If, for whatever reason, SGI's default installation does not suit your needs, you must use the "Customize Installation ..." option. The button for this option is located to the right of the "Default Installation..." button near the top of the window. After clicking the "Customize Installation ..." button, the Software Manager will read an installation history, check dependencies, and calculate sizes.  This might take a few minutes, depending on the speed of your computer and the size of the distributions on the installation medium. Below is an image of what the Software Manager's screen by the time the installation medium has been read.

Selecting Products for Installation (Making Decisions)

After the installation has been read, the software packages available on the installation medium will be listed. Packages that are selected for installation have a red checkmark in the box on the far left side. This can be toggled by clicking the box with the mouse. Initally, all packages that would be installed by the default installtion will be marked.

The Software Manager provides you with information that is useful for making decisions about which software packages to install. Along with the product description, the Software Manager tells you:

• which sub-systems and files are in the package
• how the version on the installation medium compares to the version (if any) installed on your machine
• the size of the software package

The next three sections describe how to find that information.

Viewing the Sub-Systems and Files in a Software Package

You can see what sub-systems are contained in a software package by clicking the folder to the right of the installed checkbox. You can select which of those sub-systems to install in the same way as you would for software packages. If you click the folder next to each sub-system's installation checkbox, you can see which files will be installed by that sub-system.

You should at least view the sub-systems of any software packages that you intend to install if you are customizing your installation. Often, there are additional packages available for installation that are not automatically checked if you mark that software package for installation. There might also be unnecessary sub-systems that you do not want. However, keep in mind that most of the sub-systems marked when you select a software package will be required; deselecting those required sub-systems will cause a "conflict".

Determining the Status of a Software Package or Sub-System

A software package's or sub-system's status is usually either

• Downgrade - The files on your machine are more current than the ones on the installation medium.
• Same Version - The files on your machine are identical to those on the installation medium.
• Upgrade - The files on the installation medium are more current than the ones on your machine.
• New - Your machine does not contain any version of the files on the installation medium.

Now What?

After you have selected (or deselected) the software packages and sub-systems, you should be ready to begin the actual installation. Before you do, you need to:

• Verify that there is enough disk space for the marked installations. There is a pie graph in the lower right corner of the Software Manager's window describing the disk usage. Typically, the amount of space needed for the actual installation is greater than the amount of space need once the installation is complete (overhead disk space is required). If the amount of "Free"space is negative, then you do not have enough room for all the software packages to be installed at that time.
• Verify that there are no conflicts. If conflicts do exist, the "Conflicts" button will be highlighted, and the "Start" button will not. Click here to learn how to deal with conflicts.

Once you have completed those two steps, you should be able to click the "Start" button. The Software Manager will then install the selected software packages.  This may take quite a while. The Software Manager will notify you once the installation is complete, and if there were any problems with the installation (hopefully not!).

After the installation is complete, you may be instructed to reboot your machine. If the Software Manager gives you explicted instructions to reboot, you should; if it doesn't, you shouldn't.

Once you have been notifed of a successful installation, you may either quit or install software from another installation medium.