* Re: More rawrite woes
` Pete
@ ` Janina Sajka
` Keith H.
0 siblings, 1 reply; 10+ messages in thread
From: Janina Sajka @ UTC (permalink / raw)
To: speakup
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I don't understand these messages. Every boot disk I've ever created was
DOS compatible. In other words, DIR A: would show the contents. And,
editing syslinux.cfg (at least in the case of Redhat this file is
present), was not only possibly but arguably advisable--in order to
supply the speakup_synth parameter.
I'm attaching my HOWTO_INSTALL.html file which, while specific to
installing the Speakup Modified Redhat Distribution maintained by Bill
Acker, nevertheless contains an explicit step by step on using rawrite. I
hope this is helpful.
On Sun, 17 Feb
2002, Pete wrote:
>
> I think the debian and redhat disks use syslinux to load the kernel and I
> know slackware you can't do a dos dir on, you'll just get a invalid media
> type. You can do a dos dir on the redhat and debian boot disks can't you?
> Pete
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Charles Hallenbeck" <hallenbeck@valstar.net>
> To: <speakup@braille.uwo.ca>
> Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2002 12:14 PM
> Subject: Re: More rawrite woes
>
>
> If you successfully create a Linux boot/root disk with rawrite
> you will not be able to see the disk contents with a DOS or
> Windows command. Your disk might be okay.
>
>
>
> On Sun, 17 Feb 2002, Pete wrote:
>
> >
> > Try formatting the floppy in dos or windows using "format a: /u" minus
> > the quotes. Some times this works.
> > Pete
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Keith H." <keithh432@yahoo.com>
> > To: "SpeakUp List" <speakup@braille.uwo.ca>
> > Sent: Friday, February 15, 2002 9:49 PM
> > Subject: More rawrite woes
> >
> >
> > OK. I discovered one problem I had was simply a misnamed file.
> >
> > Don't know how it happened but my dtlkb.bin file was actually named
> > dtlk.bin.bin Hey, now more errors about having no such file or folder.
> >
> > Now what hapens is that it sounds as if info is being written to the
> floppy
> > but after about 30 to 60 seconds it seems to stop. No file is found at the
> > DOS prompt doing a dir. and nothing shows up in Windows Explorer.
> >
> > I just downloaded the win32 version of rawrite version 0.6
> >
> > We'll see if that does the trick.
> >
> > Thanks for all the helpful suggestions you all have given so far.
> >
> > from
> > Keith H.
> >
> > dog Quote:
> > 4. "I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious
> > cult." --Rita Rudner
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Speakup mailing list
> > Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Speakup mailing list
> > Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
> >
>
> Visit me now at http://www.valstar.net/~hallenbeck
> The Moon is Waxing Crescent (24% of Full)
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
>
--
Janina Sajka, Director
Technology Research and Development
Governmental Relations Group
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
Email: janina@afb.net Phone: (202) 408-8175
Chair, Accessibility SIG
Open Electronic Book Forum (OEBF)
http://www.openebook.org
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<h1>How to Install the Speakup Modified Redhat Distribution</h1>
<br />
<p>Version 1.0 (DRAFT #3)<br />
February 3, 2002</p>
<br />
<br />
<p>By <a href="mailto:janina@afb.net,wacker@octothorp.org">Janina
Sajka and William Acker</a></p>
<br />
<br />
<div class="c1"><strong>Because equal access to all system
functions is a blind computer user's right, from bootup to
shutdown!</strong></div>
<br />
<br />
<hr noshade="noshade" title="new section" width="75%" />
<div class="c1">
<h2>Introduction and Copyleft</h2>
</div>
<a id="sec1" name="sec1"></a>
<p>Copyleft 2002<br />
By Janina Sajka & William F. Acker<br />
<br />
You may copy this document freely, but only in its entirety</p>
<p>
<a href="mailto:janina@afb.net,wacker@octothorp.org">Your comments and suggestions on this document</a> are most
welcome.</p>
<br />
<p>Blind people installing the Speakup Modified Redhat distribution
are invited to call Bill Acker by voice telephone for assistance at
+1.303.777.8123</p>
<div class="c1">
<h3>Current Versions</h3>
</div>
<a id="version" name="version"></a>
<p>The latest edition of the Speakup Modified Redhat distribution,
and of this HOWTO, can be found at <a
