How to get Linux on IBM Thinkpad 760LD (no CD-ROM)
 

hey people,

i aquired an old ibm thinkpad 760ld and like to run a proper linux on it (like slackware 10.2 or so...). problem is it has no cd-rom. i did some search on the net but wasn't lucky so far. besides, it has a modem but i don't want to use it (network installation with modem would be expensive i think). there is a pcmcia slot but the today cards do not fit in it. i think it's an older version. yet, it has a 3.5" floppy, which is great :) so i can save my data once i have installed an os.

maybe i have to remove the hd and attach it to my desktop and install linux this way but i thought maybe one of you guys have another idea... so, got any?

thx, vadkutya

I have no experience with installing Slackware, but I've had success with installing Debian by removing the hard drive and doing the install on a different computer. This worked really well in Debian 3.1 (Sarge), because it had an interesting method of installing where a reboot occured before the software was configured. Just power down the machine when it reaches that point, and move the hard drive to the laptop...and voila!

how to remove hd?
 

thx IsaacKuo,

it's quite tricky. i googled a bit but wasn't able to find a manual on how to remove the hd. i heard it should be fairly easy. but i couldn't figure it out yet. the keyboard is the key i think :). i think there's no other way. anybody out there who knows how to remove the hd of my thinkpad?

vadkutya

hehe, found it...
 

ok, i solved the problem. there are 2 switches at the side of the 760ld which unlock the lcd screen. if you push them in the other direction (to the lcd screen) it will unlock the keyboard. i found an 760E user manual. unfotunately i can't upload anything (is this normal?) so i am not able to provide it...

vadkutya

BTW, how much RAM does this laptop have? 8megs? Depending on how much RAM the machine has, things may be "challenging".

pah...
 

pah... 8mb, i have 40mb!!! :D and a 90MHz processor (pentium). so it should be no big problem. maybe i have to take an older version than 10.2 (haven't checked the requirements so far).

besides, i will only use it at university for text/programming so i don't need X. maybe screen ;)

I have no idea what the Slackware requirements are, but I can't imagine they're heavier than Debian. With no X, every version of Debian will run fine with 40megs of RAM. Can't say for sure what the speed would be like; the slowest computer I've installed Debian 4.0 on is a 120mhz Pentium, a good 33% faster than that old clunker. And it has forty-EIGHT megs of RAM. Still, I put X on it regardless. It's okay with IceWM, but whimpers to a crawl when I try to run Firefox.

damn 48mb...
 

well i figured 40mb ram should be enough for SETI number crunching but maybe i was wrong :D. jokes aside, i was even able to disassemble the hard drive caddy and plug the old 2.5" drive to my extern usb controller. it didn't accept it :(. i'm not an IT expert (yes i tried to turn it off and on again ;)) but the old connector plug from my laptop uses not just 42 pins the modern 2.5" controllers use but the additional 4 pins. i don't know really what they do but i need to get another controller to plug the hd via usb to my desktop and finally install linux... we'll see how it works

vadkutya

I'm not sure what issue you're having with connecting the 2.5" drive. Generally, 2.5" drives use a standard 44 pin IDE interface; there are four more pins beyond that, but those don't attach to the connector (they're for jumpers). This 44 pin interface is different from the 40 pin interface of 3.5" and optical drives, so you need a 2.5"->3.5" IDE adaptor to connect it to an interface meant for a 3.5" drive.

However, you're not using an internal controller, you're using a usb controller. Assuming that usb controller is designed for 2.5" drives, then it will have the standard 44 pin interface, and should connect up with your laptop drive. There will be four pins that aren't connected to anything--this is normal. Unfortunately, there's no "index" bump on laptop drives, so it's hard to tell which way you're supposed to hook it up (it's easy to get upside-down or shifted to the wrong side).

In any case, installing on a usb drive may result in some strange fiddly issues with GRUB and or /etc/fstab. Using the first IDE channel of the internal connector, along with a 2.5"->3.5" adapter may eliminate those fiddly issues.

thx IsaacKuo,

i already thought that the additional 4 pins are jumper settings, yet the connector plug--the thing you shove over the pins--of my laptop does not leave out the additional 4 pins. the hd is an old 2.5". it's not a 3.5". however, i have an external usb storage device with a 2.5" hd in it but a newer one. i plugged the old 2.5" hd from my laptop to the controller of 2.5" usb extern hd. the controller didn't accept the old 2.5" hd (it beeped). so i figured that it might has something to do with the additional 4 pins.

the controller of my external usb hd leaves the 4 pins out. i recongnized that. but as you said it is designed for 44 pins. the connector plug of my laptops hd has 50 (if i haven't miscounted them again :)). so that seems to make the difference. i have no ohter explanation since there's win95 installed on the old 2.5" hd. so it works just fine. it can't be a problem with the hd.

hope this was more understandable :)
vadkutya

p.s.: is there a possibility to upload pictures?
p.p.s.: connector plug = IDE interface :D (that was the word i was looking for :D)

the problem is...
 

ok, i managed to isolate the problem. it's this: the hd of my laptop is ATAPI-50 standard. it uses the 4 additional pins, which are not required by the 2.5" hd's today for powering the hd. modern 2.5" laptop hd are ATAPI-44 standard. problem is it seems impossible to find a ATAPI-50 to ATAPI-44 adapter. anyone know of something like this?

i heard there are ATAPI-40 tp ATAPI-44 adapters and probably 40 to 50 so maybe not all hope is lost :)

I don't know much about ATAPI-50, but maybe this will help.

mea culpa, mea maxima culpa
 

i made a big mistake. it seems that the hd of my laptop is a 50 pol scsi drive not an ide! that explains why i couldn't connect it via ide controller :). ok, as far as i know there's no scsi/ide adapter. the plan has changed. i alter the course ;).

1. buy a scsi controller.
2. plug the laptop hd to it
3. install linux!!!

i'll update in case someone will have the same or a similar problem in the future, although i doubt that.

thx, vadkutya