Blog: Computer Hell
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Computer Hell - Sunday, November 14, 2004
Friday, Saturday, and today were computer hell, with an uplifting heavenly ending that made it all worth it. On Friday, I decided that going down to the Linux lab everytime I wanted to work on my computer project was too inconvenient, so I set out to install Linux on my own computer. The brand of Linux we use in the lab is Fedora, so I went to the Fedora website and began downloading the four 650 megabyte install files for Fedora Core 3. File 1 turned out to be corrupt because the data transfer screwed up somewhere, but I thought I'd try File 2. File 2 was ok, but File 3 after was corrupt. I tried downloading File 1 again, but the transfer messed up again. I tried File 4, and it was good. So back to File 1. Corrupt. I left Files 1 and 3 downloading overnight. File 3 finished and was corrupt, and File 1 halted halfway.
Then I remember that we are supposed to use Fedora Core 2, not Fedora Core 3. I had to find a mirror site that hosted Core 2. I had to search for a while, because most either didn't let me connect or were too slow. This time I used GetRight to manage the downloads; I wasn't taking any more chances with faulty transfers. The internet DID cut out every half an hour or so, but thankfully everything worked (GetRight rocks!), and I got all four Fedora Core 2 install files. By then it was Saturday.
So Saturday I mainly made backups of all important files in Windows. I don't have a DVD burner, so I burned to CD-RW's, which unfortunately hold only 650 megabytes and have a max write speed of 4x. This took nine CD-RW's altogether (my fault for having 4 gigs of music), each at a veeeeery slow burn rate. After this, I burned the four Fedora files to CD-R's, which thankfully can burn up to 24x on my machine.
Now came the intricate part. I had to decrease the size of my Windows partition and create a new partition to put Linux on. First I defragged a couple times to move all the data to the beginning of the partition. Then I searched on the net for a while and found this great program that lets you manually adjust where partitions begin and end. Unfortunately, my Windows partition used a filesystem that was not supported. I downloaded a later version of that program, same problem. I tried using the partition resize tool available on the Fedora CD, but it too did not support my filesystem. A search on download.com yielded a program that could do everything you could ever do to a partition, and more. But it didn't work for Windows XP. Finally, perhaps as a God-send, I found a nifty program that did the trick. It worked beautifully, and Windows suddenly found itself robbed of 9 gigs.
At last I could install Fedora. This process was remarkably easy, and the installation took only 15 minutes. I'm glad it did, because I would've found the nearest bridge and jumped off had I had any more difficulties. Most of the configuration was stuff like choosing language, setting the time, and picking what programs to install. The hardest thing I had to do was specify how big each of Fedora's sub-partitions should be- not hard at all. In no time I was flying through Fedora on ecstatic wings, singing along happily to a music CD playing in the CD drive, rejoicing that my quest was over and that everything worked splendidly.
And then my harddrive died.
...........Just kidding about that last part.
Then I remember that we are supposed to use Fedora Core 2, not Fedora Core 3. I had to find a mirror site that hosted Core 2. I had to search for a while, because most either didn't let me connect or were too slow. This time I used GetRight to manage the downloads; I wasn't taking any more chances with faulty transfers. The internet DID cut out every half an hour or so, but thankfully everything worked (GetRight rocks!), and I got all four Fedora Core 2 install files. By then it was Saturday.
So Saturday I mainly made backups of all important files in Windows. I don't have a DVD burner, so I burned to CD-RW's, which unfortunately hold only 650 megabytes and have a max write speed of 4x. This took nine CD-RW's altogether (my fault for having 4 gigs of music), each at a veeeeery slow burn rate. After this, I burned the four Fedora files to CD-R's, which thankfully can burn up to 24x on my machine.
Now came the intricate part. I had to decrease the size of my Windows partition and create a new partition to put Linux on. First I defragged a couple times to move all the data to the beginning of the partition. Then I searched on the net for a while and found this great program that lets you manually adjust where partitions begin and end. Unfortunately, my Windows partition used a filesystem that was not supported. I downloaded a later version of that program, same problem. I tried using the partition resize tool available on the Fedora CD, but it too did not support my filesystem. A search on download.com yielded a program that could do everything you could ever do to a partition, and more. But it didn't work for Windows XP. Finally, perhaps as a God-send, I found a nifty program that did the trick. It worked beautifully, and Windows suddenly found itself robbed of 9 gigs.
At last I could install Fedora. This process was remarkably easy, and the installation took only 15 minutes. I'm glad it did, because I would've found the nearest bridge and jumped off had I had any more difficulties. Most of the configuration was stuff like choosing language, setting the time, and picking what programs to install. The hardest thing I had to do was specify how big each of Fedora's sub-partitions should be- not hard at all. In no time I was flying through Fedora on ecstatic wings, singing along happily to a music CD playing in the CD drive, rejoicing that my quest was over and that everything worked splendidly.
And then my harddrive died.
...........Just kidding about that last part.