Operation Manual

Usingan External Boot Device
If it is supportedby your BIOS and the installationkernel, boot from external DVD
drives or USB storagedevices.
Network Boot via PXE
If a machine lacksa DVD drive, but provides a workingethernet connection,
perform a completely network-basedinstallation. See Section “Remote Installation
via VNC—PXE Boot and Wake on LAN” (Chapter 2, Remote Installation, ↑Refer-
ence) and Section “Remote Installation via SSH—PXE Boot and Wake on LAN”
(Chapter2, Remote Installation, ↑Reference) for details.
External Boot Devices
Linux supportsmost existing DVD drives.If the systemhas neithera DVD drive nor
a floppy disk, it is still possiblethat an external DVD drive, connectedthrough USB,
FireWire, or SCSI, can be used to boot the system.This dependsmainly on the inter-
action of the BIOS and the hardware used.Sometimesa BIOS update may help if
you encounter problems.
When installingfrom a KDE or GNOME Live CD, you can also createa “Live USB stick”
to boot from. Refer to
http://en.opensuse.org/Live_USB_stick
for detailed instruc-
tions.
Booting from Installation Media Fails
One reasonwhy a machinedoes not boot the installationmedia can be an incorrect
boot sequencesetting in BIOS. The BIOS boot sequencemust have DVD drive set as
the first entry for booting. Otherwisethe machine would try to boot from another
medium, typically the hard disk. Guidance for changing the BIOS boot sequencecan
be found the documentation provided with your motherboard, or in the following
paragraphs.
The BIOS is the software that enablesthe very basic functionsof a computer. Moth-
erboard vendorsprovide a BIOS specificallymade for their hardware. Normally, the
BIOS setup can only be accessedat a specific time—whenthe machine is booting.
During this initialization phase,the machine performs a number of diagnostichard-
ware tests.One of them is a memory check,indicated by a memory counter. When
the counterappears,look for a line, usually below the counteror somewhere at the
bottom,mentioningthe key to press to accessthe BIOS setup.Usually the key to
press is one of[Del],[ F1], or[ Esc]. Pressthis key until the BIOS setupscreen appears.
Procedure A.1 ChangingtheBIOS Boot Sequence
1 Enterthe BIOS using the properkey as announcedby the boot routinesand
waitfor the BIOS screento appear.
2 To changetheboot sequencein an AWARD BIOS, lookfor theBIOS FEATURES
SETUPentry. Othermanufacturersmay have a different name for this,such
as ADVANCED CMOS SETUP. When you have found the entry,selectit and
confirm with[ Enter].
88 Start-Up