href="http://www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/redhat/">The Speakup
Modified Redhat Distribution Home Page</a>.</p>
The current version of this HOWTO is available there in <a
href="www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/redhat/HOWTO-INSTALL.txt">Plain
Text</a> and <a
href="http://www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/redhat/HOWTO-INSTALL.html">
HTML</a><br />
<br />
<h3>About the Speakup Modified Redhat distribution</h3>
<a id="about" name="about"></a>
<p>Except as noted here, the packages provided in the Speakup
Modified Redhat distribution are taken directly from the official
Redhat Linux release for X86 computers. Version numbers used by the
Speakup Modified Redhat distribution correspond to the official
Redhat release used. The Speakup Modified Redhat distribution
modifies certain files in the official Redhat distribution in order
to:</p>
<ul>
<li>Speech enable the installation of the stock Redhat distribution
for persons who are blind or visually impaired; and</li>
<li>Deliver a kernel patched with the latest official release of
Speakup through the installation process;</li>
</ul>
<p>To achieve this, modifications are made to all kernel RPMs, to the U.S. keymap file, as well as anaconda and console-tools. Generally, the Speakup
Modified Redhat distribution will also include the latest official Redhat patches and updates available for the analogous official Redhat version and,
consequently, may be more up to date than the media available for the official Redhat distribution itself. Consult the file <a
href="http://www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/redhat/current/README.speakup">README.speakup</a> for specific version details.</p>
<p><strong>IMPORTANT: While it is based directly on the official
Redhat distribution, the Speakup Modified Redhat distribution is
not an official release of <a href="http://www.redhat.com">Redhat,
Inc.</a> and is not supported by Redhat.</strong></p>
<h2>Table of Contents</h2>
<a id="contents" name="contents"></a>
<h3><a href="#sec1">Section One: Introduction and
Copyleft</a></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="#version">Current Versions</a></li>
<li><a href="#about">About the Speakup Modified Redhat
distribution</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<h3><a href="#sec2">Section Two: Are You Ready For Linux?</a></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="#why">Why Would I Want the Speakup Modified Redhat
Distribution?</a></li>
<li><a href="#prep">Before You Start ...</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<h3><a href="#sec3">Section Three: Choosing and Preparing Your
Installation Media</a></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="#net_install">Will a Network Installation Work For
You?</a></li>
<li><a href="#downloading">Downloading the Speakup Modified Redhat
Distribution</a></li>
<li><a href="#hd_install">Will a Hard Disk Installation Work For
You?</a></li>
<li><a href="#cdr_creation">Creating Installation CD ROMs</a></li>
<li><a href="#media">Selecting Your Boot Media</a></li>
<li><a href="#rawriting">Creating Boot Floppies</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<h3><a href="#sec4">Section Four: Installing</a></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="#speakup_synths">Supported Synthesizers and their
Associated Keywords</a></li>
<li><a href="#booting">Booting the Installation</a></li>
<li><a href="#beginning_install">Initial Installation
Options</a></li>
<li><a href="#speakup_ref">Speakup Screen Review Quick
Reference</a></li>
<li><a href="#more_options">Additional Specific Options To
Consider</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<h3><a href="#sec5">Section Five: Now What?</a></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="#help">Welcome to Linux with Speakup</a></li>
<li><a href="#up2date">Stay Up to Date with Up2date</a></li>
<li><a href="#addendum">Addendum: Some Thoughts About
Partitioning</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<h2>Section Two: Are You Ready For Linux?</h2>
<a id="sec2" name="sec2"></a>
<h3>Why Would I Want the Speakup Modified Redhat Distribution?</h3>
<a id="why" name="why"></a>
<p>Linux is a wonderful environment for computer users who are
blind, and the Redhat distribution is a compelling, robust yet
cutting-edg and comprehensive linux distribution package.
