I have installed Linux on many PCs and noted that current distributions are terrific but, annoyingly, lack some basic configuration. Most applications will work out of the box, but others won't. Moreover, I have noted that the same questions crop up on c.o.l.setup over and over again. To try and remedy this situation, and for my own convenience, I wrote a to--do list that eventually became this HOWTO. Here you will find configuration tips and examples for the most common applications, programs, and services, which should save you a fair amount of time and work.
A few of the examples outlined in this HOWTO depend somehow on the distribution. Currently, I only have access to Red Hat 5.2 machines, kernel 2.0.36; so don't take any of my tips as gospel if you have other distributions. It shouldn't be hard to adapt my tips to other distros, though.
This HOWTO can't, and is not meant to, replace others. Reading docs and HOWTOs always pays, so you're strongly advised to do so if you want to know more. Also, no spoon--feeding here: if you realise you don't understand something, please refer to the relevant HOWTO. Let me remind you that the right place for seeking help with Linux configuration is Usenet, i.e. news:comp.os.linux.setup. Please, don't seek help from me because I'm quite overloaded.
The official place for this document, including some translations, is available at http://metalab.unc.edu/mdw/HOWTO. Here you will also find all other HOWTOs I refer to. The very latest version is available at http://ibogeo.df.unibo.it/guido/Configuration.
There can be endless hardware configurations for a PC, but in my experience one is quite common: a PC fitted with a large HD split into three partitions (one for DOS/Windows, one for Linux, one for the swap), sound card, modem, CD--ROM drive, printer, mouse. A parallel port Zip Drive is also very common. This machine is possibly part of a mixed Windows-Linux network, where it acts as server.
This is the hardware I'll assume you want to configure, but it's easy to adapt the following tips to different configurations. It's implicitly assumed that you'll be root when editing/fixing/hacking.
And now, lads, sleeves up.