Just trying to install CENTOS on my PC. I have no Optical drive and must use .iso files. I chose Daemaon tools for this, and Virtual box as the platform to run CENTOS on. But so far its a no go. Was wondering if someone could point me to a walkthrough to installation via .iso to getting the shell up?
Im new to computing. I dont know much, almost nothing about computers so please pardon my ignorance. THX

The link below is to a site which has a step-by-step of install CentOS in VirtualBox with a windows host. You didn't mention what your host machine operating system is? or which version of CentOS you are using? or at what point in the process you ran into problems?

http://opensourcedbms.com/dbms/insta...ox-ssh-access/

The link above is about as specific and detailed as you are going to find.

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THX for the post. Was helpful.

Im using an ASUS Eee PC. 2GB RAM and Windows XP and I grabbed quite randomly CENTOS 5.8. Its now running, and i am busying myself Bash scripts (Is that the right words for the commands typed in at the $ prompt?).


A few comments with questions if you please:

1)Every time I open CentOS 5.8, the computer runs me through a CentOS reinstall process. Even though it only takes about 5 minutes max to get it up, the redundancy is very irritating. Why does the computer keep reinstalling and how do I tell it to stop doing that?

2) According to the CentOS Bible which I am using as a guide, it is preferable to partition and defrag the C drive before installing and running CentOS. Will failing to do this cause problems, slow downs, freezes down the line?
Also does the partition allow for a "separate login" at start up? Let me explain. Right now when I turn the computer on I can login under BIVENS or Administrator. Both run windows. If I partition and reinstall CentOS will it create a new login identity?

3) Does running Windows XP under the CentOS virtual machine inhibit CentOS?



Ive got loads of questions about it, mostly vocabulary.

Let's back up for a second. There are basically three ways to run any Linux distribution:

1) Install it to the hard drive as a normal OS. This is how Windows was installed. The OS is booted directly from the boot loader from the hard drive. Changes are saved, everything is "normal". This runs fast and uses as few resources as possible, but it requires modifying the partition table of the hard drive, which could have catastrophic consequences (such as wiping out your current Windows install if you mess up). This is a good approach for a final installation of the OS once you're ready to "commit" to a distro.

2) Run it from a live disk. This could be a live CD, a live DVD, or a live USB. Essentially the OS is installed on the portable medium and when you boot from it, everything is loaded into RAM. You're able to play around in the OS, but changes you make and files you save are lost (unless you set up a persistence file, but that has some drawbacks as well). It runs relatively quickly, resource usage is relatively low, and it requires no permanent changes to your hard drive. This is a good way to get to know the OS and use it temporarily, but has significant drawbacks when it comes to using the OS on a more long-term basis.

3) Run it as a virtual OS from within your primary OS using something like VirtualBox or VMware. This allows you to use the OS and save changes like normal, and everything is stored as a regular file inside your primary OS, which means no permanent changes to your hard drive. However, this approach is VERY resource intensive since you'll be running two full operating systems simultaneously. Memory usage will be very high and processor usage will be high. This is a good way to get to know the OS and use it temporarily, or even long term, but only on systems that have plenty of resources available. I do not recommend this approach unless you have 4GB of RAM minimum, preferably 8GB or more (especially if one of the two OSs is Windows).

You're currently running #3, but you really don't have the resources to support it. As a result, everything is going to run slow, both Windows and Linux. I love approach #3, and I do it all the time for experimenting with new OSs, setting up OS installations for specific tasks, etc., but you must have the resources to support it. I own an EEE PC, it barely has enough power to run Windows properly by itself, adding another OS on top of that is out of the question. You really need a more powerful machine to run Linux as a VM inside Windows. If you must use the EEE PC, then I recommend switching to #2 in my list.

Anyway, to answer your questions:

1) The VM probably still has the ISO file set as the primary boot device, you just need to turn that off and let it boot from the partition it set up during installation.

2) That sounds like it's referring to my #1 above, you're not doing that, so it's irrelevant. As for the separate login, you need to re-think how you're currently running CentOS. Right now CentOS is a virtual machine running inside an application inside Windows. It cannot prompt you for a log in until AFTER you've already logged into Windows, started up the VM software, and booted the CentOS VM. For all intents and purposes, right now CentOS is nothing more than an application that runs inside Windows, just like Microsoft Word, Mozilla Firefox, etc. You have to log into Windows before you can launch that application and do anything with it.

