Re: install linux without floppy and cdrom

From: Douglas Mayne (doug_at_slackware-3.localnet)
Date: 01/04/05 

Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2005 08:45:57 -0700

On Tue, 04 Jan 2005 05:00:19 -0800, bolero92 wrote:

> I have an very old Fujitsu S-series notebook.
> It does not have internal floppy and cdrom,
> just has expanson slots (Fujitsu proprietary) for floppy and cdrom
> but I lose both floppy and cdrom drives.
>
> Now the question is how can I install linux without floppy and cdrom?
> I know I can install via network, but how can I boot it firstly?
>
This is tricky without a floppy or a cdrom. I assume you mean you have
misplaced your drives; that they are physically lost.

What OS does your laptop boot into now? If it is Windows 95, then you
could boot to safe mode and load a kernel with loadlin. Do you want to
entirely replace your existing drive's OS with linux? That is going to
be tricky with just one drive- you'll need to get it right the first
time. Because of the complication of no floppy and no cdrom, you could be
left with a totally unstartable system if you make a mistake. It doesn't
sound like a "good first project" for someone just wanting to check out
linux for the fun of it.

A better option is to take the drive out of the laptop and install it on
another computer. 2.5" laptop drives can be connected to a desktop with
an adapter (if you have one.) You could install linux on the laptop's
drive while installed on the other computer, then reinstalled in the
Fujitsu. There could be some configuration settings which will need to be
adjusted (for differences in hardware), depending on which distribution
you install.

If you want to try installing using the laptop with the single
drive, then before proceeding, read the manual very carefully:
http://www.faqs.org/docs/Linux-mini/Loadlin+Win95-98-ME.html

There are probably a few more "manuals" that you should know, too. This
isn't a project for the faint of heart.

I wrote this a while ago:
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.os.linux.redhat/msg/d5984058900aae1c 

-- 
Gabor: Past 40, knife-throwing becomes erratic.
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0144201/

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