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Old PC becomes router

part 2 : Preparing to Install

The easiest way to install Linux is by booting a Linux installation CD : set the BIOS to boot from CD-ROM, insert the Linux setup CD, restart the machine. The computer will boot from CD-ROM and start the setup program. However, when this option is out of the question (an old PC ?), you may be in need of a workaround.

It's probably best to opt for a network installation. If tried this on a number of occasions and found that with Debian, it usually works just fine. In fact, this is not really a workaround. It's a genuine installation method, even better than installing from a CD-ROM, because you'll automatically get the most recent (updated, security-patched, ...) versions of whatever you chose to install. Here's my Debian Linux Network Install QuickStart Guide. Try it, you'll like it

While for Debian, a network install is one of the preferred methods, the more commercial Linux distributions (SUSE, RedHat) have begun pushing the sale of their CD's, and do not actively support network installations. They still have the option, but if it doesn't work out (e.g. the installer can't find the installation directory on the SUSE servers), you're on your own.

What follows is your fallback solution if, for some reason, you can't or don't want to do a network installation. It partially based on the SuSE Linux Installation and Configuration Guide, (c) SuSE, and SuSE 6.2 and 6.4 (Evaluation Version). I assume other versions / other distributions offer a simular approach - but you may need to read the f***ing manual :-). It's basically just a write-up of things i tried and that seemed to work, more or less.

You have a CD-ROM station, but can not boot from it

This is relatively easy. You need a bootable DOS system with CD-ROM support. Booting from a DOS bootable diskette will do. Load the driver for the CD station (DEVICE= ... in config.sys, then get a drive letter by using MSCDEX.EXE.

If you've made a DOS partition and installed DOS during the hardware preparations, you can use that, of course.

Insert (CD 1 of) the Linux setup cd. On it is a setup.exe that you can run under DOS. It starts a setup program that will lead you through the installation program. Because a linux installation needs to be done while running linux, you'll be given the opportunity create Linux boot diskettes, or boot Linux from DOS using loadlin.exe.

If, for some reason, setup.exe fails, you can still create a Linux boot diskette (explained in the manual or on the previous page (Debian)), and copy a number of installation files from the CD to the hard disk. You'll need about 120 - 150 MB free space on a DOS partition. Or you may be able to tell YAST to look for a CD-ROM (I don't remember. With the Debian installation, it *is* possible to boot with diskettes and then switch to CD-ROM)

You have no CD-ROM station at all (on the 'router' PC)

You can still try the installation from DOS, if you have network access to a CD player on an other computer. A CD-ROM station shared with Windows File sharing, perhaps, or a directory made accessible by an FTP server.

This requires the old PC to be network-capable. You may, to that effect, want to consider installing Windows for Workgroups (Win 3.11) on the DOS partition. This will allow you to map a drive letter to a remote, shared CD-ROM station, and access the linux setup.exe. There are some tips and hints on this Hardware Preparation page.

installing from a hard drive

In stead of installing from a CD-Rom, you can also install from a hard disk. This does, however require you to copy files to a DOS partition - presumably from a CD, so you still need some sort of access to a CD - via a network, or with a serial cable connection (using a commercial program such as LapLink (v5 for DOS) or MS-DOS 's very own interlink.

You also need a 150 MB DOS partition that will not be converted to Linux during the installation : a hard disk with at least two partitions will be required.

The instructions (which files to copy, in what directory structure, and how to start the installation, are well described in the SuSE manual mentioned earlier.

In brief :

1. create a directory, say c:\lnxsetup
2. in lnxsetup, create a directory suse
3. in \lnxsetup\suse, create directories
   • A1
   • N1
   • images
   • setup
4. copy setup.exe and setup.mnu from the CD to \lnxsetup\
5. copy the contents from the A1 directory on the CD to the A1 directory on the HD
6. copy ipchains.rpm from N1 on the CD to N1 on the HD
7. unpack (CD:)\suse\images\root. To do so, you need the zip utility (CD:)\dosutils\gzip\gzip.exe. You can extract to a temporary directory - eg. like this :
   h:\dosutils\gzip\gzip < h:\suse\images\root > f:\temp\inst-img
8. Then, copy the contents of f:\temp\inst-img tp c:\lnxsetup\suse\setup\inst-img

Yet another workaround : put the hard disk (as slave, or on a 2nd HDD controller) in a computer that has a CD-ROM drive, copy the files, then put the hard disk back in the router PC. Or the other way around : borrow a CD-ROM station from an other computer, use it to copy the files, then put the CD-ROM station back where it belongs.

installing Linux

1. use a Linux installation diskette to boot
2. when asked for installation medium, choose 'hard disk'
3. when asked for installation source, give the directory to which you copied the installation files. that's lnxsetup in this example.

Assuming you have a primary partition with DOS, you'll now create an extended partition. In the extended partition, create a linux swap partition and a / partition. With only 500 MB free disk space, it is not necessary to create multiple partitions for Linux. Make the swap partition 64 or 128 MB.

Choose minimal (base) installation. That's more than sufficient. For routing only, it is probably possible to reduce the installation further (as proven by Freesco, The Linux Router Project, and other Linux On A Floppy projects), but I have no clue how, so we'll stick with just the base system.

Follow the prompts and suggestions offered by YAST (Yet Another Setup Tool), choose what seems appropriate, and sooner or later you'll be welcomed to SUSE Linux.

Have a lot of Fun.