Laptops :: Problems booting from install CD



Hello all.

I've been trying to install DSL on a fairly ancient Compaq Pentium I 150MHz, 128MB, 2GB HDD, removable CD-ROM laptop that presently has Windows 98 on it.

At the moment, I'm failing fairly abjectly at the first hurdle: I can't even get the laptop to boot off the install CD.

I've burned discs from various ISOs - v1.5, v1.5.syslinux, v2 ORC1 - and on two different brands of blank CD-R, at low burn speeds (down to 4x). I've tried one of the CDs in another, tower PC and it boots to the logo screen with no bother. I have yet to try the laptop with a commercially bought bootable CD, to see if that works, however. I can read the files on the CDs ok once the laptop has booted into Windows.

I realise this is not strictly a DSL problem, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions anyway. The BIOS is already set to boot from CD first, before you ask!

Thanks.
Blu,  Some CDrom drives just don't boot all installation disks.  Try the 'poor mans install' method (search forums).  
(Assuming you have a working floppy drive:):-
-  Within Windows explorer, copy the v1.5 burnt iso list of files and folders from your DSL CD to the top of your hard drive C:\
-  Download the latest (v1.5) 'boot.img' file from repository then write to a floppy disk using rawrite (forums), to make a boot floppy.  
-  Ensure bios is set to boot A:\ before C:\ otherwise DSL will be overlooked.
-  Insert into floppy drive and reboot.  The .img file will look for and find DSL knoppix files on C:\. preventing windows from starting up.
-  Beware of storing prospective DSL extension files in the top of the C:\ drive (put them in a subfolder for now) otherwise the boot will try to load them all into RAM (although with 128MB you might be OK with this.)
-  It will boot up 'Live' as if from a CDrom.  Once you have got video, mouse & keyboard configured, you are in position to do a proper frugal install, hard disk install or just play.  Use floppy again to reboot.
Note: this will not mess up your windows installation on C:\
My P1 133mhz 40MB notebook is working very nicely with v1.5 hard drive installed at the moment.  Your spec. sounds fine.

original here.