Starting a Kickstart Installation

To begin a kickstart installation, you must boot the system from a Red Hat Linux boot diskette, Red Hat Linux boot CD-ROM, or the Red Hat Linux CD-ROM #1 and enter a special boot command at the boot prompt. The installation program looks for a kickstart file if the ks command line argument is passed to the kernel.

Boot Diskette
If the kickstart file is located on a boot diskette as described in Section 7.8.1 Creating a Kickstart Boot Diskette, boot the system with the diskette in the drive, and enter the following command at the boot: prompt:

linux ks=floppy

CD-ROM #1 and Diskette
The linux ks=floppy command also works if the ks.cfg file is located on a vfat or ext2 file system on a diskette and you boot from the Red Hat Linux CD-ROM #1.

An alternate boot command is to boot off the Red Hat Linux CD-ROM #1 and have the kickstart file on a vfat or ext2 file system on a diskette. To do so, enter the following command at the boot: prompt:

linux ks=hd:fd0:/ks.cfg

With Driver Disk
If you need to use a driver disk with kickstart, specify the dd option as well. For example, to boot off a boot diskette and use a driver disk, enter the following command at the boot: prompt:

linux ks=floppy dd

Boot CD-ROM
If the kickstart file is on a boot CD-ROM as described in Section 7.8.2 Creating a Kickstart Boot CD-ROM, insert the CD-ROM into the system, boot the system, and enter the following command at the boot: prompt (where ks.cfg is the name of the kickstart file):

linux ks=cdrom:/ks.cfg

Other options to start a kickstart installation are as follows:

ks=nfs: