Damn Small Linux (DSL) Forums

Downloaded DSL4.4.10-SYSLINUX.ISO and DSL4.4.10.ISO and md5 hash checks out.  Burned as image to dvd.  Wish to install to hard drive.  Both of them boot to the same screen:

Scanning for USB devices...done
Can't find KNOPPIX file system, sorry.
Dropping you to a (very limited) shell.
Press reset button to quit.  

What next?

This means that the operating system is looking on the wrong partition to find its system files.

Boot from the live CD and edit the file "/boot/grub/menu.lst" on the DSL partition so that where it says "root=/dev/hdxx", "xx" equals the ID of the system partition. So if you installed DSL to partition hda3, the root parameter would look like "root=/dev/hda3".

If this is already correct, it may be that the drive isn't being recognised at all. If you have a SATA drive, then make sure that the "sata" keyword is included on the kernel line (where you found "root=") in "/boot/grub/menu.lst".

This is what I get when booting from the live CD.  I have 3 hard drives in this box but I don't have a DSL partition on any.  How do I make one?  If the answer starts with "boot the live cd" that obviously wont work with since this gives me this "very limited shell".

????????????????

Oh, right. I thought you'd already done the HDD install.

The problem is still that the OS can't find where the data is located. For the Live CD, this indicates that it hasn't detected the CD/DVD drive in your computer.

What sort of CD drive is it? I've has similar trouble when trying to install from a USB CD drive, in that case it may be a driver problem with your USB chipset and you might need to install a separate USB card or use another type of drive. If the drive is SATA, make sure you type the "sata" boot command at the boot screen (eg. "dsl sata"). Also toggling the "SATA Compatibility Mode" (or a similar name such as "SATA IDE Emulation") setting in the BIOS may help (if it's on, turn it off, if off, turn it on).

If the CD/DVD drive is IDE/PATA, then it's hard to tell what the problem could be. Assuming it is visible to other Operating Systems running on the computer, it may be a driver problem with the motherboard.