[WFKY9G]

Has anyone had any experience installing Linux on a laptop?

[Al-Firdaus]

http://www.linux.org/hardware/laptop.html

[WFKY9G]

Thanks - this page has every laptop except the one I bought! I ended up sending it back. Linux would not install and Windows 2000 had listed too many problem devices for a new machine. The brand name was Compal sold through a company called MWAVE

[Powder-Jill]

I've asked in this forum before how to *partition, fdisk, diskdruid, Win ME/Linux* on my desktop PC. And I'm happy to say that I am one of the lucky ones that finally got it all to work. Since then I haven't tried to access Linux until 6 months later when I wanted to experiment with it. That's when I stumbled on this new problem w/ NO dual booting. But I think I got it under control after some researching, haven't tested it in theory though.

But my main question is, now I want to do the same thing w/ my Laptop Toshiba Tecra S1. And the laptop only has CD-rom booting. No a:\-drive, using painful XP which I am forced to use for the rest of my life for various reasons

If I had access to an a:\ drive life would be so much easier and this tip the guy wrote ain't useful to me
http://www.linux-laptop.net/
since he used Partition Magic which I don't want to use nor have the money for.

So armed only w/ a bootable DVD-rom-drive, knowledge in fdisk/diskdruid, XOSL and no access via Boot disks. What is a girl to do from here???

I try to research as much as I can on everything to diminish the possible malfunctions that might occur. But it's just information overload right now and everything is failing due to the lack of the diskette drive

[lynch]

Boot with the installation CD#1.It may give the option to boot from an installed system.
HTH
lynch

[Powder-Jill]

lynch>>>
Well I don't think the biggest problem in my case is getting Linux or Win XP installed w/o a diskette drive. My biggest problem is accessing Linux in order to configure the LILO file so I can dual boot. And since I don't have a:\ drive on the laptop, and XP has to be installed as the last and most recent OS. I can't even boot into DOS-mode any longer, which is the only obstacle I see in setting up my boot manager XOSL.

If XP only could boot itself into DOS-mode via F5 or F8 I wouldn't need to boot into linux via linux bootdisk in order to copy some lines and then paste it into the Win XP's boot.ini file.

Is there really nothing I can do to make this work

[lynch]

If XP only could boot itself into DOS-mode via F5 or F8 I wouldn't need to boot into linux via linux bootdisk in order to copy some lines and then paste it into the Win XP's boot.ini file.

I meant boot into Linux with the Linux installation CD.
lynch

[Powder-Jill]

No way if that's true then I might be coming nearer to the "source" a.k.a Linux
So you wouldn't know what kind of lines and exactly which files I'll have to modify in order to make LILO multiboot the Linux/Win XP puter?
And if done your way I wouldn't have to copy&paste any files into Win XP boot.ini right??

Oh and another thing if I'm able to get into linux w/ linux boot CD is there a way to instead copy the linux.bin to a diskette. I could maybe use some command line to directly send the file to the FAT32/NTFS partition where Win XP resides?

Is there by any chance that the contents in the linux.bin file looks the same on all computers around the world. Or is it like a definition value depending on the computer system, OS, Linux version etc. etc.? That way I could just write it in directly into the Win XP boot.ini w/o having to go directly into linux.

[lynch]

What distribution and version of Linux are you using?
Here's a guide on how to re-install the Grub bootloader:
Redhat Guide
If you have mandrake try this:Boot from the 1st of Mandrake install CDs.
Press F1 at the beginning.
Type 'rescue' to enter rescue mode.
Select 'mount partitions under /mnt'.
If you get any errors here, then let us know. If not, then try selecting the 'reinstall bootloader to MBR'.
lynch

[Powder-Jill]

I've got Red Hat 5.2.
When I booted w/ the Linux CD it no longer could use the rescue command. It could only be accessed w/ a LILO boot disk. So running this simulation on my desktop before doing it on my precious laptop I inserted the boot disk. To see what would happen and sure enough there was the login/password command. The only problem is that it's been 6 months now and I've forgotten the l/p. But that was not the real problem I wanted to attack. I wanted to gain access to Linux w/o the use of some diskette . Which is one big PHAT criteria for installing linux on a laptop

Question 1
Would it be of any problem towards Win Me or Win XP if I chose to install Linux as the last OS? That way stoopid Windows would not overwrite LILO in the MBR, or does Windows has to be installed as the last OS!?
Question 2
Is it of any complications if I created my Linux partition starting on cylinder 1-* (you know b'coz of the 1024 cylinder thingy!). That way I might have obstructed the use of the bootpartition for Windows and Linux or something like that?
Question 3
Getting frustrated for not being able to setup Linux correctly from 2-3 years of preparations. I'm starting to consider using Partition Magic like this guy wrote: http://www.vgcomputing.com.au/lrtecras1.html
But I DON'T wanna resort to Partition Magic b'coz:
1) I live on a tight budget.
2) Since it's not as reliable as those low-level programs such as fdisk and diskdruid, I don't want to use it in case all Hell breaks loose.
3) I don't have the TIME to learn yet another program.
Question Last
Reading the Installation section from that guys guide

a 2GB FAT32 partition to share files between Windows and Linux,

. Gave me a CRAZY yet brilliant idea however...something tells me that won't work if I use Xp's NTFS system. It just hit me that XP don't like FAT32

[lynch]

