The K Desktop Environment

Chapter 3. Installation

 

Core dumping fsck's tend to make me nervous

 Linus Torvalds, after finding one of his file systems smashed by a new Beta kernel

Don't worry! Although the use of some Beta software can cause considerable grief, it is unlikely that the installation of KDE will smash your hard disk. In fact, this chapter is designed to guide you through the installation process so that you can take a look at your new desktop as quickly (and with as little grief) as possible. As with all new Window Manager installs, it is recommended that you back up all your X11-specific configuration files before you begin the install. If you do not know the exact location of them, try all the hidden (.*) files in your home directory and the directory /usr/X11/lib/X11/xdm.

3.1. Requirements

Before installing KDE, ascertain that your system fulfills the following requirements:

Warning

A warning before you start: Before upgrading from a previous version of KDE, we recommend that you do the following:

  
 cd /opt/kde 
 tar cfvz ~/KDE-old-version-backup.tar.gz *