Other Help Topics :: HOWTO HD install on a machine with only a floppy



ok i just dont get this. i cant get it to boot from a floppy disk with this procedure all i get is boot fail have tried 23 diffrent disks and 7 of those i made right from the dsl running on a diffrent machine. any idea's would be apperciated.
Okay, I have been reading these forums for a couple days now, trying to figure out the best way to do this.  First off, this is a wonderful install!!!  When it works that is.  :)  I had a copy of dsl 6 running off HD on a Compaq 5300 lte perfectly, except the pcmcia wouldnt work. always booted up with an error for the cardmgr.  So, i decided to switch to the newest version.  After copying and recopying disks for hours( copying over the rar files) got everything unrared to the c:/ drive, and got booted, ran perfectly.  Went to run cfdisk to install to the hd, and i get a fatal error saying it cannot access the HD.  Well, i checked it out(because right now I dont have the cdrom in, because it has the swappable cdrom and floppy, only one at a time) and when i looked at the mount points, it mounted /dev/hda1 as the cdrom.  now, this kinda makes sense since that is where the knoppix cd image is, BUT, for some reason i cant install to the HD now... Any ideas??  Thanks a lot
Nevermind!!  I am an idiot!!!  Forgot to sudo SU for root, great feature by the way, makes me feel a little better that you can only  modify the HD if your root... But, its been a long day.  I actually did not have to be root under the dsl 6 install, which is what screwed me up I think.  But anyway, running awesome now!!  Thanks!!
I Installed My DSL Linux to an old Presario LTE 5000 Notebook
(800MB HDD, 16 MB RAM, )  But Using Floppys to do this sounds crazy.

1    Using an Old Serial or Parallel Cable and Soldering Iron, make  a LapLink Cable,  http://oldfiles.streamlinetrial.co.uk/powerload/cable.htm

(A serial is the easiest, but slower)

Boot the computer into DOS regieme, then Load program LAPLINK 4   http://oldfiles.streamlinetrial.co.uk/powerload/download/laplink4.exe   to Target PC  and transfer the files to Drive C: at 115,000 Baud, still takes about 45 Minute,  But it works and after the long Initial Decompress of First Boot, It can Be installed Permanent .

original here.