Installing openSUSE 11.2

Bill Giannikos

In this guide we will be providing a easy set of instructions for installing openSUSE 11.2 onto your computer. This guide already assumes you have prepared your computer for Linux or alternatively have followed the guides for VMware or VirtualBox if you plan to run openSUSE as a virtual machine.

After booting off the openSUSE DVD (which is covered in the guides mentioned in the introduction) you will be presented with the above screen. Push the down arrow to select the second item and press enter.

After a little loading you will be presented with the openSUSE installation program as seen above. Select the language and keyboard layout which is appropriate to you, read the license agreement and then click Next.

The installation program with now probe your system to identify its specifications.

After the probing is complete you will be presented with this Installation Mode screen. Since we are doing a new install the default options are fine so we can just click Next. The Include Add-On Products from Separate Media is as it says, most people wont need this option selected. You may like to unselect the Use Automatic Configuration option if you want finer control over the installation program, this should only be sued for experienced users and wont be covered in this guide.

You will now be presented with the Clock and Time Zone screen. Select the region and timezone appropriate to you.

You will also have an option labeled Hardware Clock Set to UTC. This indicates whether your system clock is set to UTC time or local time. Typically if you are only going to run openSUSE on this system then select this option. If you are going to be running Windows then unselect this option.

After you have selected the options appropriate to you click Next.

You will now be presented with the Desktop Selection screen where you will have three options: GNOME Desktop, KDE Desktop and Other. Most people will select one of the first two options with which one you choose being that of personal taste. GNOME is designed to be a simple to use interface with good default options while KDE is more feature rich and also more “Windows” like. The Other option allows you to pick an older version of KDE as well as some other unique configurations, however most users should select one of the first two options. Select the desktop you would like to use and click Next. If you are not sure which desktop to pick then just leave the default.

You will now be presented with the Suggested Partitioning screen. openSUSE has selected a partitioning scheme suitable for most users however you may also customize this layout by selecting Create Partitioning Setup…. The Partition Based and LVM Based options allow you to select the type of partitioning used. The Partition Based scheme is easier to manage however the LVM Based scheme allows you to more easily resize partitions and also allows you to span a partition across multiple hard drives. For most people the default options selected on this screen are fine. When you are happy with the setup click Next

You will now see the Create New User screen. The first four options sets up your user account so set these details appropriate to you. The Use this password for system administrator option means that the same password will be used for the root (administrator) user. The Receive System Mail can be selected so system emails go to this user however on a desktop system this option doesn't do too much. The Automatic Login option mean the login screen will be bypassed and this user will be logged in automatically when the system is started.

You will also see a Change… button on this screen which can change the authentication method used by this system. Typically this option can be left alone.

When you are happy with the information you have entered click Next.

You will now get a run down on what the installation program will do. You can click on the individual headings to modify the details within. If you are happy with the information presented click Next.

You are now presented with this confirmation prompt, click Install.

The installation of openSUSE will now commence. This will take about 30 minutes. When the installation is complete the system will automatically be restarted and you will be presented with your new desktop screen.

Installation is almost complete but there is one very important step before being able to use openSUSE and that is to install all the required security updates.

To begin, load up the YaST program which is found in the program menus when you click on the bottom left of your screen. The location of this item varies depending on if you are running GNOME or KDE however it is in a easy to spot place in both of these.

After doing this you will be asked for the Administrator (root) password, type it in and press Continue.

YaST will now be opened. This is your system's control center which allows you to modify many aspects of your system. On the right hand panel click on the Online Update option. The update program will now load and retrieve a list of the latest updates for your system.

You will now be presented with a list of available updates. All important updates are already selected so you can just click Accept.

You will now receive a list of some additional packages which need to be installed, just press Continue on this screen. The update process will now commence, this takes about 15 minutes but varies depending on the number of updates involved and the speed of your Internet connection.

After the installation program is complete you will see this window. Click OK and then reboot your computer.

Your openSUSE 11.2 system is now fully installed and up to date. For further guides in configuring certain parts of openSUSE please view our openSUSE Guides section.