[SOLVED] Installing Linux from ISO

linus72 · 11-25-2009, 05:26 PM

If you can get to the ubuntu-9.10 boot menu
you can use plpbt without reaing all that at the plop site

I can give you link to plpbt and show you grub menu.lst setup

EricTRA · 11-26-2009, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorax

Hey Eric, you around? I never got that CD-less GRUB trick to work, after several attempts, and several proper ISOs. So I played around with my ISO prog, DaemonTools, and was successful the first time! WHEW!

I installed Ubuntu 9.10 gnome. It seems like a child's art program, that doesn't function very well. I don't get why there are no X's in the corner, to conveniently close a window. And I can't understand why the OS won't let me move windows around the screen. Annoying. And where ever I leave the curser, it leaves "debris", like an image error in that spot. The whole thing has been pissing me off for a few hours!

Any suggestions for the next distro, since I likely won't sign on to Ubuntu ever again...

Hello Lorax,

Great you got something to work somehow, congrats.

Seems to me like the first problem at hand with Ubuntu install had to do with the videocard/driver combination. And the fact that you're looking for the X to close a window is a Windows thingy but should be available in Gnome, KDE, xfce, all the DEs I encountered have it. I can only assume it has something to do with the videocard/driver combo.

One small piece of advice, don't blame a distro at once if something is not working the way you expect it to. Most distros might need some tuning and tweaking to be completely as you expect.

So next time you do an install and encounter a problem, before installing an other distro and putting the fault with the distro, post the problem you have here at LinuxQuestions and we can help you to solve it.

It would be a shame if you let go of a distro you like because of a small problem that could be easily solved. After all, that's the way you learn Linux, by trial and error but never giving up.

Well, suggestions,.... you could try DreamLinux, LinuxMint. I've had them installed on 'older' hardware in the past. Also have a look at http://distrowatch.com. I can only advice you to try out as many as you can. This way you'll learn a lot about Linux. And as someone here on LinuxQuestins (don't remember who) once said: the best distro for you is the one you end up using.

Kind regards,

Eric

Lorax · 11-26-2009, 08:20 PM

Linus and Eric, Thanks a hella-lot for all the good info! Eric your words are simple and wise! After I wrote my rant on Ubuntu, I realized that my old beast likely wasn't in the jive. And you nailed it with the hardware comment. Linus, I did manage to go out and get some CDs made, so hopefully won't need USB boot, or the rest of that suggestion. BUT, I do WANT to learn it. I, well I, just want to learn everything, and those techniques seem handy when one is in a bind.

Update:
Kubuntu! Installed! JIVES! And it ROCKS!!!!
I will keep experimenting with distros, though. I'm gettin to like this! And I'm learning, so I'm happy! My only real reference OS, though, is that proprietary behemoth window-PAINS, and I'm sure

CDs ready to try:
Ubuntu (again, properly, this time!)
Mandriva
Debian, gnome
Debian, kde
Slackware
gNewSense

So now, to make my long-winded post even longer, I have a real question, friends. With all the install attempts I've made, my OS selection menu has old choices, that are invalid, or that I just won't use anymore. How do I clear that list? At this point, my non-winderz partitions are clean. It annoys me to start the computer and see the first screen with that "junk". If winderz is my only OS, for now, why do I get the list instead of just booting straight to winderz?

linus72 · 11-26-2009, 08:40 PM

Lorax
I can show you how to "frugally" install your entire list of distro's above; except slackware
with persistency
they will run in livecd/usb mode

As for the "list"
do you mean the Grub boot menu??

Lorax · 11-26-2009, 09:04 PM

If the GRUB menu is the initial black screen, with OS choices on it, then yea, that!
Please explain your frugal proposal

linus72 · 11-26-2009, 09:15 PM

OK
so, there's 2 good ways to do this:

1) you make a ext2 or ext3 partition, install grub to it,
then download the ones you want, configure them, and "hand-install" them into the partition, also setting up a Grub menu.lst and converting
the various isolinux.cfg's into a grub menu.lst

2) you make a fat32 partition, install syslinux to it, and do as above except you will need to use Plop bootmanager off your real menu.lst
to boot into the syslinux.cfg in order to boot them all

This is all easy stuff; just text files mostly
I have both at the moment; here is my hard drive layout
2 hard drives, 1 160GB, 1 80GB
80GB contains storage partition(sdb1)
and sdb2 is fat32 "frugal partition with syslinux

Code:

Disk /dev/sda: 164.7 GB, 164696555520 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 20023 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00061093