Unfortunately, the official Redhat distribution does not provide an
installation option accessible to the screen reader user, nor does
it yet deliver a completed installation which includes screen
reader support. Until Redhat Corporation remedies this inequity, we
will continue to provide the Speakup Modified Redhat distribution
as the accessible alternative for the blind computer user who wants
a Redhat-style linux installation. While there are many ways to get
a set of installation media for Redhat, there is only one place on
the planet which consistently provides installation media adapted
expressly for those blind computer users who want to use the
Speakup linux screen reader to install a Redhat-style linux on
their computers. This means that the blind computer user will not
require sighted assistance, and that the end result will be an
installation that talks every time it is booted, but only if you
get your installation files from <a
href="http://www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/redhat/">the Speakup
Modified Redhat Distribution Home Page</a>.</p>
<p>Clearly, all users can choose among several linux distributions,
and we note and applaud the Slackware team for including Speakup in
their stock distribution since version 8.0. Which particular
distribution one should choose is really a matter of personal
choice. Our only advice is that users unfamiliar with linux choose
a distribution for which they can most easily get help when they
have questions. In other words, it's harder for the user of Redhat
to help someone using Debian or Slackware. This is an important
point because beginning users will most certainly have
questions--many questions.</p>
<h3>Before You Start ...</h3>
<a id="prep" name="prep"></a>
<p>Even persons who are experienced installing linux need to
prepare before initiating yet another installation. Everyone should
expect to take time to gather the information and tools that will
be needed to effect a successful installation. Do partitions need
resizing and reformatting? What network parameters need to be
specified? What are the video specifications for the new system?
Are some data files, and perhaps certain partitions to be left
untouched so that they can appear in the new installation just as
they are today?</p>
<p>So, if you are new to linux, plan to spend some time reading about the installation process and the kinds of decisions you will need to make before
undertaking an installation--especially if you're installing on a hard disk which currently has some other operating system that you want to keep, such
as Windows, for example. The Speakup Modified Redhat distribution of linux will coexist nicely on a single hard disk with Windows, but only if you don't
unintentionally delete it during the installation process. There's no reason to delete Windows before you're ready.</p>
<p>If you are unfamiliar with linux, you may soon find that the
language of linux is unfamiliar. This is especially true for users
whose past experience of computers is with operating environments
such as DOS and Windows. Of course, the very same computer that
runs Windows today may well run linux tomorrow using the same
hardware. But the words that designate the serial ports and the
disks on the system are examples of the kinds of things which have
radically different names under linux. In fact, learning the
language of linux well enough to successfully install linux is
arguably the most difficult task in the entire process.It is very
important for you to know how devices are specified in linux, and
about disk partitioning and formatting under linux before you
start. Also, be sure to have requisite information about your
network connections handy.</p>
<p>The <a
href="http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-7.2-Manual/install-guide/">
Official Redhat Installation Guide</a> is an excellent resource for
learning these details and much more because it is comprehensive
and clearly written, and because it provides keyboard command
instructions in addition to mouse instructions.. Use your favorite
browser to study this online guide before attempting your first
linux installation especially if you cannot dedicate an entire hard
disk drive just to linux. If you want, you can even <a
href="http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/">download this, and
other free Redhat guides</a> to your hard disk for easier access.
And, if you are someone whose computer experience has been mainly
DOS or Windows, we highly recommend you study the <a
href="http://linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO.html">From
DOS/Windows to Linux HOWTO</a></p>
<p>Once you have a good grasp of linux basics, once you have a
sense of how you will use fdisk or Disk Druid, once you understand
terms such as /dev/ttyS0, /dev/sda, /dev/hda and /dev/hda1, etc.,
you'll be ready to begin installing the Speakup Modified Redhat
distribution.</p>
<h3>Will a Network Installation Work For You?</h3>
<a id="net_install" name="net_install"></a>
<p>One installation option which should not be overlooked is the
option to install using the http or ftp protocols. If you have some
kind of high-speed network connection (such as DSL or cable) you
may want to consider installing over the Internet using either of
these protocols. You could even perform an installation over the
Internet using a modem, but it would be an exceedingly slow
process, and you would have to start over from the beginning should
you get disconnected before your installation is complete. This is
the downside to the network installation option. It is slow because
there is a lot of data to download. Installing over the Internet
takes a lot of time, even if you have a fast Internet connection.
