Laptops :: DSL 3.4.4 on a Toshiba Tecra 500 CDT

Hi,
Just wanted to let you guys know about my success installing Damm Small Linux on an old laptop. The box in question is a Toshiba Tecra 500 CDT, Pentium 120Mhz, 32 MB ram, Toshiba 6x internal cdrom, external 3 1/2" FDD /adapter, 1.26 GB HDD. Nope, not a typo ;). I had an old install of Red Hat on it that would freeze at the sign in
screen and of course I couldn't remember the sign on in any case. I used the single user mode to log in and change the password. Then I realized I could simply use cfdisk to create the two partitions needed by DSL. No I'm not that smart, I used the wiki extensively <http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/index.php/Installing_to_the_Hard_Disk>. Once I figured out I would need the older syslinux.iso image everything just hummed along. I hit a major stumbling block though trying to get online with a newer wireless card. Once I figured out the difference between the newer cardbus and the older pc card; which I needed; I was all set. Plugged an old Xircom ethernet adapter in, plugged the ethernet line in and presto I'm online! Wow, I'm impressed. Not only does that old box zip right along, the install was relatively painless and well documented. It took me a while but that doesn't surprise me, I still need to look things up. Battery life is very good too, better than an hour on the original battery!

Best Regards,
Peter

Peter,
This is almost identical hardware to mine in the thread PCMCIA problem on old Toshiba Tecra. Did you have to do anything to get the PCMCIA to work?

Could you please post the result of lsmod here - I am sure that I should have i82365 in place of yenta_socket, but can't over-ride the autodetection properly. I may be barking up the wrong tree...

{edit later that day]

I was barking up the wrong tree - needed 'PCIC' mode selected in BIOS, then all is well with network. However, sound doesn't work - did you have any success in this area? - not mentioned in your post. I'd be grateful to hear what you tried even if it didn't work!

Many thanks
Richard (MQ)

Quote (Richard (MQ) @ Oct. 17 2007,05:20)

Peter,
This is almost identical hardware to mine in the<snip>. Did you have to do anything to get the PCMCIA to work?
<snip>
I was barking up the wrong tree - needed 'PCIC' mode selected in BIOS, then all is well with network. However, sound doesn't work - did you have any success in this area? - not mentioned in your post. I'd be grateful to hear what you tried even if it didn't work!

Many thanks
Richard (MQ)

Richard,
I dug out an old "pc card" ethernet adapter and I got online. Using the newer "cardbus" wireless adapter did not work for me. Happy to hear you got it worked out!
I do not have sound at all on mine, but then the volume control wheel is jammed into the side of the housing. I did not try anything, sorry.
Good Luck!
Peter

original here.