Question 1
Would it be of any problem towards Win Me or Win XP if I chose to install Linux as the last OS? That way stoopid Windows would not overwrite LILO in the MBR, or does Windows has to be installed as the last OS!?
That,actually,is the best way to install Linux as a second OS,for the exact reason you state.
Question 2
Is it of any complications if I created my Linux partition starting on cylinder 1-* (you know b'coz of the 1024 cylinder thingy!). That way I might have obstructed the use of the bootpartition for Windows and Linux or something like that?
That depends on how old the computer is.With newer computer bioses and new versions of Linux,that 1024 limitation is no longer a consideration.It is a consideration if the laptop is fairly old,because the bios has that 8 GB(or 1024 thingy)limitation.This'nt a problem if you install the bootloader in the MBR.
Question 3
Getting frustrated for not being able to setup Linux correctly from 2-3 years of preparations. I'm starting to consider using Partition Magic like this guy wrote: http://www.vgcomputing.com.au/lrtecras1.html
But I DON'T wanna resort to Partition Magic b'coz:
1) I live on a tight budget.
2) Since it's not as reliable as those low-level programs such as fdisk and diskdruid, I don't want to use it in case all Hell breaks loose.
3) I don't have the TIME to learn yet another program.
Question Last
Reading the Installation section from that guys guide

quote:a 2GB FAT32 partition to share files between Windows and Linux,

. Gave me a CRAZY yet brilliant idea however...something tells me that won't work if I use Xp's NTFS system. It just hit me that XP don't like FAT32.
Sure it will;I have an XP NTFS system sharing a 3 GB fat32 partition with Mandrake.

Do you have access to a broadband connection so you could download a newer version of Linux?The best ones are free for the taking.Mandrake has a non-destructive partition resizer in its installation program that would eliminate the need for PM.If you dont have broadband the CDs can be purchased for less than $20US at www.cheapbytes.com.
HTH
lynch

[Powder-Jill]

Yes I do have access to a broadband and my dream is actually to upgrade to Slackware. I just use this old Red Hat CD distributed w/ the Dummies book to experiment and see what will happen.
So sometime around I'll d/l it!

Mandrake has a non-destructive partition resizer in its installation program that would eliminate the need for PM

Is it something like Fips the non-destructive variant of Fdisk or is it more advanced? I don't know if that would fit my needs just to resize partitions. I want to make my C:\ drive for Windows much smaller than it is today and split it up in partitions to constrain it from growing uncontrollably by putting it's winpaging file in a partition to itself.
What's is the error chances in % if I use high-level programs such as Mandrake partition resizer, PM and such resize programs?
B'coz those programs really depends on the safety line of having access to a bootdisk. Personally, that is what I think about such programs asking me to make safety disks and so forth.


You know what I'm gonna do! I'm gonna reinstall Linux so it overwrites MBR w/ Grub or LILO which do you recommend??
And I'm gonna make a FAT32 partition for Windows/Linux to share. In case I have to access Linux and copy the linux.bin file and send it to Windows w/o using a diskette drive
I am holding my thumbs this weekend

[Powder-Jill]

Wohoo and Yippikayeyee
I finally found the formula for installing Linux w/o using any:

1.) Bootdisks. Which means...
-Without having to jump from Win to Linux and jump back to Windows to reconfigure the boot.ini with the use of A:\ drive.
-Without knowing any Linux commands and thus how to configure the lilo.conf if your puter chooses to only boot into Linux only.
2.) Grub, XOSL or any other fancy bootloader.
3.) Partition Magic and other third party partition GNU programs.

I now have full control of the whole installations process on a Laptop w/o any major risks of having to send it in for repairment
And all this time I had the answer 1 inch away left to my left pinky
The answer to all Laptop installations w/o an A:\ drive is simply to install Linux after Windows and then use LILO.

But what I never knew all this time having read tons of tutorials and guides on how-to-install Linux was that never once did someone mention the fact that you had to press the "Tab"-key in order to get the options of choosing OS:es.

[hekabe]

hi Powder-Jill

i am facing the same problems as you, laptop intel centrino, no floppy drive, xp installed etc. my rh 9.b only boots as far as the screen "welcome to redhat" comes on. at the bottom u can see the tab- and selcet menu, but no options ( i assume they should appear in the middle of the screen - but dont), then it tells me that it is loading ohci drivers, and then the screen stays blue.
i have tried using lilo and grub (dont exactly know where to place them though, since only xp is installed - might be doing something wrong at that stage)
what i need is a step to step explanation .
let me resume, where am i going wrong?:
1. install windows (done that)
(does the partition matter, right now its on the c
2. get lilo ( and put it where??)
3. cd boot linux (onto a second partition)
only loads to sbin/loader, followed by a blue screen loading ohci drivers
- and no further

it just doesnt work

who knows the anser???


hekabe

[Powder-Jill]

Ciao Hekabe!
First off you might be asking the wrong person for this task but let me give it a try at erasing as many as you now have.

1. I don't think that Windows partition matters but I've come across some programs that can only be run correctly if I install on C:\ along with Windows. So far so good in your case .

2. I would suggest putting LILO on the MBR (Master Boot Record) but before you do that there are certain measures you need to take in order to NOT screw up your Laptop.
Measures:
Since you don't have a diskette drive available to your Laptop the concept of Boot-disk-recovery is non existant for you!
1. Therefore you need to find out if you can borrow a Windows XP installation CD from a friend in order to be able to boot w/ it and access the Boot Recovery Center via the Repair option. In case LILO mess up things for Windows XP. But I wouldn't worry about that LILO is nothing like stoopid Windoze
2. Backup all your personal files and configurations in your Windows environment in case you need to fdisk and format your entire HD.
3. Remember this Linux command which states that it will go back to the previous MBR in case LiLO screws up everything when you are logged in as root.
"/sbin/lilo -u"
4. Check out this site to see if your brand of Laptop had had any previous complications that people have encountered and written about. http://www.linux-laptop.net/

Now we are ready for anything!!!
3. This question that you asked is really not my area of expertise. But pardon me for asking the obvious but have you or have you not installed Linux on your HD yet?
Or are you stilll at the Linux-Boot-CD stage?