Of course, downloading the CD ROM images is also slow. The
difference is that you will have to restart from the beginning if
your network installation fails to complete, and this will always
be the same slow process over the Internet, whereas using a CD ROM
for installing is quite fast, once you have downloaded the CD ROM
images. Still, if your network connection is very reliable, this
may be a good option for you.</p>
<p>This can also be an excellent option if you have two computers with network connections and the computer you are NOT installing on has a web or ftp
server on it. If you don't know what this means, The other installation options presented in this HOWTO are probably better choices for you just
now.</p>
<p>To install over the Internet using http, ftp (or nfs) you need
to provide the name of the server to install from, and the
directory containing the installation files on that server:</p>
<ul>
<li>The server is www.linux-speakup.org, and</li>
<li>The directory is ftp/disks/redhat/RedHat if you're installing
using http, or pub/speakup/disks/redhat/RedHat if you're using
ftp;</li>
</ul>
<p>Note that you will need to boot this installation option from a
particular floppy disk image. This is described in the section <a
href="#images">Selecting Your Boot Media</a> below.</p>
<h3>Downloading the Speakup Modified Redhat Distribution</h3>
<a id="downloading" name="downloading"></a>
<p>The Speakup Modified Redhat distribution is provided as a set of
five CD ROM images, called ISO images, on the <a
href="http://www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/redhat/current/">Speakup
Modified Redhat Distribution Home Page</a>. These are the files
whose filenames end in the ".iso" extension. you must have, or have
online access to, at least the first two of these five files.
Whether you use an ftp client, or whether you download them using
the links provided here is unimportant. Because each of these files
is very large it will take some time to download them, even over a
fast network connection--so that achieving a successful download
can seem like a major accomplishment on its own. You are very
strongly advised, therefore, to use a download method which will
resume from the place it was interrupted should your network
connection be interrupted for any reason. Also, be sure that you
are downloading each of these five files in binary mode, and that
you have a total of about 3 gigabytes of free disk space in the
directory to which you're downloading them:</p>
<ul>
<li><a
href="http://www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/redhat/images/disc1.iso">
Installation Disk 1</a></li>
<li><a
href="http://www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/redhat/images/disc2.iso">
Installation Disk 2</a></li>
<li><a
href="http://www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/redhat/images/docs.iso">
Documentation Disk</a></li>
<li><a
href="http://www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/redhat/images/SRPMS1.iso">
Source Code Disk 1</a></li>
<li><a
href="http://www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/redhat/images/SRPMS2.iso">
Source Code Disk 2</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Will a Hard Disk Installation Work For You?</h3>
<a id="hd_install" name="hd_install"></a>
<p>Now that you have the iso images for the Speakup Modified Redhat
distribution, you may not need to actually create CD ROMs from
these images in order to install. If you downloaded these files to
a directory you will not be formatting, such as your Windows
Desktop, for example, you can simply use these files as your
installation media, provided that you still have at least 3.5
gigabytes of free disk space for the actual linux installation
itself.</p>
<p>To install from hard disk you will need to create a bootable
floppy as described below. During the installation process you will
be asked what hard disk, and what directory on that disk holds the
installation iso images. Of course, you will need to answer using
linux designations (like /dev/hda1and windows/desktop), and not
Microsoft designations (like C:\WINDOWS\DESKTOP>) because linux
doesn't speak Windows!</p>
<p>NOTE: You may use the hard disk installation option if you have
these iso images on any kind of secondary, removable media such as
the Iomega Jazz drive or the Castlewood Orb drive. The process is
the same though the drive designation will, of course, be
different.</p>
<h3>Creating Installation CD ROMs</h3>
<a id="cdr_creation" name="cdr_creation"></a>
<p>Now that you have the iso images for the Speakup Modified Redhat
distribution, go ahead and create CD ROMs from each of these images
using whatever software you ordinarily use for creating CD ROMs
(cdrecord on linux, or Easy CD Creator in Windows, for example).
How to do this is beyond the scope of this document, but we do want
to point out that an "iso image" is actually a kind of "picture" of
a CD ROM. In other words, your objective is to create a CD ROM with
the contents of the iso image, and not a CD ROM with a single .iso
file on it. For example, the first installation CD ROM should have
files like the following files on it: RPM-GPG-KEY,
RELEASE-NOTES.ko, RELEASE-NOTES.ja, RELEASE-NOTES.it,
RELEASE-NOTES.fr, RELEASE-NOTES.es, RELEASE-NOTES.de, RELEASE-NOTES
README.ko, README.ja, README.it, README.fr, README.es, README.de,
README COPYING, autorun, RedHat, README.speakup, dosutils, images,
TRANS.TBL, boot.cat</p>
<h3>Selecting Your Boot Media</h3>
<a id="media" name="media"></a> If your computer supports booting
from CD ROM , you may boot from the first Speakup Modified
Redhat installation CD ROM and pass your speech synthesizer setting
at the Boot> prompt .Go directly to <a href="#booting">Booting the Installation</a> below.<br />
<br />
<p>If you cannot boot from CD ROM, or you will be installing over
the Internet or from your hard disk, you will need to create one or
more floppies to boot your speakup enabled linux installation.
