iB::Topic::DSL on 256MB CF CARD: Help!

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Topic: DSL on 256MB CF CARD: Help!, It's tough stuf.

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DrBlauston Offline

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Posts: 2
Joined: Sep. 2005

Posted: Sep. 03 2005,23:42

I have been recently trying to install DSL on a 256MB CF Card, but I keep getting errors i cant comprehend. Using the dsl-1.4.iso, i burn it to a CD. I am sticking the CD in the computer, and when the boot menu pops up I'm typing DSL 2. This allows me to get to the terminal menu. On that, I type CFDISK, and make 3 Partitions:

hda1 Bootable Linux ext2 64MB
hda2 Linux 64MB
hda3 Linux Swap 128MB

With this done, I write the partitions (as Primary), and reboot.

Upon reboot, I do the Frugal install... typing /usr/sbin/frugal_install.sh

I then proceed to answer the configuration ?'s, and so on. Then i I finish installing. EVERYTHING SEEMS OK.

Upon reboot, i get multiple errors, like invalid logical drive, invalid fat system crazy stuff I don't know how to fix.

That is where I'm running into my problem.... I've tried this with the dsl-1.4.syslinux.iso as well....same problem. Another problem I've been having is when I boot directly from the CD, I can't get pass the blue configuration screen, where you enter dpi and resolution and keyboard language and stuff. after i enter that, the screen goes blank and nothing responds...

I'm new at all this, and I hope you can understand how confusing this is for me, being a Windows user normally. It boggles the mind. I would greatly appreciate any help or insight to help me fix this issue. One solution was that maybe i need to formal the disk...into the linux form, not FAT32...But thats where I'm at a dead end. I thought the whole CFDisk did all that...

Help Meeeeeee!

ke4nt1

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Joined: Oct. 2003

Posted: Sep. 04 2005,06:33

My thoughts..

1. Don't place a swap partition on a Compact Flash Device.
A typical CF has a limited number of writes to each memory location
before it does. Swap activity will kill it in a very short time.

2. Go ahead and format all your linux-type partitions before running the
frugal install script, and see if you get any errors about the partitions.

3. The 'bootable' pointer flag is not necessary.. It's for dos..

4. Try turning off any LBA mode you may have in your bios..

73
ke4nt

DrBlauston Offline

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Posted: Sep. 04 2005,18:56

Alright, I'll try that; one question...How do you format the linux partitions...I only know how to do this in DOS.

ke4nt1

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Joined: Oct. 2003

Posted: Sep. 04 2005,19:54

For example, from a root shell ...

mke2fs /dev/hda1

73
ke4nt

cbagger01

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Joined: Oct. 2003

Posted: Sep. 04 2005,21:04

Also, you need to write the cfdisk table before exiting the program and then reboot the computer to be safe.

Some computers will not recognize the new table until after the computer has been rebooted.

My advice would be to create a single hda1 linux partition that is the size of the entire device.

Then format it with EXT2 using the above command or use:

mkfs -t ext2 /dev/hda1

You can also choose other filesystem types like ext3

mkfs -t ext3 /dev/hda1

or even Microsoft filesystems if you download the dos fs tools extension from the repository.

5 replies since Sep. 03 2005,23:42

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