HD Install :: can't install DSL!! :'(

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I just tried the fdisk thing after the knoppix# thing

No, your prompt will need to say dsl@box (and then sudo su to change it to root) or root@box for you to do fdisk.

Quote (lucky13 @ April 27 2007,22:25)

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How much RAM do you have? You may need to use lowram:
http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/index.php/Cheat_Codes

After it boots up, you'll need to get a command line -- either exit to console (and type "sudo su" and enter) or launch aterm as superuser (root). That's where you type fdisk -l /dev/hda (or whatever your hard drive is -- I'll assume if it's older/smaller that it's hda). You want there to be an asterisk next to your Linux partition like this with whatever partitions you have:

Code Sample

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
.....
/dev/hda3 * 701 2491 14386207+ 83 Linux

If you don't see an asterisk next to the non-swap partition, you can run cfdisk and toggle it bootable. This is what cfdisk will look like:
http://www.eff.org/IP/broadcastflag/cookbook/cfdisk.png

Just move up or down to highlight the Linux (NOT the swap) partition and then move the menu (right-left arrow keys) to Bootable and hit enter. It should be flagged as bootable after that. Then move over to WRITE. Hit enter. It will prompt you because it's rewriting your partition table. Make sure it's right for what you want to do (if you're doing a frugal install, you really need three partitions -- a swap, one 55-60 MB partition for the ISO, and the rest can be used for persistent /home and /opt partitions as well as for your backup). Once you've written it you can quit cfdisk.

I went back in zboot and made 3 partitions like you said I should do.. one swap, one native about 60MB, and the rest is on a native also.

Which native should be set to bootable? The 60MB one or the larger sized one?

I tried setting the larger native partition as the bootable one.. and I used the lowram install.. but it still gives me the same thing I posted in my first post.. :/

And I think that computer's only got like.. 16MB of RAM..

EDIT: My bad.. I went back in tis thread and read that I should set the smaller partition as the bootable one.. but even then, it doesn't change anything. *sigh*...

So currently the problem is not "can't install DSL" but "cannot boot DSL livecd using a bootfloppy".

What kind of cdrom drive do you have?
Which floppy image did you use?

Quote (^thehatsrule^ @ April 28 2007,00:03)

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So currently the problem is not "can't install DSL" but "cannot boot DSL livecd using a bootfloppy".

What kind of cdrom drive do you have?
Which floppy image did you use?

I'm not sure what kind of cdrom drive I have.. and I'm not sure what floppy image I used, either.. it was the most recent one on this site a few months ago, though.

But I don't get what you mean by that.. 'cause I already have the livecd booted.. well, far enough to see the DSL screen and to where I can choose the install method.. but it doesn't install correctly. I choose an install method and it goes to this:

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Can't find KNOPPIX filesystem, sorry.
Dropping you to a (very limited) shell.
Press reset button to quit.

Additional builtin commands available:
cat mount umount
insmod rmmod lsmod

knoppix#

Where knoppix# is like a command prompt.. but I dunno what to do there... and I dunno how to get anything but that to show up after I choose to install it.

Or am I wrong?.. 'cause I feel basically clueless with all of this now..

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