Wondering about HD install

Forum: HD Install
Topic: Wondering about HD install
started by: Serenity

Posted by Serenity on April 10 2004,20:05

Hi guys,

Have been reading posts about 'poor mans install' and was wondering if there was a way of installing dsl so that it runs like a normal distro ie- *not* like a live cd.
I really like dsl, its just perfect in size and functionality, only its a live-cd.

Any help appreciated!

Posted by roberts on April 11 2004,02:22

DSL v0.6.x offers at least three types of install.
1. poorman's you will need a boot floppy (like liveCD but faster)
2. frugal no boot floppy and lots of boot up options (like liveCD but faster)
3, regular hard drive install, like a normal distro.
Option 3 offers a standard and enhanced install. Standard keeps it small. Enhanced uses the full GNU utilities that busybox replaced.

You must want to try 3. From root type dsl-hdinstall and follow the prompts. Also note that v0.6.x plays well with dual boot windows and dsl.

Posted by David on April 11 2004,18:54

Is there a way to break DSL into separate diskettes ala slackware back in 1994 (I'm a very long time linux user). I have a Compaq Armada 1130t that has only a disk drive, and no network card. I'd like to make it my word processing station and internet terminal (I'm a writer. What'd you think I was, a tech guy? ;-p)

Ex tech guy
David N.

Posted by roberts on April 11 2004,19:20

Ah Slackware diskettes. Brings back fond memories. I remember downlading each set and installing on a 386 Toshiba laptop in 1994. I still have my notes!

Ten years later, it is probably easier to remove the hard drive, then using a cheap adaptor, host hd in a regular more capable machine. Do the install of your choice then put back hd in laptop. Because the auto detection stills run at boot up everything should be fine for the laptop. Best to host in the other machine as hda to avoid any possible lilo problems.

Posted by cbagger01 on April 12 2004,03:39

If the mind-numbing boredom doesn't bother you, you could do the following:

(1) Insert the DSL cd into a MSDOS/Windows-based computer that contains pkzip or winzip utilities.

(2) Zip up the contents of the CDROM's \KNOPPIX\ folder, with the destination being your floppy, or A: drive.

(3) The zip program should recognize that your data files are too big and will not fit on 1 floppy disk. It will then attempt to span your "zipped" data files over a number of floppy disks. Just follow the user prompts when it is time to insert a new, empty floppy disk. Hopefully, you have A LOT of blank floppies and spare time on your hands. Like say, 35 blank floppies for example. CLEARLY label all floppies as you use them.

(4) If you don't already have a C:\ drive with 50MB of free space located on your destination computer, use an MSDOS boot floppy with FDISK and FORMAT to create a partition and format it. Don't forget to make the new partition bootable by using the FORMAT /S command. Alternatively, you can use a floppy-based Linux rescue disk like Tom's Root Boot Disk or FREEDOS to do the same thing.

(5) Copy pkunzip.exe or install winzip on the destination computer.

(6) Use pkunzip A:*.* or winzip to unzip disk #1 of your set of floppy disks from step 3. Follow the user prompts.

(7) When you are finished, you should have an identical \KNOPPIX\ folder located on your C:\ drive (IE: C:\KNOPPIX). Then use a utility program like rawrite.exe to create a boot floppy. You can download this program for free. Search for it on www.google.com to find a download site. Then follow the instructions for creating a DSL boot floppy.

(8) Reboot your computer with the newly created boot floppy already inserted into the floppy disk drive. It should find the C:\KNOPPIX\ folder and proceed to boot up DSL just like as if it was located on a CDROM disk. This is called a "poor man's install".

Good Luck.