Installing debian (on odd laptop configurations, and other challenges)

[rich <rich_walker@blueyonder.co.uk>]

Hi,

I've just acquired one of those Toshiba's without a CD drive. The PCMCIA CD 
drive I have is a little flaky, and has been producing problems with the 
install: specifically, searching a CD for a basedebs.tgz or a ..Release when 
the CD drive is flaky is *bad*. I thought I'd try SLIP, because I used that 
on my old laptop for various things, but getting SLIP to work ... didn't. The 
only network port I could get to work was the IRDA, and that I don't have on 
my host boxes. 

So, as a "how to improve the install process" query:

1. Can CD's contain, by Policy, an "ls -lR".gz so the search process can 
minimise seeks?

2. Can there be a simpler way of selecting network interfaces than wading 
through the various modules lists and randomly installing modules and hoping 
that they kick in?

2a. And is there a reason that the modules list is so slow each time you  go 
into it? Has anyone tried this on a 486 recently? 

3. And can the "about" or the "add any options" for modules be a little more 
verbose? I know space on the driver disks is important, but at present it 
seems that there are obscure modules that would never be needed in the 
installation process (logitech busmouse?) instead of doc's on the ones that 
are needed.

4. And if this is the wrong place to raise these queries, can you point me to 
the right one?

thanks for your consideration,

Rich Walker. [Still haven't restored .sig from dead drive]