I don't like to be biased towards the Slackware release, however, in order to document multiple releases of Linux, this file would be much, much longer. It is simpler and more coherent to cover the specific instructions for a single release of Linux. The book Linux Installation and Getting Started currently includes general installation instructions which should be applicable to ``any'' distribution of Linux. However, because the installation procedures are so varied, covering them all would be very confusing both to myself and to the reader.
The basic concepts in this document still hold, no matter
what release of Linux you choose. For example, all releases require
you to run fdisk, and all of them (to my knowledge) include
some kind of installation menu similar to the setup program.
If you choose to use a
release of Linux other than Slackware, the READMEs and installation
instructions that come with that release should be easy to understand
in the context of the material presented here.
If you would like a more complete discussion of Linux installation
(instead of the "quick" examples given here), read the book
Linux Installation and Getting Started, from
sunsite.unc.edu in /pub/Linux/docs/LDP.
This book includes a complete discussion of how to obtain and
install Linux, as well as a basic UNIX and systems administration
tutorial for new users.
Please mail me at mdw@sunsite.unc.edu if any part of this document
is confusing or incorrect. I depend on feedback from readers in order
to maintain this document! I also like to help answer questions about
Linux installation, if you have any.
I'd like to thank Patrick Volkerding for his work on the Slackware distribution and assistance in preparing this document.
Best of luck with your new Linux system!
Cheers, mdw