need bootdisc for computer that can't boot from cd

Forum: HD Install
Topic: need bootdisc for computer that can't boot from cd
started by: edudlive

Posted by edudlive on Jan. 15 2004,23:01

I wanted to install DSL on my old IBM 386 (20mhz and like 128mb HDD lol) and a Packard Bell I have (66mhz...8mb ram...500mb HDD). But neither of these can boot from cd (it isn't an option in the BIOS).

How can I install DSL on these?

Posted by edudlive on Jan. 15 2004,23:09

BTW, I did put the "boot.img" on a floppy using rawrite. But all it does it search for my CD-ROM (I think thats what its looking for) and then sits there, never reads from cd.

Posted by cbagger01 on Jan. 16 2004,04:40

Copy the KNOPPIX folder from your CD disk into your C:\ drive so you now have C:\KNOPPIX. Then reboot using the boot floppy. It will find the C:\ files and use them instead of the CDROM files.

Posted by edudlive on Jan. 16 2004,04:45

This computer has no operating system, how am I supposed to create that folder?

Posted by cbagger01 on Jan. 16 2004,05:06

Download an floppy-based OS like FreeDOS or search for an old MS-DOS diskette in your junk drawer.

Then FDISK and FORMAT your hard drive to create a 55MB DOS partition (C:\ drive).

Next, boot into freedos / MSDOS and copy the file over into your newly created C:\ drive disk.

Finally, reboot with the DSL boot floppy and it will find the files.

Otherwise, you can grab a floppy-disk based Linux distro like Tom's root boot floppy:

< http://www.toms.net/rb/ >

and use a mini-Linux distro to partition (fdisk) and format (mkdosfs or mke2fs) and (copy) over the files.

Good Luck.

Posted by Simbaca on Jan. 17 2004,02:13

Well, I use < Smart BootManager > and it seems to work well. Although, I have never used it on a computer whose BIOS doesn't allow for booting from a CD-ROM, so I don't know if it will work on your computer.

Posted by fparri on Jan. 17 2004,21:12

I did. It works perfectly

Posted by XXL_Papabear on Jan. 25 2004,19:26

Well, guys, I found that this trick also works with a /KNOPPIX directory on a random Linux disk (I ran slackware on this 80486dx2 66Mhz, 12MB ram machine and copied DSL there. It boots...

Don't ask me how much time it takes however.

The rumours of it being able to run on small boxes seem greatly excagerated...

Posted by Rapidweather on Jan. 26 2004,02:32

Of course when you boot from the CD, and immediately come to the boot prompt you can create a c:\Knoppix directory on the hard drive (at least in windows) with:
---
boot: knoppix tohd=/dev/hda1
---
I had thought I might try putting it in another linux partition, such as Redhat, on the same HDD, that might be up at /dev/hda7 or something. Or even on /hdb somewhere. My DSL boot disk will find it, no doubt.
---
The idea presented above to copy the knoppix folder off the cd would involve at
least temporarily mounting both distros, and then copying something like this:
#cp /knoppix /redhat/knoppix
Assuming that you are in the /mntcdrom directory in some distro, and have mounted your Redhat /dev/hda7 as redhat, and then you would have a knoppix folder in the "/" of your Redhat installation after the copy is finished . I haven't tried it yet. Would be fun to watch DSL find it.
:;):

Posted by Rapidweather on Jan. 30 2004,03:33

/knoppix folder bootable only from a Primary Partition?
+++++++++++
I did place the /knoppix directory in my /dev/hdb1 which is a mandrake partition on the second hard drive on my computer. Damn Small Linux finds /knoppix there just fine. I have to use a boot floppy.
----
However, I tried to place the /knoppix folder in /dev/hda11, and DSL could not find it, for some reason. I have a 20 GB hard drive, with quite a few linux distro's there. I have a Mandrake 8 install at /dev/hda11, and it's only about 30% full, so I thought that would be a good place to put /knoppix.
----
The only thing that comes to mind is that /dev/hda11 a logical partition in the
extended partition /dev/hda2 on the hard drive. Maybe knoppix/DSL cannot find
the /knoppix folder in such a partition.
----
On the other computer, /knoppix was in /dev/hdb1, a primary partition on
the slave hard drive. Damn Small Linux has no trouble finding it there.
---
So, to get it to work, I had to move the /knoppix folder back to /dev/hda1, the
only primary partition on the hard drive, and that is, btw, the Windows 98 partition. On a big hard drive like this, I could have partitioned it differently, but all the other linux distros work fine in logical partitions, so I did not know there might be a problem. Of course, I could just do a 'hard drive install" of DSL, go from there, I suppose.
---
On that issue, anyone know how to get a /knoppix folder to boot _without_ a boot floppy? Is there a way to boot it from within Windows? I do just that with loadlin.exe, with a bunch of linux distros. I put icons
on the desktop, and go from there. Also, I have a ms-dos batch file menu that runs first, and allows me to select from all the operating systems on the hard drive, even umdos setups like Grey Cat Linux!
:;):