I'm about to give up on DSL...

zomg4srsly · 03-14-2009, 10:56 PM

Hi all, I've been wanting to switch to Linux for a while now. While searching for a distro that sounded good, I came across Damn Small Linux. I thought, "Sweet, only 50 megs!" and bought their Official Damn Small Linux book w/ version 3.3 on Live CD (for a discount on Amazon too).

Well, I got it in the mail on Thursday, and it hasn't been smooth sailing for me. I can't get on the Internet, and have been trying to get it to work for the past couple of days now. I have a Dell Inspiron B130 and connect via Ethernet with a Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller. DSL 3.3 on the book's CD doesn't recognize the network card, and when I try the "modprobe b44" solution I get:

Code:

dsl@box:~$ sudo modprobe b44
/lib/modules/2.4.26/kernel/drivers/net/b44.o: init_module: No such device
Hint: insmod errors can be caused by incorrect module parameters, including invalid IO or IRQ parameters.
      You may find more information in syslog or the output from dmesg
/lib/modules/2.4.26/kernel/drivers/net/b44.o: insmod /lib/modules/2.4.26/kernel/drivers/net/b44.o failed
/lib/modules/2.4.26/kernel/drivers/net/b44.o: insmod b44 failed

even though I b44.o IS in the folder they specify.

I tried downloading and installing the driver from broadcom, but the installation is messing up. Perhaps the b44.o that already exists is messing the installation up? I tried deleting it to then reinstall but that caused an error in the directory.

So today I tried downloading DSL 4.4.10 and burning it to a Live CD, however the boot freezes when checking for USB devices. I made sure to slow down the burning speed and md5 test the download. I finally could get my CD to boot by using "nousb" but that obviously disabled my usb mouse and thumb drive.

"modprobe b44" worked dandy without any errors and showed up under "lsmod". Buuuuut, that wouldn't help me connect to the Internet because my Ethernet light turned off.

And here I am now. Sorry, this was terribly ranty; I'm just really frustrated now. Any help with any of these problems would be appreciated. Or you could suggest another distro I could use since I'm very close to giving up on this one.

And I wish I could post this on the Damn Small Linux board, but they haven't given me permission yet.

Drakeo · 03-15-2009, 12:05 AM

how about 96 mb full gui can run in ram do a frugal install or full install or just a saved file.

Quote:

http://www.puppylinux.org/downloads/...uppy-linux-412

b44 should work fine. just click the connect and follow the instructions. puppy is no joke.

eridout · 03-17-2009, 07:48 AM

I'm in the same boat -- newbie been trying several days (on and off) to install DSL on a laptop -- although I'm not despairing yet. My laptop may have been more expensive originally, but it's now seven years old. Current problem is the LILO booter cannot be found. Maybe I did something wrong. I found several people online writing about the same problem, but I didn't find anyone writing about a solution. Will have to back up and hit it again. I'm too cheap to pay the $25 for the DSL book, so if you decide to fling yours out, let me know which direction.

zomg4srsly · 03-17-2009, 02:09 PM

Thanks for the replies. I ended up just borrowing my friend's Ubuntu CD and it connects my computer to the Internet just fine. I think I'll install it later this week.

I will give DSL one last try when I move back to my parents' house for the summer and see how it does on one of the older computers.

Drakeo: Puppy looks pretty interesting too; not too much bigger than DSL, and I love puppies.

eridout: Good luck with your install!