19. Checking Miscellaneous Parameters

19.1. Summary

As a review, DrakX will present a summary of information it has gathered about your system. Depending on the hardware installed on your machine, you may have some or all of the following entries. Each entry is made up of the hardware item to be configured, followed by a quick summary of the current configuration. Click on the corresponding Configure button to make any changes.

  • Timezone: by default, DrakX deduces your time zone based on the country you have chosen. You can click on the Configure button here if this is not correct.

  • Country / Region: check the current country selection. If you're not in the country selected by DrakX, click on the Configure button and choose another. If your country isn't in the list shown, click on the Other Countries button to get a complete country list.

  • Bootloader: if you wish to change your bootloader configuration, click this button. This should be reserved to advanced users. Refer to the printed documentation or the in-line help about bootloader configuration in the Mageia Control Center.

  • Services: with this entry you can fine tune which services will be run on your machine. If you plan to use this machine as a server it's a good idea to review this setup.

  • Keyboard: check the current keyboard map configuration and change it if necessary.

  • Mouse: verify the current mouse configuration and click on the button to change it if necessary.

  • Sound card: if a sound card is detected on your system, it will be displayed here. If you notice the sound card isn't the one actually present on your system, you can click on the button and choose a different driver.

  • Graphical Interface: by default, DrakX configures your graphical interface with a resolution that best matches your video card and monitor combination. If that doesn't suit you, or DrakX could not automatically configure it (not configured is displayed), click on Configure to reconfigure your graphical interface. You can click on Help from within the configuration wizard to benefit from full in-line help.

  • Network: if you wish to configure your Internet or local network access, you can do so from here. Refer to the printed documentation or use the Mageia Control Center after the installation has finished to benefit from full in-line help.

  • Proxies: allows you to configure HTTP and FTP proxy addresses if the machine you're installing on is to be located behind a proxy server.

  • Security Level: this entry allows you to redefine the security level.

  • Firewall: if you plan to connect your machine to the Internet, it's a good idea to protect yourself from intrusions by setting up a firewall. Consult the corresponding chapter of the Starter Guide for details about firewall settings.

19.2. Time Zone Options

This dialog appears after selecting a new time zone in the time zones list. After you've chosen the location nearest to your time zone, two more options are shown.

GNU/Linux manages time in GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) and translates it to local time according to the time zone you selected. If the clock on your motherboard is set to local time, you may deactivate this by deselecting Hardware clock set to GMT, which will let GNU/Linux know that the system clock and the hardware clock are in the same time zone. This is useful when the machine also hosts another operating system.

The Automatic time synchronization option will automatically regulate the system clock by connecting to a remote time server on the Internet. For this feature to work, you must have a working Internet connection. We recommend that you choose a time server located near you or the generic World Wide entry which will select the best server for you. This option actually installs a time server which can be used by other machines on your local network as well.

19.3. Selecting Available Services at Boot Time

This dialog is used to select which services you wish to start at boot time.

DrakX will list all services available on the current installation. Review each of them carefully and uncheck those which aren't needed at boot time.

[Tip] Tip

A short explanatory text will be displayed about a service when it is selected. However, if you're not sure whether a service is useful or not, it is safer to leave the default behavior.

[Warning] Warning

At this stage, be very careful if you intend to use your machine as a server: you probably don't want to start any services which you don't need. Please remember that some services can be dangerous if they're enabled on a server. In general, select only those services you really need.