Unable to Install Linux on Old PC
 

I have an old pentium 3 PC with a CD/DVD drive and I wanted to install Linux from a DVD but it does not seem to recognise the linux dvd. Can anyone tell me how I can create a bootable CD from this DVD so that I can use it to install on my old PC.

Thanks

Jay

Download the iso from the distribution you want to install.
Burn the iso to cd or dvd
http://www.petri.co.il/how_to_write_iso_files_to_cd.htm
Boot from the cd/dvd

I think that the issue you are experiencing is down to the fact that some older DVD drives will not correctly read DVDs burnt at home (as opposed to factory pressed DVDs). To create a bootable CD you need to download and burn the CD image for the distribution you are attempting to install. An alternative might be to look for LINUX magazines which include an installable DVD as a freebie with the magazine.

I have heard of older CD or DVD drives being unable to read discs burnt at home (as opposed to those pressed in a factory). You might find that getting a CD off of a LINUX magazine might work better.

I was wondering if it was possible to create an iso from the debian dvd that I already have, rather than download the entire distribution?

The debian dvd is from a Linux magazine so I think the factory pressed dvd's do not run on my old PC.

Do you still have the original iso you downloaded?
Try to burn it to cd/dvd at a low speed.
The first dvd will install almost everything you need.

I did not download it, I have a dvd from a Linux magazine.

Take a look at
http://en.kioskea.net/faq/sujet-231-make-an-iso-image

you can create an iso file from your dvd by using the
command dd in linux:

dd if=/dev/dvd of=whatevernameyouwant.iso

Check that you have a symbolic link
/dev/dvd that points to the actual name of your dvd device,
if you don't know the name of your device, do a

dmesg | grep -i cd-rom

and look at the last line:

.... Attached ... CD-ROM thenameofthedevice

so your device is in /dev/thenameofthedevice

I know that with slackware it's possible to install with
an iso or the contents of the iso placed in a partition.
Provided you have a usb plug and you can boot from usb
(actually, it's always possible to boot from usb even
if your bios doesn't support it)

I had a laptop with a cd drive that didn't work.
I created a usb boot from a usb boot image provided
by the slackware dvd. I booted from it, launched
the setup program and when prompted for the media
to install from I choose a partition where I actually
copied the contents of the iso by keeping the same structure
as in the dvd.

Check on the debian site, or look in your dvd if there's
anything similar

know this may sound to simple, but sometimes the easy is overlooked, did you try cleaning the DVD.
Spent have the day one time, before I decided to clean it, trying to get a brand new straight of the box installation Cd to work that had thin layer of something on it that I couldn't see.

Thanks for your replies, I followed vonbiber's post and ran the dd command and I think it has created an iso file but it also created a .ICE-unix directory and .X11-unix directory - not sure what these are for because I only specified of=debian.iso.

Do I just burn the .iso file to a cd/dvd and do I need to use any special software because I am doing it on Linux?

Yes, this was the first thing I tried but made no difference - I am able to run the dvd and view its contents on a newer PC.
Thanks

Thanks for your replies, I followed vonbiber's post and ran the dd command and I think it has created an iso file but it also created a .ICE-unix directory and .X11-unix directory - not sure what these are for because I only specified of=debian.iso.

Do I just burn the .iso file to a cd/dvd and do I need to use any special software because I am doing it on Linux?

Burn the ISO using software. It's always worked for me.

EDIT: You might find it easier to use Windows for burning the DVD. I use ImgBurn, a small and free tool for Windows. You can simply choose "Burn image to disc"

I use this command to burn my iso files. Whether the image is in CD or DVD.

growisofs -dvd-compat -Z /dev/dvd=linux-distro.iso

The -dvd-compat gives maximum compatibility with many dvd-rom drives.

BTW, does the old P3 has support to boot from a cd/dvd drive? Check the bios if it supports this feature.

- Cheers