There are various floppy disk images for this purpose in the images
directory on the first installation CD ROM, and you can also
download whatever ones you might need:</p>
<ul>
<li>Usually, the <a
href="http://www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/redhat/images/boot.img">
boot.img</a> file will be the only one you need;</li>
<li>But, if you're installing over the Internet, you'll need <a
href="http://www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/redhat/images/bootnet.img">
bootnet.img</a> instead, and you may also need this <a
href="http://www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/redhat/images/drvnet.img">
additional network interface drivers disk</a>;</li>
<li>If you need to use any kind of PCMCIA card during your
installation, you'll need the <a
href="http://www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/redhat/images/pcmcia.img">
the PCMCIA drivers diskette image</a>;</li>
<li>If you start the installation and get a message saying your CD
ROM can't be found, you may need this disk of <a
href="http://www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/redhat/images/oldcdrom.img">
older CD ROM drivers</a>;</li>
<li>And, if you get a message saying your hard disk can't be found,
you may need this disk of <a
href="http://www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/redhat/images/oldblock.img">
older device drivers</a>;</li>
</ul>
<p>If you do need to use two floppies to boot for any reason, don't
miss the important note about using two floppies in the section
entitled <a href="#booting">Booting the Installation</a> below.</p>
<h3>Creating Boot Floppies</h3>
<a id="rawriting" name="rawriting"></a>
<p>If you can, use linux' dd command to create whatever boot
floppies you need. If you can't use dd yet, get the Windows version
of the program called <a
href="http://uranus.it.swin.edu.au/~jn/linux/rawwrite.htm">RawWrite</a>
and unzip it to your Windows computer. Use it to create the linux
boot floppy you need.</p>
<p>If you can't use either linux' dd command or the new Windows
rawrite program, use the older DOS <a
href="http://www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/redhat/rawrite">rawrite.exe</a>
program. This DOS program is also provided on the first
installation CD ROM in the dosutils directory. There are some very
important considerations to pay attention to when using the DOS
rawrite program:</p>
<ul>
<li>Windows, Windows screen readers, and dos screen readers can
interfere with the proper functioning of the DOS rawrite
program;</li>
<li>Do not use the DOS rawrite program from the Windows "run"
dialog, or from a Windows' MS DOS session, if you can possibly help
it;</li>
<li>You should shutdown to MS DOS to use the DOS rawrite (program
if you can, with the MS DOS session in full screen mode as your
second choice;</li>
<li>You may use a DOS screen reader to answer the three prompts
rawrite poses, but kill the screen reader immediately after
answering the third prompt because your screen reader can corrupt
the floppy you're creating with the DOS rawrite program;</li>
</ul>
<p>The three prompts the DOS rawrite program poses, in order,
are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Enter disk image source file name:</li>
<li>Enter target diskette drive:</li>
<li>Please insert a formatted diskette into drive and press
-enter-</li>
</ul>
<p>We suggest you place rawrite and the floppy disk images you
selected in the <a href="#media">Selecting your Boot
Media</a>section above in the same directory (or file folder). That
way you need only type the file name of the image from which you're
creating a floppy to answer the first of these questions. For the
second question, answer with the DOS drive designation, such as "a"
because, of course, rawrite is a DOS or Windows program. After you
press enter in response to the third question, the floppy creation
process will begin and you'll notice your floppy disk is spinning.
