Thread: Tech Advice Needed: Small (free) OS recommendation

Okay, I'm looking into how to make a bootable CD for DSL, and it asks which format I want to use:
- Floppy Disk Emulation (1.44MB)
- Floppy Disk Emulation (2.88MB)
- Hard Disk Emulation
- No Emulation

So which do I use?

Mark

Mark, could you clarify what you mean by "it" as in "it asks which format I want to use:"?

At this point I'm assuming you are using a computer *other* that the laptop to make the bootable cd?

I just downloaded the iso from: ftp://ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/distribu...small/current/

I grabbed the regular image: dsl-4.4.10.iso

All I do then is simply start my burning program, tell it I to burn an iso9660 image if it asks, my software auto detects the file type of the *.iso and then burn the disk. Once burnt, toss it into the bootable cd drive of the target computer, have the computer boot to that drive, hit the ol' enter key when the prompt comes up and you should be off to the races.

Regards

Christian

Originally Posted by Milton Man

Okay, I'm looking into how to make a bootable CD for DSL, and it asks which format I want to use:
- Floppy Disk Emulation (1.44MB)
- Floppy Disk Emulation (2.88MB)
- Hard Disk Emulation
- No Emulation

So which do I use?

Mark

Thanks for the help guys - I figured it out last night (okay, it was really my wife who figured it out...) that I had to burn the .iso file as an image and not as a straight data file.

Works like a charm now - I just have to figure out how to wipe my HD clear, install DSL as my only OS, and get my D-Link WNA 1330 wireless card to work...

But one critical step done!

Mark

Mark,

Linux file systems are quite a bit different from the usual MS C: drive. You'll typically end up with a root partition, a swap partition and a home partition. All the operating system will normally be placed in the root partition, the swap is well.... swap, used if the system needs more memory and the home partition will be where the users files are kept. Most of the newer distributions of linux that are supplied as a live disk have some sort of partitioning program available and many will auto allocate the appropriate amount of disk space for each partition. There are many formats available, but ext3 or reiserfs would be a good choice for you. Watch out for ext2, it won't like a sudden power outage where the file system doesn't get closed before the computer is turned off, the other two are journaling systems so they won't be so upset if the power goes out... they'll just replay the journal on boot up and everything will go back to normal.

The good thing is you're not going to get in trouble as you are using the laptop for linux only.... no worries about getting it wrong. If it goes the wrong way, you just start again until you sort it out. Perhaps keep the lovely lady by your side... she seems quite handy at this sort of thing

Keep us informed of your progress.

Christian

nice going now the fun begins. do a search on dsl+your laptop + wireless to see what you need to do for the wireless adapter. Or just google the adapter plus linux. Wireles and linux are one of the tuff issues I have had to deal with.

Have you had a chance to run via a wired connection yet?

Linux has come a LOOOONG way since my days of tinkering with it, in the mid 90s. I switched from an IBM to a Mac about a year and half ago. If I didn't go that route, I would have just installed Redhat on my IBM machine.

Old School - I had the same problem with the resolution - but if you go into tools, and...oh crap, what is that icon's name (NOT intuitively named, I must say!), I was able to change the resolution so that it works.

As for the rest, well, with X-mas here and the hoards decending on our house, everything razor related (apart from actual shaving) has been relegated to the backburner...

Keep at it, and keep posting updates - like being a newbie, I think we can help each other muddle through!

Mark

Thank you very much, Old School, and a very merry Christmas to you too!

I'll be on SRP until Friday at the end of work, then only sporatically until after the New Year - but I can't foresee not being on SRP at all - I'll go through withdrawal!

Mark

Old School,

Is your old pc a non pentium class processor? I had some real issues with a non pentium class and finally gave up and found a little newer old pc. What are your hopes for the old computer, what functionality are you looking for? There maybe some help. If you can confirm a non pentium class you might try that with a google search string. Not sure but hope you may see some benefit.

...and? Did it work?