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2. Installing

Before you can use the Hurd on your favorite machine, you'll need to install all of its software components. Currently, the Hurd only runs on Intel i386-compatible architectures (such as the Pentium), using the GNU Mach microkernel.

If you have unsupported hardware or a different microkernel, you will not be able to run the Hurd until all the required software has been ported to your architecture. Porting is an involved process which requires considerable programming skills, and is not recommended for the faint-of-heart. If you have the talent and desire to do a port, contact bug-hurd@gnu.org in order to coordinate the effort.


2.1 Binary Distributions

By far the easiest and best way to install the Hurd is to obtain a GNU binary distribution. Even if you plan on recompiling the Hurd itself, it is best to start off with an already-working GNU system so that you can avoid having to reboot every time you want to test a program.

You can get GNU from a friend under the conditions allowed by the GNU GPL (see section GNU General Public License). Please consider sending a donation to the Free Software Foundation so that we can continue to improve GNU software.

You can also FTP the complete GNU system from your closest GNU mirror, or ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/. The GNU binary distribution is available in a subdirectory called `gnu-n.m', where n.m is the version of the Hurd that this GNU release corresponds to (0.2 at the time of this writing). Again, please consider donating to the Free Software Foundation.

The format of the binary distribution is prone to change, so this manual does not describe the details of how to install GNU. The `README' file distributed with the binary distribution gives you complete instructions.

After you follow all the appropriate instructions, you will have a working GNU/Hurd system. If you have used Linux-based GNU systems or other Unix-like systems before, the Hurd will look quite familiar. You should play with it for a while, referring to this manual only when you want to learn more about the Hurd. Have fun!

If the Hurd is your first introduction to the GNU operating system, then you will need to learn more about GNU in order to be able to use it. You should talk to friends who are familiar with GNU, in order to find out about classes, online tutorials, or books which can help you learn more about GNU.

If you have no friends who are already using GNU, you can find some useful starting points at the GNU web site, http://www.gnu.org/. You can also send e-mail to help-hurd@gnu.org, to contact fellow Hurd users. You can join this mailing list by sending a request to help-hurd-request@gnu.org.


2.2 Cross-Compiling

Another way to install the Hurd is to use an existing operating system in order to compile all the required Hurd components from source code. This is called cross-compiling, because it is done between two different platforms.

This process is not recommended unless you are porting the Hurd to a new platform. Cross-compiling the Hurd to a platform which already has a binary distribution is a tremendous waste of time… it is frequently necessary to repeat steps over and over again, and you are not even guaranteed to get a working system. Please, obtain a GNU binary distribution (see section Binary Distributions), and use your time to do more useful things. If you are capable of cross-compiling, then you are definitely skilled enough to make more useful (and creative) modifications to the GNU system.

If you are interested in porting the Hurd to a new platform, you should send e-mail to the bug-hurd@gnu.org mailing list in order to coordinate your efforts. People on that list will give you advice on what to look out for, as well as helping you find other people who are interested in working on the same port.


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