installation woes - can't get past boot disk!

[Guest starbug]

Hi,

 

I'm trying to install Mandrake 9.1 for the first time. I'll be installing it on a compaq armarda laptop, currently running XP, and formatted for NTFS.

 

I want to take XP completely off the laptop, but I can't seem to find a way to install mandrake...

 

the cd drive is not bootable. Also, the cd drive and floppy drive are interchangeable, so I cannot boot from floppy, then transfer to the cd install - unless I can find some way for my cd drive to be recognised.

 

I've tried a hard disk install - but as the HD is currently in NTFS format, its not working.

 

A friend told me it might be possible to get my harddrive to boot like a floppy, and then I could install from the cd using loadlin, but he didn't know how this would be done.

 

I also wonder if I could install over a network? All other machines are running XP though.

 

Can you help me with either of these two options, or suggest a better option? I want to wipe XP off the laptop completely...but I just can't work out how to get linux onto it.

 

Thanks!

[ezroller]

I'm not sure if mandrake can install over the network, but there are other distro's that will. If you are looking for one like that, try SuSE, or Gentoo.

 

Though, I would rather see you running mandrake. why is the cd drive not bootable? can you get into your BIOS and change that?

[SoulSe]

You can do network installs of Mandy, check here: http://www.mandrakeusers.org/viewtopic.php...ghlight=install

 

However, I strongly doubt that you can not boot from CD, check your BIOS settings.

 

If none of the above works, here is what I suggest:

 

Download a floppy-based distro (such as Loaf or the original BBC). Boot into this distro and use fdisk (or another tool) to bomb the NTFS partition and setup Linux partitions (preferably ReiserFS) and then install from HD or from Floppy-to-CD.

 

You can find floppy-based distros at www.linux.org on the distro list.

[Germ]

Here is some more info on Mandrake network installs:

 

Network Install

[Guest starbug]

Thanks for your help, I was beginning to get really frustrated.

 

I'm not really sure why the cd drive isn't bootable - its set as the first option in the bios menu, but when I have a cd in the drive it usually ignores it. Sometimes I'll be asked if I want to boot from cd - when I say yes it goes on to boot from the HD. I've had this problem before, and had other people look at it, no one can get a cd to boot.

 

I think that loading one of the floppy distros sounds like a good option, cause so far whenever I've played w/ the network or pcmcia images I get told that a NET connection cannot be esablished.

 

I just wonder: if I install a floppy dstro, will I be able to get it recognise my cd drive when I switch from the floppy to the cd - otherwise I won't be able to copy the Mandrake ISO on to the HD?

 

Thanks!

[dalek]

I noticed this on another machine once. When you start to boot and the screen right after the one with the memory count goes away, there is a message right at the bottom 'press any key to boot from cd . . . " or something to that effect. Make sure you hit a key or it will boot from primary master even if not in BIOS. This really ticked me because the machine was so fast you couldn't really read it before it went away. Took me a while.

 

:D :D :D :D