Installation guide

Chapter 13. Driver Media for IBM
POWER Systems
1. Why Do I Need Driver Media?
While the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation program is loading, a screen may appear asking
you for driver media. The driver media screen is most often seen in the following scenarios:
• If you need to perform an installation from a network device
• If you need to perform an installation from a block device
• If you need to perform an installation from a PCMCIA device
• If you run the installation program by entering linux dd at the installation boot prompt or in
the IPL Parameter field of the NWSD
• If you run the installation program on a computer which does not have any PCI devices
1.1. So What Is Driver Media Anyway?
Driver media can add support for hardware that may or may not be supported by the installation
program. Driver media could include a driver diskette or image produced by Red Hat, it could be
a diskette or CD-ROM you make yourself from driver images found on the Internet, or it could
be a diskette or CD-ROM that a hardware vendor includes with a piece of hardware.
Driver media is used if you need access to a particular device to install Red Hat Enterprise
Linux. Drivers can be used for network (NFS) installations, installations using a PCMCIA or
block device, non-standard or very new CD-ROM drives, SCSI adapters, NICs, and other un-
common devices.
Note
If an unsupported device is not needed to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux on your
system, continue with the installation and add support for the new piece of hard-
ware once the installation is complete.
1.2. How Do I Obtain Driver Media?
Driver images can be obtained from several sources. They may be included with Red Hat Enter-
prise Linux, or they may be available from a hardware or software vendor's website. If you sus-
pect that your system may require one of these drivers, you should create a driver diskette or
CD-ROM before beginning your Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation.
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