some wi-fi devices, operate under Linux. There is a broad, dedicated community of Linux developers who work to write the necessary drivers for new hardware, and there is a lot of how-to advice available on the internet. Hence, some users may have wireless internet properly configured within minutes, while others may be faced with a bit of a learning curve before they can get a wi-fi link to work under Linux.

So I might have a few problems with one thing or another. What about post-install support?

Several members of the IEEE Computer Society Student Chapter @ UWM are avid Linux users, and have varying degrees of experience solving technical problems. We will do our best to help each seminar attendee learn the ropes and have a positive experience using Linux. That is, we can't promise to be an on-demand helpdesk, but we will make an effort to help you get on your feet as a new Linux user.

IEEECS@UWM is not the only Linux user community in the area! You may also find it helpful to familiarize yourself with the Milwaukee Linux Users Group.