[Installing LINUX on a PC w. no OS] -


Installing LINUX on a PC w. no OS

Discuss Installing LINUX on a PC w. no OS


Posted by: kalpak

Hi, I'm trying to install linux on my amd-k6 500mhz system which has 128mb ram. I have the linux CD's but my computer doesn't boot with them:( there was a boot.img file which I put on a CD and tried again with that but then it didn't boot again and just said remove all media and press anykey to restart. I don't know what to do now.

If you also know how I can install the free distribution not the packages like RH or SUSE or Mandrake or whatever please guide me step by step.

Every tutorial I read is about PC's with windows that want to change to linux but nothing on a new pc with no OS.

Can anyone help me?

Thanx.


Posted by: lo_tek

Ok... first thing, you need to make sure that your machine is actually trying to boot from your CD-ROM drive BEFORE it tries to boot your HD. This is set in your systems bios. If you have this set correctly, then the cd should be booting. If it isn't, odds are the cd itself is not bootable. This is caused by (perhaps) one of two things... either you burned it incorrectly, or the cd is not meant to be booted in which case you need to create a boot floppy, boot from that, and then deal with the cd install. I've installed *nix onto comps with no OS and as long as the cds you're installing from are bootable and your bios is set to boot from cd BEFORE hd, then you're set.

Your second question I don't quite understand... virtually every distro is free if you download off the net. RH, suse, mandrake, debian, slackware etc... are companies which pile together various packages (apps/libraries etc) along with the linux kernel and throw 'em onto cds, or ftp servers or wherever.
If I misinterpreted your second question, let me know what you really meant.

Good luck with the nix... oh, and what distribution of linux are you trying to install???


Posted by: kalpak

I rather not install RH, I'm new to the world of Linux so guide me though it please.

first please tell me how to make a boot floppy. where can I find the boot file? (link please)

what do I need to install linux after that? and where do I get it from? (link please)

thanx.

Edit: RH, SuSe, and Mandrake make you pay for it if you want to download! I want the free one but I don't know how to get and use it.


Posted by: lo_tek

Well, firstly, I can't walk you through a complete install as each one is different and besides, there are many howtos already written... so your first order of duty, is searching for one... a good place to start is [url]http://www.tldp.org/[/url]

Next, forums like this are good for specific questions... asking someone to walk you through a complete linux install is a bit much... so, get some howtos, grab some manuals, read 'em, then ask questions if something goes wrong. So, hack a little, mess with stuff, screw the install up a few times, spend hours reading, learning... hack a little more, and you'll be well on your way.

As for a free linux distro... look up 'debian' or 'slackware' in google. They're a little tricky at first, but I swear by Slackware. Try perhaps the new 'Fedora' project, which is the free redhat linux-a little buggy perhaps-but quick and easy to install. See what works for you.


Posted by: thrashenskate

You can always use a bootdisk. Theirs a program on the slackware cd that coppies itself toa floppy and then u can select what to boot from from that. Works pretty good :P.