Choose Packages to Install

Choose Package Groups to Install

It's now time to specify which programs you wish to install on your system. There are thousands of packages available for Mandrakelinux, and to make it simpler to manage, they have been placed into groups of similar applications.

Mandrakelinux sorts package groups in four categories. You can mix and match applications from the various categories, so a “Workstation” installation can still have applications from the “Server” category installed.

  1. Workstation: if you plan to use your machine as a workstation, select one or more of the groups in the workstation category.

  2. Development: if you plan on using your machine for programming, select the appropriate groups from that category. The special LSB group will configure your system so that it complies as much as possible with the Linux Standard Base specifications.

    [Note]Note

    Selecting the LSB group will also install the 2.4 kernel series, instead of the default 2.6 one. This is to ensure 100%-LSB compliance of the system. However, if you do not select the LSB group you will still have a system which is nearly 100% LSB-compliant.

  3. Server: if your machine is intended to be a server, select which of the more common services you wish to install on your machine.

  4. Graphical Environment: this is where you will choose your preferred graphical environment. At least one must be selected if you want to have a graphical interface available.

[Tip]Tip

Moving the mouse cursor over a group name will display a short explanatory text about that group.

You can check the Individual package selection box, which is useful if you're familiar with the packages being offered or if you want to have total control over what will be installed.

If you start the installation in Upgrade mode, you can deselect all groups and prevent the installation of any new packages. This is useful for repairing or updating an existing system.

Minimal Installation

If you deselect all groups when performing a regular installation (as opposed to an upgrade), a dialog will pop up suggesting different options for a minimal installation:

  • With X: install the minimum number of packages possible to have a working graphical desktop.

  • With basic documentation: installs the base system plus basic utilities and their documentation. This installation is suitable for setting up a server.

  • Truly minimal install: will install the absolute minimum number of packages necessary to get a working Linux system. With this installation you will only have a command-line interface. The total size of this installation is about 65 megabytes.

Choose Individual Packages to Install

If you choose to install packages individually, the installer will present a tree containing all packages classified by groups and subgroups. While browsing the tree, you can select entire groups, subgroups, or individual packages.

Whenever you select a package on the tree, a description will appear on the right to let you know the purpose of that package.

[Warning]Warning

If a server package has been selected, either because you specifically chose the individual package or because it was part of a group of packages, you'll be asked to confirm that you really want those servers to be installed. By default Mandrakelinux will automatically start any installed services at boot time. Even if they are safe and have no known issues at the time the distribution was shipped, it is entirely possible that security holes were discovered after this version of Mandrakelinux was finalized. If you don't know what a particular service is supposed to do or why it's being installed, then click No. Clicking Yes will install the listed services and they will be started automatically at boot time.

[Note]Note

The Automatic dependencies option is used to disable the warning dialog which appears whenever the installer automatically selects a package to resolve a dependency issue. Some packages depend on others and the installation of one particular package may require the installation of another package. The installer can determine which packages are required to satisfy a dependency to successfully complete the installation.

[Note]Note

The tiny floppy disk icon at the bottom of the list allows you to load a package list created during a previous installation. This is useful if you have a number of machines that you wish to configure identically. Clicking on this icon will ask you to insert the floppy disk created at the end of another installation. See the second tip of the last step on how to create such a floppy.