Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Syracuse University

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Q: Which version of VMware/Fedora/Minix should I install?

    A: It doesn't really matter which version of VMware/Fedora you install. For VMware and Fedora, any recent version should be ok. For Minix, you should use Minix 3. There are only minor differences between the installation of different versions of software.

  2. Q: Is there a specific order when installing these softwares?

    A: Yes, there is an order that you should follow:

  3. Q: When installing Fedora and Minix3 on top of VMware, I downloaded the image (.iso) files, but I don't want to burn them into CDs or DVDs. Is it possible to install directly from the ISO files?

    A: Yes you can. But you need to specify the location of the ISO image file. Please refer to document "Install Fedora from Image File (ISO file)" and "Install Minix 3".

  4. Q: When installing Fedora on top of VMware, I see the following error message: "No hard drive devices..."

    A: This is a bug for VMware versions greater than 4.5 (if you are using VMware4, there is no such problem). You need to add the following line to your .vmx file (in most cases, it is called redhat.vmx. It is a 1kb file in your virtual machine directory): scsi0.virtualDev = "lsilogic". Power off your virtual machine, then start it again. This will solve the problem. (This information is also in document Installing Fedora 5.5 over VMware).

  5. Q: After I install Minix3, my network card does not work, why?

    A: You might have chosen a wrong network card during the installation. When installing your Minix3, remember to choose "type [6], the AMD Lance (vmware simulation)" instead of your actually network card.

  6. Q: I have successfully installed Minix3, and I can ping the Minix3 from my host machine, but when I try to telnet or ftp to Minix3, connection is rejected. Why?

    A: This is probably because you have not enabled your ftp server or telnet server. Enable the services using the following command:
    # intr -d tcpd telnet in.telnetd &
    # intr -d tcpd ftp in.ftpd &

  7. Q: I can establish telnet/ftp sessions to Minx3, but when I login using "root", the connection is lost. Why?

    A: You are not allowed to ftp or telnet to a Minix3 machine using the "root" account. This is allowed in Minix2, but not in Minix3. In order to telnet/ftp to a Minix3 machine, you need to create another user, and use that user's account to telnet/ftp to the Minix3 machine. The command to add a user is "adduser", and an example would be: "# adduser cse785 other /home/cse785" . You can run "man adduser" to see the usage of the command.

  8. Q: I only have desktop (or I do not even have a computer), what should I do?

    A: If you don't have a laptop that you can carry to school for demonstration, but you have a desktop, that is perfectly ok. But in this case, you need to have a portable storage device (better to be a portable hard drive, or a large-size USB flash drive). You can do the projects on your desktop, and when you want to do a demonstration, you can bring the vmdisk files (.vmdk/.vmx files) to the demonstration.

    If you do not own a computer, you can use the computers in CST 2-122. The computers there all have VMware installed. However, no virtual machines are installed on those computers. You need to install Fedora and Minix3 by yourself. You SHOULD bring your own portable harddrive or USB drive to the lab. You SHOULD install the Fedora/Minix3 on these portable drives. Otherwise, if you install them on the C: drive, your installation will be lost during reboot. You probably do not have enough space in the H: drive.

    If you want to buy a portable storage drive or external hard drive, you can check online stores at Amazon, CompUSA, Buy.com, Newegg, or local stores at Circuit City, BestBuy, and Staples.