which cd to download ?
 

hi i'm about to download fedora core 4 but i'm seeing that there are about 4 iso file . can i download only Fedora Project - FC3 CD 1 637 MBMD5SUM and install it to my acer TRAVEL MATE 516 TE if not what path should i follow to have a complete fedora software. Thanks.

From looking at the Fedora site, there are four CD iso files to download, and you will probably need all four. From the times I have installed Fedora before, I needed all four. You will need the CDs labeled:

FC4-yourarchitecture-disc1,2,3,4.iso

Make sense? You will not need the SRPMS CDs, unless you want them - they are the CDs containing the source code.

I only used the first three. I forgot what's on the fourth, but it was not needed by my installation. FC5 will, apparantly, have fewer discs.

The CDs you use depend entirely on your choice of installation options. If you choose to do a custom install and choose your own packages, you may use more or less CDs. The times in the past when I've installed Fedora, I have always used all the discs. Better safe than sorry, I guess - hate to get 99% through the install and need one file from the last disc, only to not have it!

That was an installation of both gnome and kde, with the usual software (OpenOffice, firefox, etc). None of the packages on the fourth were ones I wanted, nor were they dependancies of the ones I had selected from the other CDs. I remember one of the programs on it was xsnow. And, with all due respect, installing every graphical program in the known universe, (or just the four CDs ), would not make me feel safe.

It may be possible to do a network install, whereby you'd just use a basic CD image to boot from and then download only the packages you need as the install goes along. I think Mad Penguin mentioned this in their review of the current test release of FC5.

I've done that with four. Simply choose a network install and specify a server (ftp or http) and the rest of the install is (in theory) the same as using CDs. It is not, however always trouble-free as you might discover some time later. After doing such an install, I have no virtual consoles and am planning a CD install of FC5.

I'd recommend burning a DVD instead if you can, you don't know what a pain in the neck it is to do all the disk swapping you need to during the installation. :wink:

DVD ISO seems to only be available via torrent btw ;-p

4 contains things like apache, VSFTPD, basically server apps. 5 is the rescue cd which i consider essential (especially if this is your first go at Linux)

Would the fifth contain anaconda, and thus allow a network install with a smaller download?