Is it possible to download Linux onto a 1.4 floppy disk - Page 2


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Thread: Is it possible to download Linux onto a 1.4 floppy disk

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
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    No easy way to start this, but grub and lilo are only an interface to the loading of the kernel. LILO meaning linux input Linux output. One is a graphics type of viewer and the other Grub is not. LILO has the option of both graphic and line viewing. Suse 9.1 was not their best effort, because during this time they were being taken over by Novell. However, Suse is the best of Linux for non expert like yourself. Suse preferes LILO over grub and is it's default loader. To change from one to the other you should have used Yast, because this is also the default loader for all Suse linux programs. Suse does not load it's file in the same directories like say Mandrake. Therefore, and programs being loaded is automaticaly taken over by yast, where it will load the varies bin, sbin and so forth into it's prefered directories. WindowsXP for example, has it's own desk top screen while loading it's programs, so you can not see the various dll etc being loaded. Linux will allow you to watch the five stages of loading or not. I for example would like to watch, because if something does not boot it will tell me so that I may correct it after Xwindows and programs finish booting.
    Please do not give up on Suse, you did choose the best for a person moving over from MS, try version 9.2 for example and I am very sure you will change your mind about Linux. With freedom comes many choices, and it is these choices that most newbies find confusing. I prefer Mandrake myself, But Redhat and the 14 others are just as good, because most are using the latest Kernel 2.4.
    Hope this hase helped you in some way.
    Good Luck

  2. #17
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    Oct 2002
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    http://www.debian.org/distrib/floppyinst

    There's a way to install a base system from floppies to install Debian from the net. Does that answer the question?
    Last edited by blackbelt_jones; 02-11-2005 at 11:11 PM.

  3. #18
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    Feb 2005
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    Floppies

    In answer to to your question about downloading in bits and pieces to a floppy, no you can't do it this way. However to confuse you, you can load an Linux operating system on a floppy, but you will end up with bare bones, with only command line capabilities.
    My question to you is why in the world would you want to do this since your lap top has dvd as well as cd RW capabilities.
    Download the programs, 3 discs, normally, and simply burn to a cd as an iso...hello??
    Last edited by Eugene Wong; 02-12-2005 at 11:54 PM.

  4. #19
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    Re: Floppies

    Originally posted by Eugene Wong
    In answer to to your question about downloading in bits and pieces to a floppy, no you can't do it this way. However to confuse you, you can load an Linux operating system on a floppy, but you will end up with bare bones, with only command line capabilities.
    My question to you is why in the world would you want to do this since your lap top has dvd as well as cd RW capabilities.
    Download the programs, 3 discs, normally, and simply burn to a cd as an iso...hello??
    The desktop is working great--
    The Desktop has a DVD CD drive- Zip drive- Floppy drive the specs for the desktop is below my signature.

    The Laptop is the computer that I'm having trouble with.

    The laptop will not recognize CD-s. it will recognize floppy's. just not CD-s' The lap top wont even boot to the desktop all I see when I boot the laptop is a blank screen with a C: prompt so I figured since the Laptop dose not recognize the CD needed to reformat the hard drive that maybe, installing a light weight version if Linux/ Debian via floppy would erase all the bugs, viruses worms etc, and install a new OS it would be like killing two birds with one stone.

    I already downloaded the files that are needed to install Debian onto the laptop the only problem is that, I can't get the floppy formatter that Ubuntu uses to format floppy disk.



    That's what I'm trying to do, but for some reason or another the ISO/ files don't want to transfer to the floppy disk.

    Here is the error message I get when the floppy is formating using the $4000 desktop that is working like a charm oh, the Desktop is running Ubuntu Linux as a OS

    Could not mount Floppy 1:
    Unable to mount the selected volume.:
    /dev/fd0: Input/output error
    mount: I could not determine the filesystem type, and none was specified

    Heres the error message I get when trying to format the floppy using Floppy fomater

    Read Error:
    Problem reading cylinder 0, expected 18432, read -1

    Thanks for the help, I appreciate all the suggestions

  5. #20
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    please, for the love of god, listen.

    1. how big are the ISO you are trying to put on floppies.If they are the standard 650 iso you are going to need about 540 floppies per iso.

    2. when you first tried booting off of your cdrom, what information was on the cd. if your burned the iso correctly it would be a bunch of files and directories. If your burned it wrong it would be ubuntu.iso or something like that.

    3. if your cd is actually not working, then someone has posted links to the debian net install floppy disks. make sure you are using those. you will probaly need to repartion and format your drive, to get rid of everything.

    4. if your computer cant format the floppies make sure they are not write protcted.


    if you have any questions about this post ,please respond. If anything is incorrect somebody please correct me.


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  6. #21
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    If anything is incorrect somebody please correct me.
    Yes, well the name "God" is normally capitalized, other than that...........
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  7. #22
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    Jun 2002
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    I had a problem with my CD-ROMs not working, so I installed SuSE Linux from a floppy disk. This installation is a bit more difficult than an install from CD and it requires:

    1) A fast internet connection
    2) 3 to 8 floppy disks or 1 floppy disk plus another computer

    The readme for how to make the disks is listed here. and there are unofficial how-tos on the Web that cover the installation process.
    Last edited by hop-frog; 02-13-2005 at 02:14 AM.

  8. #23
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    Jan 2003
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    Read Error:
    Problem reading cylinder 0, expected 18432, read -1
    corrupt floppy. and anyway, you cant put a 650MB ISO to a floppy.

    Eejay, just do one thing before anything else, just this:

    -- Take the linux CD which you placed in the laptop to your desktop and see if you can boot your desktop with it (dont see if it works in windows/linux, turn off your computer and turn it on with the CD in the drive, so that it loads completely from the CD)

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