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *           1          79      634536   83  Linux
/dev/sda2            9869       20023    81570037+   5  Extended
/dev/sda3              80        4895    38684520   83  Linux
/dev/sda4            4896        9868    39945622+  83  Linux
/dev/sda5           19741       20023     2273166   82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6            9869       14877    40234729+  83  Linux
/dev/sda7           14878       15750     7012341   83  Linux
/dev/sda8           17407       19740    18747823+  83  Linux
/dev/sda9           15751       17406    13301788+  83  Linux

Partition table entries are not in disk order

Disk /dev/sdb: 80.0 GB, 80026361856 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9729 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000374f1

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1               1        9067    72830646   83  Linux
/dev/sdb2            9068        9729     5317515    b  W95 FAT32

So, sda7 is my ext3 frugal partition
as I make many distros I need to test them frequently

The fat32 partition "emulates" a USB boot and runs much faster
than from USB, with no wear to USB
as I'm booting from HD.

The ext3 frugal partition serves the same purpose, but emulates
a ext2/3 USB, again faster and not using a usb, so no wear to USB.

As for your now existing menu.lst
What distro do you have installed again??

You need to open a root filemanager and edit your /boot/grub/menu.lst

linus72 · 11-26-2009, 09:19 PM

If your OS is Ubuntu
open a terminal
enter
sudo su

plus password

then, if using Gnome desktop, open Nautilus filemanager as root

nautilus

or

sudo nautilus

then click ^up arrow in filemanager till you get to root /
look for boot folder and open the menu.lst in grub folder
by right-clicking, open-with gedit,etc
right-click opened menu.lst and choose "select all"
copy/paste the menu.lst
into your next post

Lorax · 11-26-2009, 09:54 PM

this is heavy, Doc

Lorax · 11-26-2009, 09:59 PM

Maybe I'm TOO green, no? I can rock-on with winderz, but have absolutely no experience with "under" winderz, like DOS, etc. I fear my excessive questions will be more hassle to yous, than me.
Anyway, when you say terminal, do you mean a DOS screen?

linus72 · 11-26-2009, 10:02 PM

LOL
its not really
Linux is cool huh?

I only made the fat32 fake-usb partition cause
KNOPPIX-6.2 wont boot off my ext3 partition?!

I am booting these off that fat32 partition via syslinux and plop

Phalanx-9.04 frugal persistent
Puppy-4.31
Pmagic-4.6
Tinycore 2.1 & 2.6
DSL-4.4.10
KNOPPIX-6.2
Slax-6.1.2
MooLux-4.5

its only 5GB fat32 partition!

linus72 · 11-26-2009, 10:03 PM

terminal in Linux
I dont have windows at all

Lorax · 11-26-2009, 10:28 PM

Ok, no winderz, good boy! HA!
I have taken off my distros. I thought they loaded way too slow, and that properly installing them with a CD would fix more than just that.
But when I start the computer, I am given a black DOS-looking screen, with the following choices:

Winderz XP
GRUB
Ubuntu
Kubuntu
Debian

I need that to disappear completely. I need to be able to kill it from within winderz, since it's my only OS.

EricTRA · 11-27-2009, 12:03 AM

Hi Lorax,

I'm glad you're feeling groovy and happy and that you got some stuff working. Too bad you're sticking with Windoze. I hope you try out some more stuff real soon. Believe me, Window$ gives you a car with a driver but in Linux you're in the driver's seat in full control.

And if you want to learn all about multibooting, grub, partitioning and stuff then follow linus72 his advice.

That guy ROCKS, I've got his Thorshammer on my USB stick and it has helped me several times with failing hardware.

Kind regards,

Eric

linus72 · 11-27-2009, 05:48 AM

Ahhhh!
Thanks EricTRA for the Positive Waves bro!

I'm making ThorsHammer2 this weekend
Any suggesstions?

And Lorax
you never said, but do you have Ubuntu installed
inside windows via Wubi??

If so, find the Ubuntu folder and see if there
is a boot folder in there??

If so, find the menu.lst in /boot/grub folder
and post it here

EricTRA · 11-27-2009, 06:00 AM

Hey linus72,

You're welcome!

One thing comes to mind but I don't know if it's something easy to set up.
Something specific to do network troubleshooting with all the specific utilities in it would be nice. I'm talking something like BackTrack but not that big, slimmed down significantly, but with utilities on it like iptraf (which I use in Slackware). Something like that would be awesome

Kind regards,

Eric