Boot disk cannot detect CD
 

Hello,

I've done a number of Linux installs but it was some time I did it I must admit. Mandrake is new to me however.

I have a rather old system I thought I bring to life with Mandrake but no disk image found on the CD seems to be able to detect my CD-ROM correctly. The default one does not even detect it, one of the alternates detects it but cannot read correctly.

So, I guess my question is: are there any good source of alternate boot disks OR

Can I manually try to fix this, either by finding the relevant drivers or by some editing?

I do not know where to look for either hints or files that can help me.

The system I have is a P-100 from -95 with a for its time ordinary IDE (ATAPI) CD-ROM drive. EDIT: No, I cannot boot from CD, not supported by my system.

regards Moriarty

I read it as you have another computer available?
If so, put a network card in the old box (they are very cheap today) and try a network installation.
Or temporarily move the harddisk from old box to some other, copy the CD's (don't remember where I put them, all in one directory or in /Mandrake/CD1 etc)
All I remember is it worked fine, but that was some 2 years ago.

No, problem is that I don't have another computer available, not within 10 minutes walk :)

The very reason for trying to do this Mandrake install is that my other computer broke down and I need something running while waiting for a fix of my ordinary computer.

I cannot switch hardware as my old and new computer have *nothing* in common except that they both are computers.... well, the old one is from -95 and the other from last summer, so I guess there are few things that are compatible...

My old system runs RedHat 7.2 so I *could* try to make the computer go online from there and do a network install... I guess.

Does Mandrake install require 64MB RAM for the RAM disk? If so, I guess that will be the next problem, as the computer in question is equipped with 32MB only.

So why upgrade when I have a running Linux version you might ask. Well, it was some time since RedHat 7.2 and it was some time since I ran Linux so I thought it would be nice with some 'fresh air' so to speak. Besides that, I had some problems with the old one I thought would be solved in newer versions, and last I've heard good things about Mandrake and I wanted a hands-on experience.

But if my system is too old for Mandrake, what dists should I look for? We're talking:

Pentium 100Mhz
32MB RAM
1x540MB HDD + 1x1.2GB HDD
A Diamond Stealth gfx card

My main interest in using this computer would be to read mail, do my daily fix of irc and if have the time continue with various programming projects I have.

So... where do I go from here?...
Network install?
Copy contents of CD to the 1.2GB drive and do a harddisk install from the RedHat dist I have?
Look for another dist?
Rest my case and make friends with my old RedHat 7.2?

:)

best regards
Moriarty

Don't even think about putting a modern Mandrake on this computer!
Don't know what version you have, I'd say even Mandrake 8 is too heavy, though you could give that one a try.
I would recommend some older Slackware, there are also lots of small distros out there.
Problem is still how to get it into your computer, but you say it has RedHat installed & running, so copying install-CD to second disk is a good solution.

Haha, ok! I've been away from the Linux community that long?.... :)

Well, in that case, why bother doing a reinstall before it's absolutely nescessary? As I said, I do have RedHat running... or maybe I should look in some other direction, say another free Unix system...

Thanks for the warning, probably saved me a lot of time.

OT: does anyone have any recommendation of good irc/icq/msn clients for Linux? I can find them if there are any but your opinion would be worth more...

OT2: What small dists should I consider then, if any? Recommendations?

regards,
Moriarty