IBM Thinkpad 600 Hard Drive Install

Forum: Laptops
Topic: IBM Thinkpad 600 Hard Drive Install
started by: REInvestor

Posted by REInvestor on Nov. 29 2005,15:51

I have two old IBM Thinkpad 600's that I have been trying different distributions with. These units are a bit slow by todays standards, leading me to want a lean distribution for optimum performance. I had tried DSL a month or two ago, but ran into some display problems. I gave it another shot last night after a Debian Net install failed and found it relatively easy - I am still a noob, but I have learned a few tricks and have gotten much better at searching the forums and finding the relevant info.

So, for those wanting to use an IBM Thinkpad 600 Laptop, this will hopefully be a good resource for you.

First, booting the live CD requires some options in order to properly view the display. When the boot prompt appears, you will need to use the fb1024x768 option

boot: fb1024x768

During boot, DSL X Setup will appear. Choose the display type "Xfbdev xserver", then the appropriate mouse and keyboard options (for me, no to USB mouse, yes to PS2 Mouse - this is the trackpoint - then us keyboard). That is all, it should be up and running the live CD and online if using a PCMCIA Ethernet Card hooked to a network (If you are having trouble here, it could be an unsupported card or some other hardware issue that I will not be able to help with - I have a Linksys Etherfast PCM200 that required no configuration on my part)

To Install on the Hard Drive, right click on the desktop and go to "Apps / Tools / Install to Hard Drive". Note: you must already have the hard drive partitioned and know which partition you will install to. I had tried a Debian net install, so my partitioning was already set up with 3.1GB as hda1 - ext3 and 178MB as hda5 - swap. During Hard Drive install, it will ask for the install location (for me hda1) and it will ask what type of boot loader to use (I chose grub). I choose the multiuser option (this makes logging in necessary, so it could be slower for those wishing the fastest possible boot)

During reboot, at GRUB choose the "DSL fb1024x768" option. Login as root (if you selected multiple users). This display will now be very poor and hard to read, this is because XSetup must be run, as it was during the live CD boot. Use the "ctrl+alt+backspace" command to get out of the desktop and type at the prompt:

# xsetup.sh

Choose the same options as before, then reboot. This should provide a viewable desktop.

If you get to this point, you are only one step behind me as I am writing this. I had to get sound working (not a suprise, right), but this was an easy fix. As root:

root@box:~# modprobe cs4232 io=0x530 irq=5 dma=1 dma2=0

Open xmms, press play and turn the volume up on xmms and on the system using the "Fn + PgUp" and sound should be playing. Following a forum post, I opened /opt/bootlocal.sh and entered the above command. This is what my bootlocal.sh now looks like:

#!/bin/bash
# put other system startup command here
/sbin/syslogd
loadkeys us
modprobe cs4232 io=0x530 irq=5 dma=1 dma2=0

Now I must reboot and see if sound will be working automatically. I am not sure if there are any other issues with this machine, but please post here if you find something else wrong or if you find any value in this post.

Posted by res on Dec. 29 2005,11:52

i got the same machine thinkpad 600 laptop, but it is not the same sound card as yours :S, can anyone tell me how to see wich sound card i got?

Posted by searayman on Mar. 20 2006,02:50

yea i just typed in what u said on my ibm thinkpad 600e and it didnt work for me.

Posted by huzzzo on Mar. 25 2006,22:04

i have this old laptop... but i have no cd

there is not a net install?

Posted by cbagger01 on Mar. 26 2006,05:29

Try these:

< http://damnsmalllinux.org/wiki....ired%29 >

< http://damnsmalllinux.org/wiki....tall%29 >

< http://damnsmalllinux.org/wiki....Only%29 >

< http://damnsmalllinux.org/wiki....ired%29 >

Posted by aries43 on Mar. 31 2006,18:48

when u used 2,0 dsl hit f2 key and type fb800x600 that will work and type this in my /opt/bootlocal.sh

rmmod soundcore
rmmod cs4232
modprobe sound
insmod ad1848
insmod uart401
insmod cs4232 io=0x534 irq=5 dma=1 dma2=0 mpuio=0x330 mpuirq=5
hope this help u

Posted by larryd on April 19 2006,15:41

i have a thinkpad 600 as well.... i am having trouble installing to the harddrive...... everything in the "how to" is working for me..... except when i get to the part where i install it on the Hard drive

you say that it will ask me what boot loader to use?......... that never happens...... and the rest of the steps seem to be based off of that.... maybe i have my partitions set up wrong or something...... please help me out