VERY BASIC Question!

Hello All,

I’m embarassingly clueless about Linux and it’s distros, but am trying to learn. I read the newbie install guide first, but my question is probably too basic for it to cover.

Anwyway, I just downloaded SUSE, and got two seprate files. One says "Open Suse 11…iso.md5, and the other is the familiar file I’ve always gotten when downloading different distros. Do I double click this first before burning? I did, obviously, download the md5 to check my download, but never used it, and don’t know how.

I hope someone can help. Sorry for such a basic question, but I’ve never done this before!

Hello there,

The md5 file allows you to verify the integrity of the downloaded file and avoid problems when installing and I think almost all distros use a similar if not the same method.

On the download page please notice on the left side the orange menu with the title “Getting Help”.

Here is the partial quote relevant to your question from: Download Help - openSUSE

Using Linux

On Linux, run one of the command,:

md5sum some.iso
sha1sum some.iso

If there is any difference between the output of the checksum command and the above number, the download is broken and should be repeated.

To verify all the checksums automatically, and have your system do the verification, type:

md5sum -c <some>.iso.md5
sha1sum -c <some>.iso.sha1

Using Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows doesn’t include a program for calculating checksums but a free md5sum/sha1sum checker for several operating systems can be found at md5deep.sourceforge.net

A portable win md5sum checker is avalable here: WinMd5Sum Portable | PortableApps.com - Portable software for USB drives

Cheers.

That file that you got,“the other is the familiar file I’ve always gotten” if it is the Opensuse11.1-i586.iso or -amd64 something like that,burn that one. Then at install run the disk check option when it comes up during install. I think you can ignore the md5.iso.

HookedOnLinux wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> I’m embarassingly clueless about Linux and it’s distros, but am trying
> to learn. I read the newbie install guide first, but my question is
> probably too basic for it to cover.
>
> Anwyway, I just downloaded SUSE, and got two seprate files. One says
> "Open Suse 11…iso.md5, and the other is the familiar file I’ve
> always gotten when downloading different distros. Do I double click
> this first before burning? I did, obviously, download the md5 to check
> my download, but never used it, and don’t know how.
>
> I hope someone can help. Sorry for such a basic question, but I’ve
> never done this before!

The md5 file is a data file for program md5sum. You can see how this program
works by the command ‘man md5sum’. It is to check the accuracy of the download.
If you enter the command

md5sum -c Open-Suse-11…iso.md5

the utility will check the iso and report something like

openSUSE-11.1-KDE4-LiveCD-i686.iso: OK

Larry

> I read the newbie install guide first . . . but my question is
> probably too basic for it to cover. . . I did, obviously, download the md5 to check
> my download, but never used it, and don’t know how.

i suggest you RE-read the newbie guide again , and pay particular
attention to paragraph 2 AND 3, where you will find instructions on
how to check the md5 sum in both Linux and Windows:
http://forums.opensuse.org/install-boot-login/401696-newbies-suse-11-1-pre-installation-please-read.html#post1908008


primary

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No, don’t… no reason to burn the ISO if it isn’t valid, and the .md5
file will tell you if it is or not. Burning bad media just means you have
a new coaster and an hour less of your life.

Good luck.

Sagemta wrote:
> That file that you got,“the other is the familiar file I’ve always
> gotten” if it is the Opensuse11.1-i586.iso or -amd64 something like
> that,burn that one. Then at install run the disk check option when it
> comes up during install. I think you can ignore the md5.iso.
>
>
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