<strong>Remember to kill your speech synthesizer during this disk
writing process!</strong> When disk activity stops, rawrite has
finished and that diskette is then ready for use booting the
Speakup Modified Redhat installation.</p>
<h2>Installing</h2>
<a id="sec4" name="sec4"></a>
<p>Now that you've gathered the information and created the boot
media you need to complete an installation of the Speakup Modified
Redhat Distribution, it is finally time to begin the installation
process itself. Be sure to read through this section of this HOWTO
before you actually begin the installation, though, so you can be
thoroughly familiar with the process. In particular, pay attention
to how you will specify your speech synthesizer in order to get a
speech-enabled installation underway.</p>
<h3>Supported Synthesizers and their Associated Keywords</h3>
<a id="speakup_synths" name="speakup_synths"></a>
<p>We pause now to name the speech synthesizers currently supported
by Speakup. These are the only ones available for you to use with
the Speakup Modified Redhat distribution at this time. Please note
the appropriate speakup keyword associated with the synthesizer you
will be using. You will need to specify it at the beginning of the
boot process as described below:</p>
<table>
<caption><strong>Speakup Supported Synthesizers and their
Associated Keywords</strong></caption>
<tr>
<td>Accent SA</td>
<td>ACNTSA</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Accent PC</td>
<td>ACNTPC</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Apollo</td>
<td>APOLO</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Audaptor</td>
<td>AUDPTR</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>All Blazie products</td>
<td>BNS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>DEC Talk Express</td>
<td>DECTLK</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>DEC Talk External</td>
<td>DECEXT</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Doubletalk internal (isa card)</td>
<td>DTLK</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>External, serial Litetalk or Doubletalk</td>
<td>LTLK</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Speak Out</td>
<td>SPKOUT</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Artic Transport</td>
<td>TXPRT</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The correct syntax for indicating which speech synthesizer
you're using is:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>speakup_synth={synth_keyword}</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>So, to install with an external Litetalk,you will specify that
speakup should talk to the Litetalk synthesizer as follows:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>speakup_synth=ltlk</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>By default Speakup probes for a speech synthesizer on all the
serial ports available to it. If this doesn't work, you may specify
a particular serial port. The first serial port, the one
Windows/DOS calls COM1 becomes ttyS0 in linux, and COM2 becomes
ttyS1, etc. Please note that there is a capital letter "S" in this
linux designation. So, to indicate that Speakup should use the
second serial port, you would specify:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>speakup_ser=ttyS1</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Booting the Installation</h3>
<a id="booting" name="booting"></a>
<p>At long last you are ready to begin installing the Speakup
Modified Redhat distribution. Start a text-based installation with
speech by booting the appropriate floppy disk you prepared in the
<a href="#rawriting">Creating a Boot Floppy</a> sectionabove, or by
booting the first installation CD ROM disk. <strong>But, when and
how do you specify your synthesizer?</strong> Regrettably the boot
prompt doesn't start out talking, though it could be made to (see
below). So, you will need to monitor disk activity as your system
boots. Most computers will beep briefly following bios activity
just at the point that system information is read from disk. Your
disk will spin briefly following this beep. When it stops, you're
at the boot> prompt. Type the following and press
<<ENTER>>:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>text speakup_synth={synth_keyword}</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>where {synth_keyword} is the appropriate <a
href="#speakup_synths">speech synthesizer keyword</a>. You may also
specify your serial port if you wish. So, for example, to start a
text-based installation with a Litetalk on the second serial port,
you would type:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>text speakup_synth=ltlk speakup_ser=1</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>You will have a full minute to type this command correctly. If
you make a mistake, press Ctrl-U to clear the command line and
start entering your command from the beginning again.</p>
<p><strong>IMPORTAANT:</strong>If, for any reason, you need to boot
with two floppies--because you need additional drivers, for
example--add "dd" to your command. So, to start the boot process
using a litetalk on the serial port, and have the opportunity to
introduce a second diskette to the boot process, your command would
specify:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>text dd speakup_synth=ltlk speakup_ser=1</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>NOTE: If you're comfortable editing a file in a text editor, you
can make the boot> prompt speak--but only to a serial speech
synthesizer, not an internal one. edit the file syslinux.cfg which
is on your boot floppy using a text editor. immediately above the
line in this file which says: "LABEL LINUX" add the following
line:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>serial=0,9600N8</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>NOTE: Change the "=0" as appropriate for your serial port, e.g.
