SUSE install
 

Just getting started with Linux. I recieved a copy of Suse 8.1 pro. I have an old machine with a bad floppy. I can log on and setup a Linux partition, however when I restarted to install I get "No Usable partition found Data will not be saved"

Can I install this w/o a boot floopy? It seems to load from the CD, but not install.

Any thoughts?

Welcome to LQ. The installation CD's should be bootable, and as long as you've got the boot sequence in your BIOS set up to go to the CD drive first, you should be able to get the installation started. It's a little unclear at what point this error message is being generated, but in any case I'd suggest taking care of the parititioning first, before trying to install Linux. In other words, make partitioning a separate task from the intstallation rather than a step within the installation.

Assuming you don't need to retain anything on the hard drive, you could just drop all the existing partitions, then create 3 Linux partitions - one for the swap space (perhaps 256Mg max) and then split the remaining space between the root partition and the /home partition. Partitioning is a very subjective issue though, and different people have different opinions as to what is best. Once the partitioning is complete, starting the Suse install should go smoother, because the target partitions will already exist. Good luck with it -- J.W.

Is a swap partition necessary with 130m of Ram? I only create 1 linux partition. (thinking I'd create another once the installation was complete.

I created a Linux partition,then restarted and still I get the message "No useable partition". I get a linux prompt, but nothing is installing to my harddrive.

Does the partition have to be formated somehow before installing?

OK. all else failed I deleted all the partitions on my hard drive and rebooted from the CD ROM. I still get the message "Found no Usable partition your data will not be saved"

It finds and recognizes the hard drive ealier in the process without issues

How do I get Suse to find my partition or create it's own?