Task 9: Configuring the Base System

After installing the Base System, the Main Menu will look like:

Main Menu: Configure the Base System Time zone configuration is the sole task in this step. Choosing the Next option of Configure the Base System will display:

Select Time zone The object is to choose the time zone that represents your version of local time. You may either choose a time zone from the list on the right, or choose a geographical area from the list on the left. This can be very misleading at times.

For example: If you are in the Eastern time zone in the United States, you would be tempted to choose America which leads to a list of cities, instead of the US section which leads to the Eastern time zone.

On the other hand you can choose a reasonable time zone from the list on the right. If you want daylight savings time to take effect at the appropriate time choose EST5EDT, otherwise choose EST to configure Eastern Standard.

Whatever you choose at this time can be changed later by running tzconfig.

After selecting an appropriate time zone the following question will be asked:

Select Time zone This question asks ``Is your system clock set to GMT?''. Unix system clocks are generally set to Greenwich Mean Time, also known as Universal Time, and use time zone files to display the local time. If this machine is to be set up in this fashion then the answer is yes. Most MS-DOS machines set their clocks to ``local time'' for convenience. If you wish to maintain this compatibility with a DOS or Windows system then the proper answer is ``no''.