Laptops :: Frugal Install on Toshiba Libretto 110ct



OK...here's what one linux newbie did to frugal install DSL on a Toshiba Libretto 110ct laptop (no CD, no floppy). It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. DSL makes it easy. I'm sure there are better ways to do some of the things listed here, but this is what worked for me. NOTE: this method overwrites all data on your hard drive.

Thanks to larkl, andrewb, and others here whose posts made it possible. I'd have never figured it out otherwise.

1) I removed the hard drive from the Libretto. It's not hard. Remove two screws on the bottom; pull the HD out; take off the metal carrier.

2) Replace the HD of another laptop with the Libretto HD (I used a Thinkpad a22m).

3) Boot DSl from the CD in the other computer with:

>dsl 2

4) run cfdisk and partition:

/dev/hda1 - 3000M for image and everything else (type 83, set to bootable)

/dev/hda5 - 500M for swap (type 82) --too big I think, but it works

-write partitions and exit cfdisk.

Other people have suggested a small partition for the image, and a separate large partition for everything else. That might be a better way to go. I left some freespace at the end of the disk. I've heard that the Libretto uses it for hibernation (but I don't really know).

5) Prepare partitions:

>mke2fs /dev/hda1
>mkswap /dev/hda5
>swapon /dev/hda5

6) Reboot DSL from CD (don't enter any dsl arguments at the prompt)

7) Apps>Tools>Frugal Install>Frugal Grub Install and follow the prompts (for image partition enter 'hda1'; for 'install from' enter 'l'; for format question enter 'y'.

8) After it tells you to reboot...shutdown the computer and remove the HD and replace it in the Libretto.

9) Boot the libretto

10) At the Grub menu, select DSL and hit 'e'.

11) Edit the 'VGA=normal' to 'VGA=807' (that's 800x480x16M for the libretto screen); Add 'xsetup' to the line. Then boot using those settings.

12) In the Xsetup menu choose 'xfbdev'; choose the ps2, 3 button mouse.

13) Let the boot continue...and you should have a nice, readable, 800x480 DSL desktop in front of you!

14) Now, edit the cdrom/boot/grub/menu.1st file to include the 'vga=807' code on startup; I also commented out the other dsl start options and uncommented the 'dsl 2' lines so that I have two choices on boot: dsl and dsl 2.

15) That's basically it. The only problem left is that some of the program windows open too big for the screeen. Hold down the Alt key and you can drag them down to the point where you can hit the maximize button. For some programs, you can modify the configuration files so that they start smaller. See this thread for some details:

http://damnsmalllinux.org/cgi-bin....nd+size

Good luck and enjoy DSL on your libretto!

Dingo
Great Job.
Quote
Other people have suggested a small partition for the image, and a separate large partition for everything else. That might be a better way to go. I left some freespace at the end of the disk. I've heard that the Libretto uses it for hibernation (but I don't really know).

A big reason for this is WHEN you decide to upgrade your dsl image if you have a small partition for the image and a big everything else partition, then you do not risk losing your saved stuff and your dsl extensions etc... Not sure other than backing things up if you can upgradea single partition or not, short of some sort of major surgery. I know when I want to try another dsl image I just run the frugal install from run level 2 , and in 5 minutes i'm up and running it, all my old favorite things(including favorites in my browser) are still there, not fuss no muss. Anyway try a Image Partition with a seperat Everything Else /home /opt partition, I think you'll like it, and it will definately free you up to experiment if you want as well as save you the troublesome upgrades in the future.
Be careful with where you leave the 'empty' partition on the L100CT/110CT as the BIOS suspend function needs it to be below cyl 1024 (I think - from memory as I don't have the laptop to hand at the present time). I have a 10 GB drive & had to leave an unallocated space at around the 1024 cylinder mark for the hibernation partition. If anyone desparately needs the exact correct information let me know & I'll post it when I can.

Also: you'll need 808, not 807 to get 24 bit colour on the 100/110
807 will get you 16 bit colour - see:

http://damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/index.php/Vga%3Dxxx
just to complete things on the partitioning of Libretto drives - I found this:


"The Libretto copies the contents of RAM directly onto the end of the HD in a
non-partitioned area usually hidden from the operating system automatically.
On HDs larger than 8GB, without a drive overlay program, the Libretto will
simply access the BIOS's obsolete Int13 code, and save data directly to the
end of the HD, usually at the end of 8.4GB because it cannot see the rest
of the >8.4GB HD.  To correctly use the Libretto, you must split the HD into
at least two partitions - one occupying the space under 8.4GB minus the
required empty space for hibernation, and one occupying the space above 8.4GB
to the end of the HD."

taken from:
http://www.silverace.com/libretto/librettofaq.txt

original here.