Re: Installing onto an old laptop
On Sat, Sep 12, 2009 at 4:53 PM, AG <computing.account@googlemail.com> wrote:
> I have an old generic laptop which has Slackware 10.1 installed. It has
> access to the Internet as well as to a small LAN. The machine it is
> connected via a hub to is my main desktop/ workstation which runs Debian
> testing. The CD-ROM drive in the laptop does not work. This is a hardware
> issue, so installation via CD is not feasible.
>
> The laptop does have a couple of USB drive sockets, but I don't think that
> the BIOS is sufficiently modern to boot from a USB drive (the laptop was
> bought circa 2002 from a company that has since gone belly up).
>
> What is the best method for getting this laptop up and running in the 21st
> Century with Debian testing?
>
> Thanks for any ideas/ suggestions.
This worked for me:
1. On the laptop download the netboot kernel "linux" and initial ram
disk "initrd.gz" from ftp.{countrycode}.debian.org to the root of the
first partition on the hard drive. You do not need a .ISO file.
2. On the laptop run grub (e.g., from a PC-DOS floppy or a linux file
system) and enter the following commands:
root (hd0,0) # assuming the files in step 1 are on the
first parition of an IDE drive
kernel linux
initrd initrd.gz
boot
3. Complete the installation over the internet.
Lee Winter
NP Engineering
Nashua, New Hampshire
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