[Rule-list] Install with no CD or floppy drive

[Raymundo Baquirin]

>From: Michael Fratoni <mfratoni at tuxfan.homeip.net>
>To: rule-list at mail.freesoftware.fsf.org
>Subject: Re: [Rule-list] Install with no CD or floppy drive
>Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 08:22:27 -0400
>Reply-To: rule-list at mail.freesoftware.fsf.org
>
>slinky-${version}.img is a dos formatted filesystem image. You should be
>able to copy the kernel without difficulty. The disk also contains the
>installers basic file system (gzipped), which the installer will need
>access to. The setup scripts are in the gzipped file, and will be in the
>/scripts directory after unzipping.
>If what you are trying to do works, the filesystem will be unziped and
>loaded into a ram disk during the boot process.
>I've never used loadlin, but if you can point it at the floppy, and tell
>it to boot 'vmlinuz', I suspect it might work.

Worked like a charm!  Thanks, Michael!

What I did:
on my desktop machine running Linux,
(a) mounted slinky-v0.2.0.img as a loop device
(b) copied vmlinuz and rootfs.gz to the windows partition
(c) rebooted into Win98
(d) used Direct Cable Connection to copy the files along with loadlin.exe to 
the laptop (w/c was running Win95), and
on the laptop, issued the command:
  loadlin vmlinuz initrd=rootfs.gz root=/dev/ram0 ramdisk_size=1024
and...got the usual boot messages and the shell prompt!!

My problem now is how to do a network install as this appears not to be 
possible right now with slinky.  Can I do something similar with miniconda, 
then configure networking over the serial link to get at the CD on my desktop 
machine?

TIA,

Ray

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