Am I installing CentOS 5.5 right?

Question

I'll probably be in here a bit over the next few months. The only exposure I've had to Linux is just some basic dabbling with Ubuntu and using Knoppix as a recovery DVD for when things go wrong.

I need to setup a VM with CentOS 5.5 64bit. I downloaded the iso from the main site. Have mounted it with VMWare workstation.

This link seems to be the best one I can find on getting things setup. However it differs to some of the YouTube videos I have seen installing 5.4

Should I be doing a Network Installation? Theres a step in the above guide that points to a mirror to pull the image from a webserver. Surely the image is on the ISO I downloaded?

However, I do not see any other option to install other than network install.

Can anyone tell me where I am going wrong? I am sure it is something silly.

Answer 1

There are three kinds of ISOs: First the DVD-ISO which is the best suited for you, I think. Then there is a set of CD images which only make sense to download if you need physical disks but don't have a DVD burner and thirdly the netinstall ISO which you seem to have downloaded. To find a mirror which has the DVD isos directly available for download, have a look at http://www.centos.org/modules/tinycontent/index.php?id=30

A network installation means that on the ISO only the installer is included and all packages which are going to be installed are downloaded from the net during install. If you have little experience with Linux, the easiest would be to get the DVD Iso. With it, the installation is pretty easy. Then of course the techotopia.com-Link doesn't apply any more, as this only explains a network install.

If you need an installation guide (again, if you use the graphical installer it is pretty self-explainable) you might have a look at the official guide for 5.2. The installation process of 5.5 should be identical to 5.2. See http://www.centos.org/docs/5/html/5.2/Installation_Guide/

Finally if you run into problems and need live, interactive help, you might try the #centos channel in freenode IRC. If you can wait some minutes, of course better ask here.