PCMCIA install / nfs mounted cdroms

[John August <johna@babel.apana.org.au>]

I've done a debian (3.0) install on a laptop having a FDD and PCMCIA
slot, but no cdrom.  The default debian floppy disks do not have full
support for PCMCIA devices, so I needed to put in cardmgr support files
and a statically linked cardmgr. 

FDDs on laptops are good to have for simple data transfers because the
PCMCIA network can easily be more of a nuisance.

Is there a definitive page on this sort of installation ? Its not obvious
from the debian documentation I've looked at, or the linux laptop page.

In any case, it now works and I have the base system installed. But it 
seems difficult to use indexed cdroms via nfs mount. The cdrom method
barfs. You can use the file method, and at least the packages exist in
the database, but you do not have a sense of the different cdroms, and
must update each cdrom individually, figuring out by different means
what cdroms you need. Is there a better workaround for this issue ?

I'm not on this list, please cc any replies to me.

Thanks,

-- 
If there were no pain, there would be no-one to appreciate it.

John August