On 5/12/07, Douglas Allan Tutty <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
On Sat, May 12, 2007 at 10:26:09AM -0400, Patrick Wiseman wrote: > Hi, all: > > I'm trying to install Etch on an old Portege 3020 (which had Woody on it at > one point). The boot and root disks work just fine, but then it just hangs > when I get to the net-drivers-1 disk. It either hangs immediately (so that > Alt-F4 no longer works to show me the log) or at some percentage into > "Scanning the disk". I've copied the img file to other floppies, so I don't > think that's the problem. I'm wanting to do a net install, so I need those > drivers! Any thoughts about how to get past this problem? > > (I had some old Woody disks around, and it got me as far as "Install the > base system", but then I get an error that no release file is found. I'm on > the network at that point because I can ping ftp.us.debian.org. I tried > using debian/oldstable as the source URL - there IS a Release file in there > - but I still get the error.)
I downloaded the img files for 'oldstable' (sarge), and got past the net-drivers disk, only to have the process stick at loading the 'yenta-socket' module. Then I remembered something about how PCCARDS should be set up in the BIOS. I set that to Cardbus, tried again, and now, even as I e, the 3020 is getting re-Debianized! How much memory does a Portege 3020 have; does it meet the requirements
for Etch's Debian Installer as set out in the Installation Manual?
Mine has 96MB - plenty, according to the docs.
The installation manual also tells you to submit an installation report. It provides a form you can fill out and mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] which is especially usefull in the case of a failed install such as you are describing. The reports go the the deban boot team on the debian-boot mailing list. I would suggest that you subscribe to that list and send a report. They will know more about what to do to get the install working.
Thanks for those observations. I'll either report my experience there or add a page to the 'Linux on Laptops' site describing how I finally got it to go. I don't know if the BIOS setting was the problem with installing etch. It doesn't seem likely, given that the net-drivers-? disks just wouldn't load, and the sarge net-drivers disk loaded without any problems (and I used the same floppy!). I suppose I _could_ retry the etch disks - but, no, I'll have a working system. Why chance it? But I would remind anyone installing Linux to an early Toshiba machine to make sure that the BIOS is set to treat PC cards as Cardbus/16 bit. Patrick
