Suse-10.3 Pre-installation Preparation

This thread is for newbies.

This first post is the first of a series of posts in this thread, which will hopefully provide helpful hints on how to install openSUSE-10.3.

Note: openSUSE-10.3 is scheduled to be released on 4-Oct-2007. Please wait until then, and then proceed to download your CD / DVD. You may find things somewhat slow the first day or so, as the masses all try to download at once.

1. Where to find the openSUSE installation ISO file
Note, typically you go to opensuse web site, and download an ".iso" file.
http://software.opensuse.org/

You then burn that to a CD or DVD (dependant on whether you downloaded CD or DVD version) the installation CD/DVD. This first post has some important hints on that.

Please note, if you decide to download SuSE-10.3, pay very close attention to the MD5 checksum.

2. Checking MD5 SUM on ISO FILE from Linux
The theory here is one downloads the appropriate .iso file(s). For those who already have linux, one then runs "[b]<span style="font-family:Courier New">
References: I obtained the information above from the following openSUSE-10.2 thread. ... My thanks to all who contributed to that thread, whose information I used.
http://forums.suselinuxsupport.de/in...howtopic=47139

If you have burned the .iso to a CD or DVD aleady, and you are having problems with that CD / DVD, and you wish to check the md5sum on the CD / DVD, then you can do the following (which I saw this on the following web site): http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/Md5sum
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To check the md5sum from a just burned dvd:
Ideally, one would just use$ dd if=/dev/dvd | head --bytes=3621957632 | md5sum

For newbies, who are migrating from an older suse, to openSUSE-10.3, here is some advice from the SuSE-10.2 reference manual, which is useful users who are updating (or re-installing) their SuSE for the first time.

5.1 Updating the System

5.1.1 Preparations

Before updating, copy the old configuration files to a separate medium, such as streamer, removable hard disk, USB stick, or ZIP drive, to secure the data. This primarily applies to files stored in /etc as well as some of the directories and files in /var and /opt. You may also want to write the user data in /home (the HOME directories) to backup medium. Back up this data as root. Only root has read permission for all local files.

Before starting your update, make note of the root partition. The command df -h.

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For example, I typically make copes of my /etc/fstab, /etc/X11/xorg.conf, /etc/modprobe.d/sound, /boot/grub/menu.lst.

The openSUSE community has created a number of web pages, for the specific purpose of helping newbies.

It is definitely worth while for newbie SuSE users to take a look at these (below) openSUSE community URLs, which provide guidance as to how to improve one's SuSE, to go beyond the initial limitations in the "as delivered" version of SuSE provided by Novell-SuSE-GmbH:
http://opensuse-community.org/Welcome_to_o...E-Community.org

In particular I recommend looking at this page:
http://opensuse-community.org/Package_Sources

New SuSE-10.3 users, go for the SuSE-10.3 link:
http://opensuse-community.org/Package_Sources/10.3

A guide on installing restricted formats (ie mp3, video codecs, etc ...)
http://opensuse-community.org/Restricted_Formats

and for SuSE-10.3 (follow for "one-click" guide on installing openSUSE-10.3 multimedia):
http://opensuse-community.org/Restricted_Formats/10.3

and don't forget to look at the FAQ:
http://opensuse-community.org/FAQ

Edit: The above URLs also provide guidance re: playing mp3's and dvd's, installing/setting up Software Package Managers (such as Smart, Yast, ... ), one's wireless, etc ...

Here are some more important URLs for newbies:

Wireless under openSUSE
http://en.opensuse.org/Ndiswrapper

ATI Graphics Driver Custom Install
http://en.opensuse.org/ATI_Driver_HOWTO

Nvidia Graphics Driver Custom Install [Edit - this link still requires updating to include openSUSE-10.3]
http://en.opensuse.org/NVIDIA

Intel Graphics Driver under openSUSE
http://www.suse.com/relnotes/i386/openSUSE...OTES.en.html#12

Installing a Webcam under openSUSE:
http://en.opensuse.org/HCL/Web_Cameras

Scanner working under openSUSE
http://en.opensuse.org/YaST_Scanner

Checking for hardware compatiblity under openSUSE
http://en.opensuse.org/HCL

Basic openSUSE concepts for the Windows users migrating to openSUSE
http://en.opensuse.org/Concepts

NTFS under openSUSE
http://en.opensuse.org/NTFS-3g

General guidance for printing under Linux
http://en.opensuse.org/Concepts#Philosophy...printing_format
http://www.linux-foundation.org/en/OpenPrinting

Thread locked, to ensure this is easier for newbies to read.

Anyone who has corrections, and/or comments, and or suggested improvements, please add them to the new thread below, or PM one of the moderators.
http://forums.suselinuxsupport.de/index.ph...c=60875&hl=

MANY MANY thanks to those who have contributed to our forum, and to helping out newbies to openSUSE.

One can find the official Novell documentation for openSUSE-10.3 here
http://www.novell.com/documentation/...103/index.html

Note the .pdf files are not yet available on that site (as of 3-Oct-2007).

The "Jem report" is now available for openSUSE-10.3.
http://www.softwareinreview.com/cms/content/view/84

Typically it has a lot of advice that can be helpful for newbies.

Videos of openSUSE-10.3 installation:
http://en.opensuse.org/Videos