Re: choosing a linux distribution

[Dale Scheetz <dwarf@polaris.net>]

On Sat, 28 Jun 1997, Lindsay Allen wrote:

> On Sat, 28 Jun 1997, Craig Sanders wrote:
> [snip]
> > Actually, Debian requires zero disks for installation.  It can be installed
> > directly from a bootable cd-rom (if you have a machine capable of booting
> > from CD).
> > 
> > If not, then you can install using two floppies - the boot disk and the
> > drivers (kernel modules) disk.  The rest of the base system can be installed
> > from either CD-ROM or NFS.
> > 
> > Finally, if none of those methods work for you (e.g. you have an unsupported
> > CD-ROM or ethernet card), you can install using six disks - the boot &
> > drivers disks plus four "base" disks.
> 
> In fact, Debian 1.3 can be installed without any floppies even if a
> bootable cd rom is not available.  For this to happen you need to copy the
> relevant files to a dos partition and start things with loadlin.  This is
> easier, quicker and saves the hassle of imperfect floppies. 
> 
In fact ;-) if the CD-ROM controler is SCSI or IDE and you can boot from
DOS (either DOS rescue floppy, or Hard Disk), you need only cd to disks-i3
and execute:

	loadlin linux root=/dev/ram initrd=root.bin

and the complete installation can be done from the floppy. The kernel has
built in drivers for the SCSI controlers and IDE support as well. Whenever
you are prompted for the "installation medium" simply choose 'cdrom' and
the default path and the kernel, drivers, and base system can all be
taken directly from the CD.

On my custom CDs I provide a 'go.bat' script that executed the above
loadlin command line. If you have a CD-ROM of this type the CD method is
far superior to the DOS Zero Floppy Install (where you need a DOS
partition to hold the necessary files). However if the CD requires one of
the "proprietary" drivers that get loaded as modules the CD provides
'install.bat' which copies the necessary files to the DOS partition and
starts the installation in the same fashion as go.

Not everyone has a CD-ROM, but for those who do, this is a great
installation method.

Luck,

Dwarf
-- 
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aka   Dale Scheetz                   Phone:   1 (904) 656-9769
      Flexible Software              11000 McCrackin Road
      e-mail:  dwarf@polaris.net     Tallahassee, FL  32308

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