1.5 The Boot Screen

The boot screen displays a number of options for the installation procedure. Boot from Hard Disk boots the installed system and is selected default, because the CD is often left in the drive. Select one of the other options with the arrow keys and press Enter to boot it. The relevant options are:

Installation

The normal installation mode. All modern hardware functions are enabled. In case the installation fails, see for boot options that disable potentially problematic functions.

Repair Installed System

Boots into the graphical repair system. More information on repairing an installed system is available in Section 13.6.3, Recovering a Corrupted System. This option is not available when installing from CD.

Rescue System

Starts a minimal Linux system without a graphical user interface. For more information, see Using the Rescue System.

Check Installation Media

This option is only available when you install from media created from downloaded ISOs. In this case it is recommended to check the integrity of the installation medium. This option starts the installation system before automatically checking the media. In case the check was successful, the normal installation routine starts. If a corrupt media is detected, the installation routine aborts.

Firmware Test

Starts a BIOS checker that validates ACPI and other parts of your BIOS. This option is not available with the CD-KDE and CD-GNOME media.

Memory Test

Tests your system RAM using repeated read and write cycles. Terminate the test by rebooting. For more information, see Section 13.2.5, Fails to Boot. This option is not available with the CD-KDE and CD-GNOME media.

Figure 1-1 The Boot Screen

Use the function keys indicated in the bar at the bottom of the screen to change the language, screen resolution, installation source or to add additional driver from your hardware vendor:

F1Help

Get context-sensitive help for the active element of the boot screen. Use the arrow keys to navigate, Enter to follow a link, and Esc to leave the help screen.

F2Language

Select the display language and a corresponding keyboard layout for the installation. The default language is English (US).

F3Video Mode

Select various graphical display modes for the installation. Select Text Mode if the graphical installation causes problems.

F4Source

Normally, the installation is performed from the inserted installation medium. Here, select other sources, like FTP or NFS servers. If the installation is carried out in a network with an SLP server, select one of the installation sources available on the server with this option. Find information about SLP in Section 21.0, SLP Services in the Network, (↑ Reference ).

F5Kernel

In case you encounter problems with the regular installation, this menu offers to disable a few potentially problematic functions. If your hardware does not support ACPI (advanced configuration and power interface) select No ACPI to install without ACPI support. No local APIC disables support for APIC (Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controllers) which may cause problems with some hardware. Safe Settings boots the system with the DMA mode (for CD/DVD-ROM drives) and power management functions disabled.

If you are not sure, try the following options first: Installation—ACPI Disabled or Installation—Safe Settings. Experts can also use the command line (Boot Options) to enter or change kernel parameters.

F6Driver

Press this key to tell the system that you have an optional driver update for openSUSE. With File or URL, load drivers directly before the installation starts. If you select Yes, you are prompted to insert the update disk at the appropriate point in the installation process.

F7Arch

If you install from an installation medium supporting 32bit and 64bit architectures and have an AMD or Intel processor with 64-bit support, select whether to install a 64-bit or 32-bit system. By default, a 64-bit system is installed on a computer with 64-bit support. To install a 32-bit system, press F7 then select 32bit.

After starting the installation, openSUSE loads and configures a minimal Linux system to run the installation procedure. To view the boot messages and copyright notices during this process, press Esc. On completion of this process, the YaST installation program starts and displays the graphical installer.