Installation
Step-by-step guide: Download | Test | Install
Install BcalcOS Linux
Current release: BcalcOS 1.3 (bobwhite)
For your first installation, a virtual machine or secondary computer is a good way to become familiar with the custom installer and the BcalcOS environment.
Confirm your computer specs meet the minimum requirements:
64-bit x86 CPU | 4 GB RAM | 80 GB Disk
***Back up your data before installing!***
Download
One ISO
Write
USB stick
Boot
Live boot
Test
Look around
Install
Your distribution
Download
Bootable disk image.
BcalcOS is available in one configuration with one ISO.
Click to download the ISO and the checksum.
Open a terminal in the folder where the verification files and ISO were saved.
Copy and paste the following commands into the terminal:
gpg --import bcalcos-iso-signing-key.asc
gpg --verify bcalcos-r1.3.5.iso.asc bcalcos-r1.3.5.iso
sha256sum -c bcalcos-r1.3.5.iso.sha256
GPG verification should report Good signature.
If a warning appears stating the key is not certified with a trusted signature, compare the following Primary key fingerprint 1F16 F8E7 03FF 1C0A 68CD 0B52 1C84 CC5D 4E7D 4D13 against the GPG output to verify it is the BcalcOS signing key.
The checksum verification should report OK.
Write
Write the ISO to the USB.
Obtain a USB stick with at least 8 GB space. Be sure to transfer any files you wish to keep as the USB will be erased and formatted as part of this process.
Perhaps the easiest way to flash the USB is to use a program called balenaEtcher.
1. Plug the USB flash drive into your computer.
2. Double-click on the downloaded balenaEtcher file to launch the program.
3. Press the first button "Flash from file" and select the previously downloaded ISO file: bcalcos-r1.3.5.iso.
4. Click the second button "Select target" and choose the USB drive from list. Confirm you have selected the correct drive.
5. Press the final button "Flash!" to write BcalcOS to the USB stick.
6. The application will inform you when complete.
Boot
Boot from the USB stick.
To test BcalcOS, you have to boot your computer from the just created USB drive.
1. Turn off your computer.
2. Plug the USB stick into the computer.
3. Turn on the computer. Then immediately begin repeatedly tapping the Boot Menu key.
Potential keys: Acer F12, Esc | Asus F8, Esc | Dell F12 | HP F9, ESC | Lenovo F8, F10, F12 | Samsung F2, F12, Esc | Sony F10, F11, Esc
4. Once in the Boot Menu, highlight the option which mentions “USB”, “EFI”, or the flash drive manufacturer’s name. Press Enter to boot from the USB.
5. Select the first option which is BcalcOS (default) from the grub bootloader menu.
6. Your test instance should now load.
Test
Kick the tires.
You are now running a test instance of the BcalcOS Linux.
Look around. Try out applications. Customize the desktop. Remember though, the distribution is running from the USB stick so response time will likely be slow.
Move to the next step to install. If you decide not to install, then simply select shutdown and remove the USB. No changes have been made to your machine.
Install
In the pipe.
To install, double click on the "Install BcalcOS Linux" icon on the desktop.
Secure Boot: not currently supported and must be disabled before installing.
Hibernation: not supported. Swap encryption prioritized.
Dual-boot installations: requires separate physical disks.
You can replace an existing Linux distribution on one disk with BcalcOS while retaining another distribution on a second disk. Single disk dual-boot is not supported.
WARNING: The installer will erase the entire selected physical disk.
***EXISTING DATA ON THE DRIVE WILL BE ERASED.***
1. Your distro will have 4 partitions: EFI/BIOS boot, root (operating system), swap, and home. The partition sizes are dynamically determined based on available RAM and disk space and cannot be manually adjusted.
2. During installation, you will select or provide the:
(1) disk for installation
(2) timezone
(3) hostname
(4) username
(5) login password
(6) whether you want to enable home encryption
3. If home encryption is enabled, you will enter a separate encryption password during installation. This password is required to unlock the encrypted home partition at boot. The swap partition is encrypted automatically regardless of whether home encryption is selected.
4. The keyboard layout can be changed after installation through the BcalcOS Welcome Center.
5. The user you create during installation will have sudo privileges. The root account will be disabled. These settings cannot be changed during installation.
6. And that's it. When the installation is complete, enter Y to shutdown. Remove the USB before restarting.
More information about the BcalcOS installation process is available on Discourse.
Download BcalcOS.
Give it a spin. Risk free.