LinuxQuestions.org - Manual Frugal Install

- DamnSmallLinux (http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/damnsmalllinux-42/)

- - Manual Frugal Install (http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/damnsmalllinux-42/manual-frugal-install-405206/)

Manual Frugal Install

I'm planning to make my laptop a triple-boot computer with Suse 10.0, DSL 2.0, and Windows XP. I would like to be able to have the control of the normal frugal install but I want the boot files to be compatible with GRUB so I can add DSL to the list. I already have my hard disc partitioned and Windows and Suse have already been installed. Here's the partitioning tables:

hda1 - Windows
hda2 - /
hda3 - /mnt/dsl (Contains the DSL image)
hda5 - /home (Also contains the backup files for DSL as well as /home, /opt, and /dsl for DSL)
hda6 - swap

As I have discovered, the normal frugal install script uses LILO as a bootloader which won't work with GRUB installed by Suse. Also, I prefer GRUB over LILO. As for the GRUB frugal install script, it didn't have all the options in the normal script.

Could someone tell me what I commands I need to execute to have the same effect as the normal frugal install script but will allow me to use GRUB as the bootloader?

there is supposed to be a grub variant according to this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damn_Small_Linux

I tried the GRUB version but it would not let set the preboot options like dma, toram, /home=hda5, /opt=hda5, etc.

I know its not the answer your looking for, but you can use the grub version and enter in the options manually by editing the file.

And which file would that be? I never realy got to use DSL that much so I don't know that much about the DSL filesystem. Also, how do set where to mount /dsl since from what I could gather from the LILO install script, /dsl mount point has it's own script option.

The thing though is that since I already have GRUB installed with Suse, I don't want DSL to install its own version of GRUB. And note that this is being installed on a laptop WITHOUT a floppy drive. All I really is just a DSL frugal install that will allow me to add it Suse's version of GRUB.

If you have grub already installed, you can use that to boot DSL. This is the way I've been running DSL since version 0.7, and it works fine. You'll just need to edit Suse's /boot/grub/menu.lst to add a section for DSL.

or add an entry to chainload with the bootloader for dsl placed in the partition you install to

DSL on a Pll 266

Hi,

I've got an old Pll 266, 128 MB RAM, 4 GB HD that Id like to try DSL on. I've looked on the DSL main page, but, can't find any installation documentation.
Could anyone please give me a link to an install howto? Right now my distros are slackware and debian.
I'm intereseted in trying out DSL.
Thanks for any and all replies.:D

hitest

Since DSL was originally developed as a liveCD, you can try it out by burning the ISO and booting that.
There are scripts available from the desktop menu that will help you to install to disk.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikshaw

Since DSL was originally developed as a liveCD, you can try it out by burning the ISO and booting that.
There are scripts available from the desktop menu that will help you to install to disk.

Thanks, mikshaw! I'll give that a try.:D

What is meant by this?

For memory savings, there is the option to have a persistent /home and /opt directory on a partition. This is a way to run a practically bulletproof system.

I am attempting to do a frugal install similar to a knoppix poorman's install of DSL. I am unsure what to do. The directions from here are incomplete and unclear on some things.

http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/...rugalHowto.pdf

I am probably not doing this exactly the way this guide intended, but it unclear on what should be done, so I am not sure. Here is what I have done.

I added the hard drive I plan on using to another working computer with Debian Etch testing unstable. The computer for DSL can boot from a cd, but my cd burner is bad, so I couldn't create a DSL cd. How else am I going to put the cd image on the partition created for it? I used fdisk to create the partitions. After using fdisk I did these things.

Code:

debian:~# mke2fs /dev/hda1

mke2fs 1.39 (29-May-2006)

Filesystem label=

OS type: Linux

Block size=1024 (log=0)

Fragment size=1024 (log=0)

14056 inodes, 56224 blocks

2811 blocks (5.00%) reserved for the super user

First data block=1

Maximum filesystem blocks=57671680

7 block groups

8192 blocks per group, 8192 fragments per group

2008 inodes per group

Superblock backups stored on blocks:

        8193, 24577, 40961



Writing inode tables: done

Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done



This filesystem will be automatically checked every 21 mounts or

180 days, whichever comes first.  Use tune2fs -c or -i to override.

debian:~# fdisk -l



Disk /dev/sda: 320.0 GB, 320072933376 bytes

255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders

Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes



   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System

/dev/sda1           14599       38913   195310237+  83  Linux

/dev/sda2           14356       14598     1951897+  82  Linux swap / Solaris

/dev/sda3   *           1       14355   115306506   83  Linux



Partition table entries are not in disk order



Disk /dev/hda: 853 MB, 853622784 bytes

255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 103 cylinders

Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes



   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System

/dev/hda1   *          97         103       56227+  83  Linux

/dev/hda2              67          96      240975   82  Linux swap / Solaris

/dev/hda3               1          66      530113+  83  Linux



Partition table entries are not in disk order

debian:~# mke2fs /dev/hda3

mke2fs 1.39 (29-May-2006)

Filesystem label=

OS type: Linux

Block size=4096 (log=2)

Fragment size=4096 (log=2)

66400 inodes, 132528 blocks

6626 blocks (5.00%) reserved for the super user

First data block=0

Maximum filesystem blocks=138412032

5 block groups

32768 blocks per group, 32768 fragments per group

13280 inodes per group

Superblock backups stored on blocks:

        32768, 98304



Writing inode tables: done

Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done



This filesystem will be automatically checked every 34 mounts or

180 days, whichever comes first.  Use tune2fs -c or -i to override.

debian:~# fdisk -l



Disk /dev/sda: 320.0 GB, 320072933376 bytes

255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders

Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes



   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System

/dev/sda1           14599       38913   195310237+  83  Linux

/dev/sda2           14356       14598     1951897+  82  Linux swap / Solaris

/dev/sda3   *           1       14355   115306506   83  Linux



Partition table entries are not in disk order



Disk /dev/hda: 853 MB, 853622784 bytes

255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 103 cylinders

Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes



   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System

/dev/hda1   *          97         103       56227+  83  Linux

/dev/hda2              67          96      240975   82  Linux swap / Solaris

/dev/hda3               1          66      530113+  83  Linux



Partition table entries are not in disk order

debian:~# mkswap /dev/hda2

Setting up swapspace version 1, size = 246751 kB

no label, UUID=fbb76280-ce93-4fd8-94dd-a40985c9dbd3

debian:~# swapon /dev/hda2

What's next? I need a lot of information and the complete process. Thanks. Also, if it were possible to do a network installation of DSL, then I would do it, but I have not figured out how to do that yet after looking all over the place.