Very complicated install

[chook]

What I have:
T21 IBM Thinkpad laptop
Removable laptop DVD-ROM drive
Removable 1.44MB floppy drive (it's either/or between the dvd and floppy)
USB CD-RW drive
USB 1.44MB floppy drive
Windows XP installation cd
Knoppix STD 1B cd

What I need to get using what I have:
A Windows XP/Knoppix STD dual-boot laptop for use as a network toolkit.

The rules:
The floppy drives can only be used during installation. The system must be able to boot off the hard drive. Knoppix and WinXP must both be installed on the hard drive. Relative ease of use is important.

I've been working on this for a couple days, but cannot get it to work. I have thought myself within inches of success, only to find failure. I have searched these forums but have not found another situation with a level of similarity to mine that is such that it is of use to me. I may only need to know how to boot from a USB drive so that I can have the floppy drive in the computer and boot from the USB CD-RW. If anyone has been in a situation like this, please help. Use simple instructions. I am in over my head.

P.S. Is this post more appropriate here or in the HDD Install forum?

[mightydavefish]

You will do better here if you actually describe the problem you are having. This sounds like a pretty straightforward install scenario, I've set it up dozens of times on my Thinkpad 600x running 2000, 98, and linux. What is your problem, exactly? Where does the process fail?

Why do you want to boot from from the CDRW? If you have a hard disk install there is no need to boot from CD.

Booting from USB is a setting in your laptop's BIOS, if it has the ability at all. Check in there. I think on my laptop you hold the F1 key while powering on. Or is it ESC? I forget.

[chook]

Sorry about that last post...desperation and cold medicine will do that to a person. The problem is I'm pretty new to this. I've found a few step-by-step walkthroughs and tried to follow them, but they all seem to require having both a floppy drive and cd drive installed simultaneously (for instance, needing the floppy drive to make a boot disk from that is required in a later step). I suppose the real problem I'm having lies with the boot loader. I've actually got both WinXP and Knoppix installed right now, it's just that I can't access Knoppix. I've got the windows version of GRUB installed and when I turn the computer on it has me choose between WinXP and GRUB, but I don't know how to configure GRUB to access my Knoppix install. I've got the hard drive partitioned using the utility packaged in with the Knoppix HDD install as follows....hda1 - 10001.95MB WinXP install; hda2 - 402.56MB Linux swap partition; hda3 - 9599.39MB Knoppix install partition. So really, the problem I'm having is with using a bootloader. I tried GRUB, but when I try to boot that, the system stalls with the message GRUB Loading stage2.... on the screen. I'm not expecting to find a fix for that on this board. What I was hoping to find is a step-by-step boot-loader installation that will work in my situation.
Specifically, I've been attempting the directions posted at http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtop...er=asc&start=0

[johnb]

The floppy drive is not necessary to do a sucessfull install of knoppix. I believe that there is a command to create a boot floppy inside knoppix. If you want you can do it at another time other than the install. You do not need a floppy drive to install knoppix unless your computer dosen't support cd booting.
Consider removing your grub loader and use the knoppix-installer program. It uses lilo to boot. I have had no problems dual booting. I looked at the url in your message. Why reinvent the wheel?

Boot Cd.

Enter Cheat codes(I think they should be named necessary codes).

Open a shell and type

sudo knoppix-installer

set-up partitions

configuration of users and password, choice of knoppix or debian install

start install(15-20 minutes)

get a cup of tea

choose no for boot floppy if you dont need or want one

finish-up

reboot

remove cd before it boots lilo

choose os... 30 seconds..linux default.

johnb

[chook]

Ah, see, my computer isn't booting Lilo. I've gone through the Knoppix install a few times and I remember at least one time choosing to install Lilo. However, when I booted up the computer, it just went straight to WinXP. Do you know of a way to boot an HDD install of Knoppix using the cd?

[mightydavefish]

I think to boot from the cd but run from the disk you can use a cheat like:
knoppix root=/dev/hda1
if your linux partition is /dev/hda1, and it will run like you booted it off that partition
From there you can manually run lilo and see what sort of messages you get. I can't help you with your grub issue, sorry.

[johnb]

hi chook,

my computer isn't booting Lilo. I've gone through the Knoppix install a few times and I remember at least one time choosing to install Lilo

Lilo is the only boot option on a knoppix-installer. You have the choice to install it to mbr or partition. I choose mbr with a dual boot. knoppix-installer is the recommended choice over knx-hdinstall. Have you tried doing a hard drive install using knoppix-installer?
johnb

[chook]

Nope, I haven't tried Knoppix-installer yet, I'll do that today. Does anybody know the name and path of the file that Knoppix would boot from on default? I tried "knoppix root=/dev/hda3" as a cheat code, but it still just booted from cd. Also, does anyone know if there is any problem with certain filesystems? I think I'm using ext3 on hda3 where I have my HDD install.

[chook]

Alright everyody, I'm within inches...I've found a GRUB menu entry that is working perfectly, however there is a problem. The only way I can get GRUB to work is by booting it off a floppy. I ran "w32grub -i B:" in an MS-DOS window to make the floppy, and it works fine to boot from, but it's essential that I can boot from the hard drive only. I tried "w32grub -i C:" but it just tells me to do what I've already done (append "C:\boot\stage1="GRUB"" to boot.ini). When I try to load that at startup, it clears the screen and says "GRUB Loading stage2..." and stalls. If anybody has had this problem before or could point me to a more appropriate board to post my question in (I haven't been able to find a board addressing w32grub), I would be much obliged.

[OErjan]

you can use XP bootloader to start Linux. just write LILO to a floppy, make a "image" of the floppy-mbr put that image in C:\ edit BOOT.INI mine looks like this.

[boot loader]
timeout=2
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOW S
[operating systems]
C:\linux.ipl="LINUX"
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Micro soft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect

a quick guide with a few more details.

1) make lilo write to floppy, have this line in lilo.conf:

boot=/dev/fd0

2) make a image of the floppy-mbr:

dd if=/dev/fd0 of=/dev/fd0/linux.ipl bs=512 count=1

3) put a copy of linux.ipl in C:\

4) Modifiy c:\boot.ini -- add a line with:

c:\linux.ipl="Linux"

repeat 2) and 3) every time you run LILO.

Microsoft ntldr now believes you hae yet another windows installed. happy booting