help with linux

***skiddieleet*** · May 4th, 2003, 03:00 AM

I have never used Linux before and about a month ago I decided to give it a try. I downloaded knoppix and could never seem to get it to work right. I recently got a computer for my room and wanted to try and install redhat on it. I downloaded redhat from linuxiso.org. I also downloaded an md5 checksum program for windows. First question, does the md5 sum have to be the same as the one from the website?, because when I did the check sum they were the same except I don't know what it is comparing it to because I only downloaded the iso. Does the md5sum come on the iso? When I first tried to install redhat all it did was try to load the vmlinux thing but didn't get past that because it had an error. Then I redownloaded it and tried again. This time it got to a part where it asked if I wanted to test the media and I said yes. Then it said there was no md5sum on the media to check with or something like that. So how do I check the sum correctly, and if it needs to be on the disk how do you get it on the disk because when I click on it on the website it just takes me to a web page with the sum printed out? Does it have to match this sum? Basically I've downloaded almost every linux distro from linuxiso.org and haven't gotten any of them to work. I am burning them as an image so noone brings that up. Sorry for the very long list of questions. I really hope you all can help me.
Thank you.

***Syini666*** · May 4th, 2003, 03:32 AM

as far as checking the md5 sums, this should help you out.

How To Check MD5sums On A Linux Iso Image
MD5 Sums are 32 byte character strings that are the result of running the MD5 sum program against a particular file. Since any difference between two files results in two different strings, MD5's can be used to determine that the file or iso you downloaded is a bit-for-bit copy of the remote file or iso.

If you are running one of the GNU/Linux distributions, you should already have the MD5 program installed. If you run Windows and don't have the program, you can download a dos shell version here or a Windows version here. The Windows version can be downloaded in .zip or .exe format, and installed in the usual manner. The DOS version file is the executable program file. Once downloaded, copy or move it to your c:\windows\command directory. Then, open up an MS-DOS window, and go to the directory of the downloaded iso file that you wish to check. Once you are in that directory,

type the following: md5sum the_name_of_the.iso

If you have a problem with the DOS 8.3 file name limit, just rename the .iso file to an 8.3 name similar to the original file name. Once the program has run, and it will take a few minutes to run on a 640 megabyte file, a 32 digit md5sum will be generated. This sum should be exactly the same as the listed md5 sum for the specific iso you downloaded. If the sums are different, then your downloaded iso is not an exact copy, and will have to be downloaded again. It's a bother, but it happens. Better to know before you waste time and energy trying to install something that is never going to install. On occasion I do make mistakes posting MD5 Sums. If you have a question about the posted MD5Sum, email me.

***skiddieleet*** · May 4th, 2003, 04:29 AM

Also, does it make a difference if you check the sum before you burn it as a boot image, and can you check it after you burn it as a boot image?
Thanks

***Syini666*** · May 4th, 2003, 04:39 AM

Not really, its mainly important to check it prior to burning, to make sure the ISO hasnt been corrupted or tampered with. Once its burnt, its not a single file, so you cant check an md5 on the whole cd (at least i dont think so).

***skiddieleet*** · May 4th, 2003, 04:50 AM

Why did redhat say something about the sum having to be on the media for it to test it?

***Syini666*** · May 4th, 2003, 05:06 AM

Thats a good question. It sounds like its trying to compare the md5 sums of the packages on the cd against a master list probably on a redhat server.

It's my line of thinking( and please correct me if I'm wrong ) but since the md5 sum is generated from the original iso image, it could not also be included IN the image, otherwise the sum would then be changed again

Also, you might also want to try searching the LinuxISO Forums if you have problems regarding the ISO's.

**bugsthecat** · May 4th, 2003, 10:19 AM

IMHO ,if you have had problems with multiple distros you are probably burning the disks improperly , as it is very unlikley that you had bad downloads multiple times.

***Zonewalker*** · May 4th, 2003, 02:45 PM

h3r3tic - I'd agree with bugs if you've

I've downloaded almost every linux distro from linuxiso.org and haven't gotten any of them to work. I am burning them as an image so noone brings that up.

then I'd say you're not burning them to disk properly - what program are you using to burn it? If you want to try knoppix though PM me and I'll be quite happy to send you a CD of the latest version of Knoppix as well as instructions for installing it to HD if you really want to.... I also have debian 3 'woody', slackware 9, vector (variant of slackware - can't remember distro version but its a recent one - using 2.4.20 kernel).... as I say if you are interested PM me and we'll arrange something

Z

***skiddieleet*** · May 4th, 2003, 03:09 PM

I think the program I use to do the checksum doesn't work properly. I use Toast442.org md5checksum and I did the same iso twice and got a different sum each time. It's not supposed to do that is it?

***Zonewalker*** · May 4th, 2003, 05:02 PM

h3r3tic... yep that's right... if you are getting different md5's then something has gone wrong somewhere.... thats the point of md5 checksum - if the one you have is different from the md5 at the servers the image you have is corrupted. I'm wondering - are you using any kind of download manager for your iso's or anything like that??? could this be what is corrupting the d/l?

Z

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