for the second serial port use "=1" instead.</p>
<p>About a minute after you press enter to the boot> prompt,
speakup will begin speaking the installation process. You're on
your way.</p>
<h3>Initial Installation Options</h3>
<a id="beginning_install" name="beginning_install"></a>
<p>The first few choices you have to make will determine how
accessible your installation will be. Here's what to choose. If you
make a mistake just start over:</p>
<ul>
<li>Select English as your installation language. It's the only
choice currently supported by Speakup;</li>
<li>At the prompt for specifying the keyboard map, be sure NOT to
select U.S. or U.K. Rather, select speakup, otherwise you'll not
have screen review capabilities during the installation process,
though you'll continue to have speech.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Speakup Screen Review Quick Reference</h3>
<a id="speakup_ref" name="speakup_ref"></a>
<p>Perhaps the trickiest part of the installation is also a very
critical point in the installation. Until Redhat makes Disk Druid
work properly with Speakup, you'll need to carefully use speakup's
screen review commands to ensure that you've correctly specified
your mount points and which partitions are to be formatted. So,
here's a quick introduction to using Speakup.</p>
<ul>
<li>screen review is accomplished on the numeric keypad with
numlock on;</li>
<li>the -enter- key on the numeric keypad silences speech until you
press some other key. It also returns the audio cursor to the
location of the on screen cursor. For this reason it is often
helpful to press -ENTER- on the numeric keypad after exploring
onscreen data;</li>
<li>The CTRL key (by itself) makes speakup catch up to the screen
scroll;</li>
<li>The plus key on the numeric keypad reads the entire
screen;</li>
<li>The #7 #8 and #9 keys read lines, previous, current, and next
respectively. When you use #7 or #9 to read the previous or next
line, that line then becomes the current line (which you can then
read using #8). This is how you can work your way up and down the
screen;</li>
<li>The #4 #5 and #6 keys read by word;</li>
<li>The #1 #2 and #3 keys read by character;</li>
<li>The dot on the numeric keypad specifies your cursor location on
screen;</li>
</ul>
<p>There's more, of course, but this is all you really need to get
started and perform a proper installation of the Speakup Modified
Redhat linux distribution.</p>
<h3>Additional Specific Options To Consider</h3>
<a id="more_options" name="more_options"></a>
<p>Here are some additional recommendations and critical points
regarding the choices you need to make during the installation
process:</p>
<ul>
<li>You'll be asked what kind of installation you want to perform.
This screen offers the following selections: Workstation, Server,
Laptop, Custom, Update. We very strongly advice that you choose
"Custom" (unless, of course, you are actually updating an existing
installation). unfortunately, the "Workstation" and "Laptop"
installation classes skew their package and configuration
selections to gui users, and this is highly disadvantageous to the
speech and braille user who will find that some needed, text-based
programs are not installed because of this installation class
selection;</li>
<li>You will be asked what packages you wish to install. There's a
very long list of available packages, and you could certainly add
anything you don't install now later, but this would be a nuisance
at best and tends to be confusing to the BEGINNER. We recommend you
press the "end" key to go to the last option which is "everything"
if you have sufficient disk space. an "EVERYTHING" INSTALLATION
REQUIRES APPROXIMATELY 3.5 gB, but it will provide everything the
blind user needs;</li>
<li>You'll be asked whether you want to use grub or lilo as your
boot loader, select lilo, and be certain to have it installed in
the "Master Boot Record (MBR)," unless you really know what you're
doing. Lilo is not the default choice, though locating it in the
MBR is;</li>
<li>You will be asked to specify any parameters that you need to
pass to lilo at bootup. This is where you make linux talk, by
default, every time you boot your completed installation. If you
miss this prompt, you can certainly fix this later--but your linux
won't talk as it boots, and the default pause at the boot>
prompt (where you can type your synthesizer keyword setting for
speakup)isn't nearly as generous as our installation media. So, try
not to miss this important step. Specify your speech synthesizer
(and optionally a serial port) just as you did at the boot prompt.
In other words, to specify that lilo should include speakup support
for the internal Doubletalk enter:<br />
</li>
<li><strong>speakup_synth=dtlk</strong><br />
</li>
<li>You will be prompted to configure your video card, specify its
video memory, and specify your monitor. It is helpful to know this
information in advance, though the default choices will usually be
adequate;</li>
<li>Immediately after the video specifications, you will be
prompted to configure Xwindows. Go ahead and install X if you have
sufficient hard drive space. Choose GNOME as the default desktop,
and choose text as the default bootup mode. Unless you know the
specifics of your video hardware, simply accept the default
configuration the installer offers, and then do NOT test it. X
configurations rarely come out perfectly at first guess, and they
can comfortably be tweaked later using the Xconfigurator command.
In fact, sighted users tend to copy their working X configurations
from previous installations of linux, so problematic is the
configuration of a crisp X;</li>
<li>You will be asked whether you want a graphical or text boot, by
default. Select text because this is what Speakup supports. This is
not the default selection. If you miss setting this option during
the installation, you will find that linux suddenly goes silent
just as it finishes booting. That's because we do not yet have
speech for Xwindows. If this happens to your installation, simply
press Ctrl-Alt-F1 to switch to the first text console, and log in
as root. Then edit your runlevel in /etc/inittab, changing the
value from "5" (which specifies gui) to "3" (which specifies
text);</li>
<li>You will be prompted to create a boot floppy for your linux
installation. This is, of course, an important thing to do.