3) Somewhat. File management, web access, etc. will all work normally, but hardware access will be significantly restricted and resource availability will be significantly restricted.

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You didn't need Daemon tools. VirtualBox can use a .iso file and boot to it. On subsequent boot, you can remove the iso as a media to be sure the virtual hard drive boots.

That's bad news about my PC. 8 GB RAM? That will have to wait. I dont have the money for another PC.

Ill try the USB boot that you recommend. I dont have an optical drive, so it seems the only option.
Thanks alot. The help is appreciated.

And while you are at it
you might want to use the current version of Cent

CentOS 6.4

centos 5.8 is not supported any longer .
Cent only supports the current minor version and for the older 5 series that is 5.9 .

but after 5+ years the older 5 series is starting to show it's age , it is getting old .

you can run centos 6.4 from a 16 gig usb ( 32 gig would be better ) but a $12.00 USD 16 gig usb will be fine

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Thanks people. Ill grab the 6.4 ver. then, and run it from the USB. So how about some questions?

1) There seem to be two groups of OS's, which are frequently updated (hopefully for the better). The x86 version and the 64 bit version.
Can someone please explain what the difference between the 64 and x86 is? Ill take the x86, as I read somewhere that it was right for the PC I have.

(Is it about the hardware or what? All I remember about bits is this. NES was 8 bit, Sega Genesis 16 bit, N64, 64 bit)

2) In my experience, with things other than PCs and software, new doesn't always mean improved. Is it so with CENTOS that the newer version is better? IF not, then is there is an old version of the the CENTOS that keeps on keeping on?
**Id rather have a tip top 67 Mustang pinging well than a 90 in the same shape**

3) Can someone please describe the process of an OS installation. What is going on in the PC when all that text is moving across the screen? I suppsose a lot of copying of files onthe hard drive of course but what are the important ones how do they work...
Or please refer an informative site where the questions of how an OS works are described in laymens terms?

1) x86 = 32-bit. x86_64 = 64-bit. The difference is how many bits are used to address memory. 32-bit systems are limited to 32-bit memory addresses, which means they can't use more than 4 GB of RAM (2^32 = 4294967296 = 4 GB). The are PAE kernels which can kind of skirt around the issue, but that's still the fundamental difference. 64-bit systems can use up to 2^64 = 1.8e19 bytes of RAM (ignoring hardware or software limitations). Other than that, there's not much of a difference. If you have more than about 3.2 GB of RAM on your system, then use the 64-bit version of the OS, otherwise it doesn't matter.

2) It just comes down to how much memory can be addressed and what versions of programs and libraries are available. When 64-bit first came out for desktop systems (about a decade ago), there were incompatibilities, lack of libraries, etc. that made it a poor choice unless you NEEDED the extra RAM. That problem doesn't really exist anymore though, so knock yourself out.

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Another way to use iso is to take advantage of kickstart, but you have to have another machine, either http server, NFS server or ftp server. Kickstart is actually very easy to use. Since your computer lacks enough memory, virtual machines are not good ideas, as pointed put earlier. If you need help with kickstart, please let us know.

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Thanks for the explanations and help.
So now that ive got the CENTOS running, i would like to install a web browser, a multimedia player and something like Excel.
Im guessing CENTOS supports google chrome, but maybe there is a better choice?
You guys know anything about the mediaplayers and spreadsheets work well?

Firefox is already installed !
It is installed BY DEFAULT

see the wiki page
http://wiki.centos.org/TipsAndTricks/MultimediaOnCentOS


go-office should also be installed by default
search the yum repo .
--- it should be listed

there is the replacement "libreoffice"
see the centos wiki
http://wiki.centos.org/
or the libreoffice page
https://www.libreoffice.org/download/
32 bit is x86 , the 64 bit is x86_64
" Linux (rpm): x86 or x86_64"

and read the install instructions included

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instead of daemon tools try with power iso using poweriso i have installed centos 6 on my computer.