install ubuntu without CD-rom drive?

[Eberhard Roloff]

"Tod Merley" <todbot88 at gmail.com> wrote:


> Replies at bottom:
> 
> On 9/8/06, JeremyWorst <ulist at gs1.ubuntuforums.org> wrote:
> >
[Laptop cannot boot from external CDRom, connected via
PCMCIA]

  
> Hi Again Jeremy!
> 
> Two things:
> 
> 1. Memory!!  I hope you have the max. (128mb) but I would
> guess that you are at at the original (64mb).  That is not
> enough for Ubuntu. Even 128mb is too small for a decent
> graphical environment (but could probably be done).  

Well, I guess, Xubuntu will run acceptably well on this machine
(with 128mb). I tried on a desktop PI/166 and this worked pretty
ok, as long as I did not give in to the tempatation to start
OOorg. ;-)

Probably
> time to go to www.linux.org > Distributions : English :
> minimalist.  There are several ( tomsrtbt is well known:
> http://www.toms.net/rb/ ) which fit on one or two floppies.
> Perhaps you can use one of them to load - say Puppy Linux
> which, once on the HD could easily be happy with the 64mb.
> 
if ubuntu does not work out for you, you might also try
damnsmallinux (see: http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/)


> 2. I note that the normal box comes with a CD (pretty
> common).  You mention one which attaches through the PCMCIA
> bus.  Well, I wonder if you could find something a bit
> closer.  It is hard to believe that a computer actually cannot
> boot from CD.

Well, according to
http://www.pcauthority.com.au/review.aspx?CIaRID=141, the box
indeed comes with an external cd-rom, conncected via PCMCIA, as
stated by the PO, and remember, the box is SMALL ;-). 

In contrast to your statement, I have no hard time to believe
that a computer cannot boot frm CDrom. I had plenty of PI Compaq
Notebooks that would not even bother to boot from internal ide
cd-drives. Although, in the latter case, I could always use
"smart bootmanager", http://btmgr.webframe.org/, but this will
probably not be usable here, if the cdrom-drive is unaccessible
at boot timee.
> 
> 3. You might be able to use one of the minimalist "one floppy"
> distros to or Linux on another computer to make a boot floppy
> which establishes a boot from your CD.

I would go the already proposed route and take the harddisk
from the Toshiba and load it with Kubuntu "elsewhere", using a
cheap adapter that allows the notebook Disk to be connected to an
ordinary desktop.
> 
> Good Hunting!
> 
> Tod
Thanks!
Eberhard