billcollins

The only HD on this computer has an ext2 partition and swap. I want to copy a bunch of files (to begin the lfs project)... So I dont really want to install an OS, yet. I can either download these files from the net, or copy them from a CD.

My nic doesnt seem to like linux defaulty. I tried booting in Knoppix 3.2... didnt like my nic, so no internet. I can't eject the CD because it's being used by knoppix.

I tried Tom's RB (linux boot off floppy). Still doesn't like my nic... so no net and my cdrom doesnt show under /dev/cdrom so I can't mount it.


any suggestions??

scyther

Concerning the /dev/cdrom issue, it is usually that /dev/cdrom is a link to another device name and is just there to make our lives easier. It could just be that what it is linked to is not the correct device name.

Have you thought about trying to use Gentoo or something similar just to get you started so that you can then do the LSF Project? Just a thought...

Do you have a ZIP drive? I know that Slackware makes a distro that fits on a ZIP 100 disk which would free up your CDROM...

You will have to install or run enough of an OS to be able to use the network anyway, so maybe installing LSF on top of something else would be the better way to go...

My $0.02

bla

If you have an usb-memory-stick drive you can try this:
http://rz-obrian.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de/knoppix-usb/

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billcollins

Thanks for the suggestions.

I wonder if I could boot from my digital camera (with a USB memory stick). The one I have right now is only 16MB... but I may be aquiring a larger one fairly soon.

I thought about installing another distro first, but wanted to see how far I could get without.... it seems so close right now.

Im thinking of ditching the lfs project and install gentoo to see what I can learn.

BTW, no zip drive here =/

Any other suggestions of floppy linux distros that would have cd support?

if i do have an odd nic (but it claims to support linux) how would i get support on to a floppy distro. I guess before all the candy coated linux apps helped me out.... and i havent really seen anything around the net or in the books i got to help out with network cards that dont just show up at eth0.

scyther> I can see how /dev/cdrom could just being like a helpful link... but what should i look for to mount my cdrom drive?

Boner

You say this hard drive has an ext2 partition and a swap file. Does it have Windows in another partition? If so, just save them to the drive, boot up Linux (Knoppix or RB), mount the Windows partition, and copy them over.

If you don't have another OS installed, but have a Windows machine available, put the drive in the Windows machine. Make a FAT32 filesystem on the drive, a couple of hundred meg in size. Copy everything over. Put the drive back, boot Linux, mount the fat32 partition, and untar from it.

Speaking from experience, your life would be much easier if you had an existing Linux install to work from. That way you would have working network, the ability to read docs, have access to a full compliment of tools, etc.

How big is this drive? Could you install a minimal Debian or RedHat install, then use the rest of the drive for the LFS work?

Boner

Try /dev/hdb or /dev/hdc for the cdrom drive.

billcollins

ty /dev/hdc1 worked for mounting. The naming convention for the hd* seems a little messed up to me now. Whatever, another lesson learned.

I downloaded the cdimages for Gentoo in case i couldn't get this work'n. What exacly would be the differences between the 2? Other than the "stages" gentoo has.

thanks again for all your help.

dragonhawk

Just to clarify (maybe )

/dev/hda is the first IDE hard drive
/dev/hdb is the second IDE hard drive
/dev/hdc is the third etc...

If your cdrom is first device on the second controller in the system, then it is the third IDE drive.

Make sense?

Also, if you plug in USB drives, they show up as SCSI devices.
(/dev/sda /dev/sdb with partition numbers after)

Oh, /dev/hdc1 means the first partition on the /dev/hdc device.

I'll bet that your hard drive is /dev/hda with multiple partitions, like hda1, hda2, etc. if you put swap on its own partition.

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"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
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