dougz
Group: Members
Posts: 78
Joined: May 2006 |
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Posted: July 05 2006,13:09 |
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| Quote | Can anything be done with this lapcritter?
100 MHz processor
32 MB Ram
No HD
2 PCMCIA
CD
Built-in floppy.
2 USB ports (prob USB 1)
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The system may well be old enough that it can't boot from CD or USB. Have you considered using a boot floppy? See DSL Wiki on boot floppies for more info.
| Quote | For some older or otherwise unique computer systems, it is not possible to boot up DSL directly from the livecd CD-R disk or from a USB pendrive.
* For the CD-R disk, some computer BIOS do not support booting from a CDROM drive or they cannot boot from a non-standard CDROM drive like a parallel port drive or a pcmcia CDROM drive.
* For the USB pendrive, most computers that were manufactured before 2001 have an older BIOS that does not support direct booting from a USB device.
However, it is still possible to boot up DSL if you make the right boot floppy disk. |
Whether you use the boot floppy to boot CD or boot USB, you can use the USB pendrive as if it were a hard disk. (Pendrive boot is optimal -- No CD needed, good for battery life, faster.)
Making your own bootable pendrive is easy -- Boot the DSL CD on another box, make the pendrive using the DSL install script, make the boot floppy, as described in the wiki, and boot the lappy with the boot floppy, using the pendrive as if it were a hard disk.
If you are comfortable with command line Linux, you might consider initially booting to text mode (no GUI), at first. Use the boot cheat code "2". Even better, try the "super low RAM text mode" in DSL Wiki on Cheat Codes.
Alternatively, make sure you know your lappy's resolution and use the appropriate "fb" cheat code. In any case, the "lowram" cheat code is advisable.
When you are comfortable with the system and DSL, you can consider whether it is worth googling for memory and/or an HD to upgrade your box. Lots of appropriate used parts available at reasonable costs.
If you do choose to upgrade to HD, consider the excellent instructions found in Caitlin Martin's pieces via DSL on "atticware" laptops
It is possible to get this lappy booted. Some learning required. Not nearly as hard as it looks now. Just trust me... 
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