Updated: 2013-05-08 21:01 EDT

1 OverviewIndexup to index

This file explains the best way to get a copy of the Fedora 12 Linux 32-bit DVD Fedora-12-i386-DVD.iso and verify that it is not corrupt. In this file, you will be told in detail how to do these two steps:

  1. Download: How to copy the Fedora-12-i386-DVD.iso file to your laptop, hard disk, or USB key.
  2. Verify: How to make sure your downloaded ISO copy has the same checksum as the original DVD by doing the verification step, below.

2 Download Fedora 12 32-bitIndexup to index

You can start this download process and wait for it to finish while you do other things.

In this section, you will download Fedora 12 to your machine. It must be Fedora 12 32-bit, no other version is acceptable for this course. (If you want to play with a desktop version of Linux, don’t use this version. Get something graphical and desktop-friendly such as Ubuntu Linux or Linux Mint to play with.)

You can get the Fedora 12 32-bit ISO image from one of the following places. We recommend that you choose the first one; it’s the fastest one.

2.1 Download Method 1: From a Local T126 File Share (fastest)Indexup to index

You can get a copy of the DVD from the C:\CST folder on any of the workstations in Algonquin Lab T126. You can do this in any of these three Share Method ways, but you must be present and wired into the T126 room to do it (no wireless):

2.1.1 Share Method 1: Enable Passworded ShareIndexup to index

(This information is provided by Richard Donnelly.)

This share requires a username and password to access:

  1. On any T126 machine containing the C:\CST share, run CMD as Administrator: Right Click and select Run As Administrator
  2. Enter the following commands and replace the italic sections as required:
    1. net user username password /ADD
      • you can make up any username and password you like
    2. net share cst=C:\CST
    3. netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="File and Printer Sharing" new enable=Yes
  3. To access this share from your Windows machine on the same wired network, start a CMD prompt and type:
    • net use x: \\ipaddress\CST /USER:username password
      • there are no blanks in the network share name \\ipaddress\CST, e.g. \\10.50.23.45\CST.
      • ipaddress is the IP address of the machine sharing C:\CST
      • username and password match the ones you chose, above.
    • NOTE: You cannot access T114 or T126 machines from Algonquin Wireless! Use a wired connection in the room.
  4. The share will be visible as drive X: on your machine, and also using the network path \\name\CST where name is either the machine name or the IP address, e.g. a path similar to \\t126-06\CST or \\10.50.23.45\CST
  5. Choose Fedora 12 32-bit: Fedora-12-i386-DVD.iso
  6. Proceed to the Verify step.

Make sure you use a wired connection to download any files.

2.1.2 Share Method 2: Enable Public Password-Free ShareIndexup to index

(This information is provided by Michael Porteous.)

Anyone can access this share without a password:

  1. On the machine containing the C:\CST share, follow this link to turn on Windows Sharing on the C:\CST folder
  2. To access this share from your Windows machine on the same wired network, use the network path \\name\CST where name is either the machine name or the IP address, e.g. a path similar to \\t126-06\CST or \\10.50.23.45\CST
  3. Choose: Fedora-12-i386-DVD.iso
  4. Proceed to the Verify step.

Make sure you use a wired connection to download any files.

2.1.3 Share Method 3: Sneaker Net: Use a USB DriveIndexup to index

You can copy the DVD image from C:\CST on any T126 machine onto a USB drive and then attach the USB drive to your own computer and copy it to your local computer. USB drives are often slow.

  1. Choose: Fedora-12-i386-DVD.iso
  2. Proceed to the Verify step.

2.2 Download Method 2: From the CSTECH Downloads Folder (slower)Indexup to index

This is slower than the above Windows Share method. It only works on campus, but it works anywhere on campus, not just in T126.

Rumour has it that Chrome will not download the ISO properly. Use Firefox or Safari (or maybe IE, though early versions of IE on early versions of Windows will not work either). The downloaded ISO file should be exactly 3204427776 bytes and you must Verify the download before you use it.

Avoid using wireless and avoid downloading while running a laptop on batteries (with power management) that limits download speeds!

  1. On your laptop use a browser to go to the Web site http://cstech on campus.
  2. Choose any room from the left side-bar (e.g. T126). Go to Drivers and Downloads, Linux, Fedora, fedora 12.
  3. Choose: Fedora-12-i386-DVD.iso
  4. Wait at least six minutes; longer, if others are also downloading.
  5. Proceed to the Verify step.

Make sure you use a wired connection to download any files.

2.3 Download Method 3: From the Internet (slowest)Indexup to index

This is slower than all the above methods. Use it only if you have to.

Rumour has it that Chrome will not download the ISO properly. Use Firefox or Safari (or maybe IE, though early versions of IE on early versions of Windows will not work either). The downloaded ISO file should be exactly 3204427776 bytes and you must Verify the download before you use it.

Avoid using wireless and avoid downloading while running a laptop on batteries (with power management) that limits download speeds!

  1. On your laptop use a browser to find and download Fedora-12-i386-DVD.iso from the Internet. This will be very slow anywhere on campus. Don’t try it.
  2. Choose: Fedora-12-i386-DVD.iso
  3. Proceed to the Verify step.

3 Verify the Downloaded ISOIndexup to index

You need to know if the downloaded DVD image is good or corrupted.

You will need some form of checksum or hashing program that runs on your local computer. It has to be something that can calculate an SHA256 hash. Unix/Linux/OSX machines already have the sha256sum command available. One suggestion (thanks Richard!) for Windows users is HashTab, also suggesed by the Fedora Validation Site.

You can download a copy of the Fedora 12 checksum file to find the SHA256 checksum value for this DVD: f0ad929cd259957e160ea442eb80986b5f01daaffdbcc7e5a1840a666c4447c7.

  1. Download and install HashTab for Windows. (Unix/Linux/OSX users don’t need this program.)
  2. Copy the desired hash to the clipboard (e.g. the first hash from the Fedora-12-i386-CHECKSUM file).
  3. Right click in the file you wish to verify, i.e. select your DVD Fedora-12-i386-DVD.iso
  4. Click Properties and then file hashes.
    • It will compare the hashes to the one(s) in your clipboard.
    • MD5 and SHA-1 are the defaults, but it can be customized to include others.
  1. Verify that you have the Fedora 12 DVD named Fedora-12-i386-DVD.iso

  2. Verify the checksum of the image you downloaded against the checksum recorded in the Fedora Checksums File.
    • It takes 30-90 seconds to checksum all 3204427776 bytes of the DVD on disk (much longer if using USB or actual DVD).
    • The SHA256 checksum should be: f0ad929cd259957e160ea442eb80986b5f01daaffdbcc7e5a1840a666c4447c7

If the checksum doesn’t match, throw away this ISO image and get one that isn’t corrupted. Do not try to use a corrupted DVD image!

Author: 
| Ian! D. Allen  -  idallen@idallen.ca  -  Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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