Operating System Installation Course

Lesson 1 • File Systems Overview

Compares NTFS, ext4, APFS, FAT32, and exFAT for OS and data partitions. Guides format selection during installation.

Lesson 2 • What an Operating System Does

Defines OS functions: resource management, process scheduling, and hardware abstraction. Establishes vocabulary used throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • Major OS Families and Variants

Surveys Windows, Linux, and macOS lineages and their architectural differences. Connects OS choice to installation strategy.

Lesson 4 • Disk Partitioning Concepts

Explains MBR and GPT partition schemes and their relationship to bootloaders. Prepares students for hands-on disk preparation tasks.

Lesson 1 • Data Backup Strategies

Covers full, incremental, and image-based backup methods before any installation. Ensures data recovery options exist if installation fails.

Lesson 2 • Hardware Audit and Requirements Check

Teaches systematic hardware inventory and OS minimum-requirements verification. Prevents failed installations caused by incompatible components.

Lesson 3 • BIOS and UEFI Pre-Configuration

Configures firmware boot order, Secure Boot, and TPM settings before installation. Eliminates firmware-level obstacles encountered during OS setup.

Lesson 4 • Creating Bootable Installation Media

Demonstrates writing ISO images to USB drives and optical discs correctly. Produces reliable boot media for all subsequent installation labs.

Lesson 1 • Windows Activation and Updates

Activates Windows and applies cumulative updates to reach a secure baseline. Prepares the system for production or further configuration.

Lesson 2 • Post-Installation Driver Management

Identifies missing drivers and installs them using Device Manager and vendor tools. Ensures full hardware functionality after OS installation.

Lesson 3 • Windows Installation Walkthrough

Follows the automated file-copy and configuration phases of Windows Setup. Students observe and document each installation stage.

Lesson 4 • Disk Partitioning During Windows Setup

Guides creation, deletion, and formatting of partitions inside Windows Setup. Covers system reserved, OS, and recovery partition layouts.

Lesson 1 • Choosing and Downloading a Distribution

Compares major distributions by use case, support cycle, and package management. Guides ISO download and checksum verification for Linux media.

Lesson 2 • GRUB Bootloader Installation and Configuration

Installs GRUB to the EFI partition or MBR and configures boot entries. Enables multi-boot scenarios covered in later chapters.

Lesson 3 • Linux Disk Partitioning Schemes

Designs partition layouts for root, swap, home, and boot partitions on GPT disks. Applies Linux-specific file system choices to each partition.

Lesson 4 • First Boot and System Configuration

Completes locale, timezone, user account, and network setup at first boot. Produces a fully functional Linux system ready for updates.

Lesson 1 • Installing Windows Before Linux

Establishes the recommended Windows-first installation sequence for dual-boot. Explains why Windows overwrites bootloaders and how to recover.

Lesson 2 • Adding Linux to a Windows System

Installs Linux alongside Windows and configures GRUB to detect both systems. Students verify both OS entries appear in the boot menu.

Lesson 3 • Managing Boot Menus and Timeouts

Customizes GRUB and Windows Boot Manager entries, order, and timeout values. Improves user experience on shared or lab machines.

Lesson 4 • Planning a Dual-Boot Layout

Designs partition schemes that accommodate two or more OS installations safely. Prevents data loss from overlapping or overwritten partitions.

Lesson 1 • Network-Based Deployment with PXE

Configures PXE boot server, DHCP options, and TFTP to deliver OS installers over a network. Enables zero-touch deployment for large machine fleets.

Lesson 2 • Windows Answer Files with Sysprep

Creates unattend.xml files to automate Windows Setup phases and OOBE. Covers Sysprep generalisation for image reuse across hardware.

Lesson 3 • Linux Preseed and Kickstart Files

Authors Debian preseed and Red Hat Kickstart files for fully automated installs. Students test files in virtual machines before deploying to physical hardware.

Lesson 4 • Deployment Image Capture and Reuse

Captures a configured OS image and deploys it to multiple targets efficiently. Covers image integrity, versioning, and storage best practices.

Lesson 1 • User Account and Permission Setup

Creates user accounts, groups, and permission structures aligned with least-privilege principles. Establishes access control before any network exposure.

Lesson 2 • Performance Tuning and Monitoring Setup

Adjusts power plans, virtual memory, and startup services for optimal performance. Installs baseline monitoring agents for ongoing system health tracking.

Lesson 3 • Firewall and Security Baseline

Enables host-based firewall, disables unused services, and applies OS security settings. Reduces attack surface on newly installed systems.

Lesson 4 • Update and Patch Management

Establishes an update schedule and applies critical patches immediately after installation. Prevents known vulnerabilities from persisting on new systems.

Lesson 1 • Boot Failure Recovery

Repairs non-booting systems using recovery consoles, live media, and bootloader tools. Covers both Windows and Linux recovery environments.

Lesson 2 • Reinstallation and Clean Recovery

Decides when repair is insufficient and executes a clean reinstall with data preservation. Applies backup and restore procedures from earlier chapters.

Lesson 3 • Common Installation Error Diagnosis

Identifies frequent errors: missing drivers, corrupt media, partition conflicts, and UEFI mismatches. Maps error messages to root causes and fixes.

Lesson 4 • Structured Troubleshooting Methodology

Applies a systematic identify-isolate-resolve framework to OS installation problems. Prevents random trial-and-error that wastes time and risks data loss.