Regrettably, this floppy will not boot linux with speech, though,
unless you edit the file syslinux.cfg to add the speakup speech
synthesizer specification you use. You will still have a boot
prompt where you can type this by hand, just as when you booted
this installation, but it's so much easier to have this important
capability built directly into this important floppy diskette;</li>
</ul>
<h2>Now What?</h2>
<a id="sec5" name="sec5"></a>
<p>After you've created an emergency boot floppy, the installation
will prompt you to reboot your computer. You're now ready to begin
using your installation of the Speakup Modified Redhat
Distribution!</p>
<h3>Welcome to Linux with Speakup</h3>
<a id="help" name="help"></a>
<p>Congratulations. You should now have a working, talking linux
installation. Of course this undoubtedly means that you have more
things to learn in order to get the most from your linux computer.
The Speakup mailing list is a good place to get help with your
problems and questions. We strongly suggest, and we cordially
invite you to <a
href="http://speech.linux-speakup.org/mailman/listinfo/speakup/">join
the Speakup mailing list</a>.</p>
<p>We would be remiss not to provide some additional pointers to
the wealth of helpful information about using linux which is
available to you. The following are but a few, key options. Some of
these are online, web resources, and some are built into your linux
installation itself:</p>
<ul>
<li>Learn the "man" command. Type "<strong>man man</strong>" at a
command prompt to learn about using man. It's a fundamental,
builtin source of information that you will not exhaust;</li>
<li>Learn about the "info" command. Type it at a command prompt.
It's an integrated and cross-referenced help facility built into
your linux computer;</li>
<li>Discover all the helpful guides on the documentation CD ROM and
all the online support available to you just by launching the lynx
browser;</li>
<li>Discover <a href="http://www.linuxdoc.org">The Linux
Documentation Project</a>, and especially the collection of
subject-specific <a
href="http://www.linuxdoc.org/docs.html#howto/">HOWTO Documents</a>
that you can read online or download to your computer;</li>
</ul>
<h3>Stay Up to Date with Up2date</h3>
<a id="up2date" name="up2date"></a>
<p>Redhat provides a safe and simple means for keeping your Speakup
Modified Redhat installation fully up to date called up2date. You
need to register online, but once you're registered it's very easy
to use:</p>
<ul>
<li>Go to <a href="https://rhn.redhat.com">The Redhat Network Home
Page</a> and register your computer;</li>
<li>After you've registered, be sure to "entitle" your system. This
is a separate step;</li>
<li>Now, as root, run the up2date script as follows from a console
command line prompt:<br />
</li>
<li>up2date -u --nosig --nox<br />
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Addendum: Some Thoughts About Partitioning</h3>
<a id="addendum" name="addendum"></a>
<p>How should you partition your hard drive? There is much debate
on this point and probably always will be. Of course, you can (and
should) take comfort in the certain knowledge that your first linux
installation will not be your last. Also, if you've set up a system
where you can boot both linux and Windows, you are likely to want
to have access to your data, no matter which OS you choose to boot
at any given time. Lastly, we believe that you would prefer to make
it easy to upgrade (or reinstall) linux without repartitioning, and
without losing any of your user data. This brief recommendation is
certainly not a full dissertation on the subject, but a few
considerations may be helpful even now, as you perform your first
linux installation:</p>
<ul>
<li>create a primary partition "mountpoint is '/') of about 254 mb
(or greater). unless you also provide a separate /var partition and
mount point, your /var directory will reside on this partition.
this is both good and bad and requires comment. it is good for /var
to reside on this partition because it is the first partition
mounted during system boot. if /var is elsewhere certain important
functions may not be available during system boot, such as system
logging and dns functionality. on the other hand, user mailboxes,
by default, live in /var/spool/mail. any web pages created for
public access live, by default, in /var/www, and ftp files in
/var/ftp;</li>
<li>consider moving mail, web content, and ftp directories to
/home, where user files are stored. the older default for web pages
is /home/httpd, and /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf accordingly. mail
can be symlinked (try man ln to learn about linux' symbolic
links).</li>
</ul>
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