Problematic install on Dell Latitude LT
Hi there -
I recently bought a set of Debian CDs (official press, non-US version) and attempted to get Debian up and running on my old laptop,
a Dell Latitude LT.
I was wary of the install, as the CD drive connects through the PCMCIA slot, which seems to be a notoriously difficult method of
installation. However, the CD drive appears to be bootable, and (seeing as I'm not too concerned about the laptop) I decided to
try anyway. The CD drive booted into the Debian install system just as the manual said it would so I had high hopes. Especially as
the floppy drive for this thing is knackered, so I was glad to read a full CD install wouldn't require a floppy.
However, after partitioning the HD and initialising the root and swap partitions the time came to start transferring stuff across
from the CDs. I was presented with a choice of installation media, both floppy drives, or some network options. 'Install from CD'
didn't appear on the list. The manual stated that a full CD install would auto-detect the CDs and skip this stage anyway.
Somewhat confused I tried skipping a few stages and getting PCMCIA support up and running to try and solve the problem, but as soon
as I've answered all the questions it throws up (by accepting all defaults) it gives an error message ("encountered a problem
initialising PCMCIA" I think) and drops back to the main menu.
Now that the new partition table is written to disk the laptop will no longer boot to windows, so I'm committed. I don't mind but
I'm wondering if there is any way to get Debian to recognise the CD drive. I'm slightly puzzled as the CD drive is bootable, so
why can't Debian find it?
Can anyone out there help?
Many, many thanks,
Henry.
--
Henry Todd
Email: zktm348@cs.rhul.ac.uk
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