bare.i
 

This is probably a stupid question, but this is the first time I've installed Linux on a computer in nearly 5 years, and it is also going on a very old dinosaur of a computer to be used soley as a file server on a network.

I have put a DVD drive in the computer instead of the old CD drive and made an ISO of the slackware install disc, but the computer refuses to boot from this disc. Instead it goes straight to Operating System Not Found - I've checked in the BIOS and made the ATAPI CD drive first in the boot order. I'm just thinking the computer doesn't like the fact that it is a DVD. One option I have is to download all the CDs (which I've started doing) but I also noticed you can use bootable floppies. I thought I would give this a try as this computer is old enough to have a floppy drive. I can't, however, seem to find bare.i, nor am I sure how to go about copying the image onto the diskette. I could probably figure that out, but really the problem is finding the files/information. I didn't see it on the slackware DVD, nor does a quick Google session turn up much in the way of helpful information.

If anyone could point me in the right direction for creating a bare.i floppy from a Windows based PC I would GREATLY appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

Could you use something like http://sourceforge.net/projects/btmgr/ to boot from the CD/DVD?

Welcome to LQ, read more about it here:
http://slackware.com/install/bootdisk.php
it says how to make a boot disk. Know, however, that if the drive doesn't support DVDs, there is no hope for it working.

There is a /bootdisks directory on Slackware 11.0 and eariler, for example:
ftp://slackware.mirrors.tds.net/pub/...1.0/bootdisks/
It contains pretty much all you need to make a boot floppy.

Hi,

I don't think the OP will be able to get a 2.6 kernel on a 1.44MB floppy since the kernel is to big.

I suspect a block read (4K vs 8K) problem for the CD/DVD for the older BIOS on his/her machine.

If this is an older DVDrom drive it may be that you cannot boot burned DVDs to it. I have one older DVD drive that this is the case. You can boot manufactured disks to it, cd and CdR to it, but not DVDrs.

Of course, I was assuming the OP was installing Slackware 11.0 or lesser, where 2.4.x kernels worked.

The computer itself is nearly 10 years old, but I pulled the CD-ROM drive and put in a DVD-ROM drive that is only about 5 years old. I am trying to install 12.1. I've gone ahead and downloaded all the CDs and I burned the first one so am going to try to test to see if it will boot that from the DVD drive, and if not, I'll stick the CD drive back in to try that. I must be blind because I hadn't seen that bootdisk information on the slackware DVD before. Definately going to go back and check on that as well. Thanks for the suggestions!

Hi,
If the system is that old then your problem is most likely the 'block read' when the system is expecting 4K blocks while the newer ISo is a 8K.

'Slackware® 12.1 USB_Install' would be a possible way to go if your system will boot from 'USB'. You would not have to go the edit of the iso to change to 4K block.