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Linux - Laptop and Netbook Having a problem installing or configuring Linux on your laptop? Need help running Linux on your netbook? This forum is for you. This forum is for any topics relating to Linux and either traditional laptops or netbooks (such as the Asus EEE PC, Everex CloudBook or MSI Wind).

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Old 08-16-2007, 10:02 AM   #1
jimsus
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Installing Linux with no boot media...?


Hello there! This is my first post on LQ, and I feel a wee bit bad because I haven't helped anyone else fix their problems yet. Promise I'll stick around and help out some people after!!

This is the situation - I've recently been travelling, and whilst in Hong Kong, picked up a cheap 60 quid laptop. A Sony Viao PCG-SR1C/BP. 300Mhz and 128MB of RAM. A joyful little machine. However, it did come with XP on. (SLOW!!)

Now back home, I'm in a position to do something about this mess and put a tidy light Linux distro on so I can use the lappy without waiting half an hour between clicks.

Problem is - No CD drive or USB boot ability. Or network boot. Or network card for that matter! (PCICMA WiFi adapter)

Sooooo... Ladies and gentlemen, suggestions for me getting Linux onto this here ol' lappy without spending any money!? Perhaps by installing GRUB or LILO and some how pointing it to a partition with a live CD on? Something along those lines? Anyone done this before? Fancy pointing me in the right direction? Howtos etc...?

Thanks all!
 
Old 08-16-2007, 10:24 AM   #2
Matir
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There is a ubuntu installer to install directly from windows. It's called "Wubi". I've never used it, but I've heard it works well.
 
Old 08-16-2007, 10:48 AM   #3
jimsus
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matir View Post
There is a ubuntu installer to install directly from windows. It's called "Wubi". I've never used it, but I've heard it works well.
Hmm.. I've had a quick little lookie, and I don't think this Wubi is a goer. It installs Ubuntu as a file inside Windows NTFS and modifies the Windows boot menu to put a Ubuntu option in there. That and it wants a processor over three times the clocking of mine, and double the ram!

Ideally, I'd want to clear Windows off the thing completly, get an EXT filesystem on there and install something like Damn Small Linux...

Thanks for the idea though, very kind of you!
 
Old 08-16-2007, 12:12 PM   #4
pixellany
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You could stick the hard-drive in another computer and install Linux from there.
 
Old 08-16-2007, 03:29 PM   #5
reverse
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what kind of devices (if any) can you attach to your laptop?
 
Old 08-16-2007, 05:19 PM   #6
jiml8
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Sounds to me like moving the HD to another machine is the only practical route.
 
Old 08-16-2007, 06:27 PM   #7
saikee
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I would just mount a DSL iso on a loop back device on another computer, change the isolinux to Grub, copy the files into a partition of the old Vario.

The laptop looks old enough to have a floppy drive and so a bootable Grub floppy can fire up the DSL and makes the system permanent.

Command to expand a DSL.iso
Code:
umount /mnt/cdrom
mount -t iso9660 -o ro,loop=/dev/loop0 dsl-4.0_alpha1.iso /mnt/cdrom
Expanded DSL.iso directories are
Code:
root@saikee-desktop:/abit/saikee/Desktop# ls /mnt/cdrom
boot  index.html  KNOPPIX  lost+found
The isolinux.cfg (inside /boot/isolinux) that controls DSL booting from a CD (only the red lines are of interest or needed to converted into Grub)
Code:
root@saikee-desktop:/abit/saikee/Desktop# ls /mnt/cdrom/boot/isolinux
boot.cat  f2  german.kbd    isolinux.cfg  logo.16
boot.msg  f3  isolinux.bin  linux24       minirt24.gz
root@saikee-desktop:/abit/saikee/Desktop# cat /mnt/cdrom/boot/isolinux/isolinux.cfg
DEFAULT linux24
APPEND ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init lang=us apm=power-off vga=791 initrd=minirt24.gz nomce noapic quiet BOOT_IMAGE=knoppix
TIMEOUT 300

PROMPT 1
DISPLAY boot.msg
F1 boot.msg
F2 f2
F3 f3
LABEL dsl
KERNEL linux24
APPEND ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init lang=us apm=power-off vga=791 initrd=minirt24.gz nomce noapic quiet BOOT_IMAGE=knoppix
LABEL memtest
KERNEL memtest
APPEND initrd=
LABEL dsl-txt
KERNEL linux24
APPEND ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init lang=us apm=power-off vga=normal initrd=minirt24.gz nomce noapic quiet BOOT_IMAGE=knoppix
LABEL expert
KERNEL linux24
APPEND ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init lang=us apm=power-off vga=791 initrd=minirt24.gz nomce BOOT_IMAGE=expert
LABEL fb1280x1024
KERNEL linux24
APPEND ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init lang=us apm=power-off vga=794 xmodule=fbdev initrd=minirt24.gz nomce noapic quiet BOOT_IMAGE=knoppix
LABEL fb1024x768
KERNEL linux24
APPEND ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init lang=us apm=power-off vga=791 xmodule=fbdev initrd=minirt24.gz nomce noapic quiet BOOT_IMAGE=knoppix
LABEL fb800x600
KERNEL linux24
APPEND ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init lang=us apm=power-off vga=788 xmodule=fbdev initrd=minirt24.gz nomce noapic quiet BOOT_IMAGE=knoppix
LABEL lowram
KERNEL linux24
APPEND ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init lang=us apm=power-off vga=normal initrd=minirt24.gz noscsi noideraid nosound nousb nofirewire noicons minimal nomce noapic noapm lowram quiet BOOT_IMAGE=knoppix
LABEL install
KERNEL linux24
APPEND ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init lang=us apm=power-off vga=normal initrd=minirt24.gz noscsi noideraid nosound nofirewire legacy base norestore _install_ nomce noapic noapm quiet BOOT_IMAGE=knoppix
LABEL failsafe
KERNEL linux24
APPEND ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init 2 lang=us vga=normal atapicd nosound noscsi nousb nopcmcia nofirewire noagp nomce nodhcp xmodule=vesa initrd=minirt24.gz BOOT_IMAGE=knoppix base norestore legacy
LABEL userdef
KERNEL linux24
A menu.lst that will boot up DSL if stored as /boot/grub/menu.lst
Code:
title LABEL dsl
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/isolinux/linux24 ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init lang=us apm=power-off vga=791 nomce noapic quiet BOOT_IMAGE=knoppix
initrd /boot/isolinux/minirt24.gz
Assuming the DSL is copies into the 1st partition of the the 1st hard disk known to Grub as (hd0,0) then booting up a bootable Grub floppy and press "c" key will get a Grub prompt. DSL will be fired up in a Grub prompy by one line command
Code:
configfile (hd0,0)/boot/grub/menu.lst
Works OK for me, booting directly from a hard disk, or a DVD (with several distros) or in a pen drive.

Last edited by saikee; 08-16-2007 at 06:46 PM.
 
  


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