Peter Watkinson wrote:
Hi folks, I have a 21164SX based machine. Is it possible to install debian via FTP using Milo? Or do I have to switch to SRM? Where can I download the milo images from? Thanks for any help?. Kind regards, Peter Watkinson peter.watkinson1@ntlworld.com
Hi Peter!Although I don't have your machine, I DO have one that only offers Alphabios (no SRM), and thus have had to use MILO exclusively. I have done about a dozen sucessful "network" installs using MILO. The key is to install a working milo and get to the milo prompt then use the milo commands to boot the available "rescue" and "root" install floppy disks. This assumes you have a working floppy drive of course. In fact, I have found that creating a small FAT partition on the HD and placing MILO + Loadlin there has been quite convenient in doing the numerous recovery operations I have experienced during my experimentation!. You will need to do this anyway for the normal bootup into Linux. Any "working" MILO for your Alpha will work. I have found the latests MILO from Debian Woody, based on the 2.2.XX kernel worked excellantly for me. One side-note... I have NOT figured out how to use the milo commands to start the install off a CD yet. It "should" be possible, but I have not found it yet. You WILL need the "rescue" and "root" boot-floppies. If you do a network install, these are all you need, but is is nice to have the "drivers" disks available in case your NIC isn't one of the recognized ones on the boot-floppies and you have to install a special NIC driver to get network access. If your current NIC is OEM, this shouldn't be a problem.
Of courese, I would KILL to have SRM available... <grin>. I gather you will have much more flex if you use it!
Holler if you need further help. Cheers, -Don Spoon-