Linux - GeneralThis Linux forum is for general Linux questions and discussion.
If it is Linux Related and doesn't seem to fit in any other forum then this is the place.
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
Distribution: Ubuntu on Toshiba Satallite A30; Xubuntu on Dell Optiplex (Both 7.04)
Posts: 35
Rep:
Installing a distro with no cd/floppy/usb drive
Hi - I wrote this in the DamnSmallLinux forum but I'm thinking it's a little more generic and so have copied it over to here. I will then delete the other thread:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Hi all.
I have searched the forums and google to no avail, (difficult considering the search terms)
I have an old pc which i managed to force simplyMepis on some time ago. SM is too much for it to use really, and I was hoping to get a smaller distro on there. I've looked and am keen to experiment with DSL.
The problem is I don't have a working CD Drive in the machine, nor access to a usb pen (nor a floppy for that matter!). I have the iso on my mepis box but what can i do now to install it? (I'm expecting the answer to be nothing, but I can hope...)
If anyone knows of a method/any other distros I might try that I could install, I'd appreciate it.
Hi - I wrote this in the DamnSmallLinux forum but I'm thinking it's a little more generic and so have copied it over to here. I will then delete the other thread:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Hi all.
I have searched the forums and google to no avail, (difficult considering the search terms)
I have an old pc which i managed to force simplyMepis on some time ago. SM is too much for it to use really, and I was hoping to get a smaller distro on there. I've looked and am keen to experiment with DSL.
The problem is I don't have a working CD Drive in the machine, nor access to a usb pen (nor a floppy for that matter!). I have the iso on my mepis box but what can i do now to install it? (I'm expecting the answer to be nothing, but I can hope...)
If anyone knows of a method/any other distros I might try that I could install, I'd appreciate it.
Many thanks!
Mitch.
Can you network boot?
failing that you could probably scavenge, beg, borrow or steal a drive from somewhere and use it just for the install?
Distribution: Ubuntu on Toshiba Satallite A30; Xubuntu on Dell Optiplex (Both 7.04)
Posts: 35
Original Poster
Rep:
Moved from my other thread:
PTrenholme:
You might be able to use the new GRUB2 (still, I think, "alpha," and only available in source) to boot from an ISO image. Here's a link to the project description. According to the current status WiKi, it does support ufs file systems, but it's not clear to me (and I haven't looked at the code) if it only supports ufs on a physical drive or if you can point it to an ISO image file.
__________________
Distribution: Ubuntu on Toshiba Satallite A30; Xubuntu on Dell Optiplex (Both 7.04)
Posts: 35
Original Poster
Rep:
Using the grub.conf as described in http://www.bobpeers.com/linux/hard_drive_install didn't work as the walkthrough lists a different grub. The files/folders are all in different places and according to 'find / | grep grub.conf' I don't have a grub.conf file. I did have a message.lst file which looked to have a similar format but when edited (from root) it didn't seem to make a difference to the bootloader. I am not sure If I am using grub - the bootloader has a mepis front end to it so perhaps it doesn't use grub at all. I'm afraid I don't know how to find out.
The second link I looked at wasn't any good for me either as it describes moving from windows to linux, where I already have linux installed.
I didn't get the opportunity to try the grub2 suggestion in the other thread yet (for the brits out there, I was preoccupied with the last in the series of shameless!) but will try that tonight.
Any other ideas?
I can netboot from a seperate windows machine but all the walkthroughs I have seen are either from linux to linux or windows to windows and I have yet to find a way to merge the two...
Distribution: Ubuntu on Toshiba Satallite A30; Xubuntu on Dell Optiplex (Both 7.04)
Posts: 35
Original Poster
Rep:
Ok - I've tried a network boot - I found that as I am using windows xp as a server the windows -> windows network boot walkthroughs were a bit more useful, and I have now successfully got my pxe boot to talk to my windows xp tftp server. - Hoorah!
Now, however, I am having trouble with getting a file to boot. I have the client asking me for a boot file, however no matter which file i feed it from the iso, it fails on me. Hopefully I'm now at a stage where some of you could help.
If i wanted to install feather linux or DSL over the network, which files/file structure would I have to use to get it to work? is there a special files i need that I can't get from the iso?
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.