sarge netinst with an eMachines M5310

[k_igor_k@lycos.com]

Hello, all.

I just got an "official" netinst image for sarge (2003-09-06). It boots
fine on my notebook. However, there were problems that prevented me from
completing the installation.

First. The network card is a Broadcom BCM570x, which is supposed to
be supported by the bcm5700 driver (bcm5700-source is actually a
Debian package), however it is not included on the netinst image.
I noticed that the CD uses kernel 2.4.20, I use the same version,
but hand rolled. Compiling the above module by hand and loading it from
another CD didn't work, lots of undefined symbols in the module. Could
the fact that I use CONFIG_MODVERSIONS=y be at fault? How can I compile
this module so that it works with the kernel
(kernel-image-2.4.20-1-386-udeb) included in the netinst image?

Second. Since I wasn't able to configure my network card, I had to skip
all the steps related to network installation. The next step after that
was partitioning the hard drive. When the option was selected, I was
faced with a blank screen, and nothing else. What command(s) are
exectuted when this option is selected? Perhaps I can test them manually
from the second VT.

Third. This is minor but annoying. My laptop does not have a floppy
drive, but the installer insistently tries to load the 'floppy' module
into the kernel without any success. By 'insistently' I mean when any
main menu option is selected.

Also, the main reason I'm trying a sarge installation is because I want
to make my root partition ReiserFS. Is this possible at the current
stage?

Thanks in advance.

Igor