Part three...
Posted October 13th, 2007 at 08:32 PM by dunbar
Updated October 13th, 2007 at 10:14 PM by dunbar (still new to the blog tools, oops)
Updated October 13th, 2007 at 10:14 PM by dunbar (still new to the blog tools, oops)
Ok, the world is a WEB based world. Lets give up on documents that have been cut and pasted for a few years in a row. After all, I'm probably going to hear from someone in the Mandriva camp, they'll probably be all nutty about the lack of help and all.
Lets open the index.htm file. In FireFox 2.0.0.7, which is the latest version of the browser. The one on the DVD which I burned, so I can install Mandriva.
Titlebar of new browser tab reads "WELCOME - Mandriva Linux 2007". Ok, this is a little closer to today.
I'll skip testing all the links to various countries.... Italy seems to work properly (this is a joke about my ignorance of Italian: I believe the linked page is written in italian because everything ends in 'i'. Just a joke, laugh with me here).
The ever-so-cheeky [sarcasm]You're just kidding! I've already been flamed over there!!![/sarcasm]
Lets read down a bit further in index.htm
Inside index.htm is a link to install.htm; the link fails to load: The link is supposed to open install.txt, not install.htm.
Oh, cool, another install.txt... lets click on this install.txt, in hopes of getting a different document.
Hey, WAIT just a minute..... It's the same file from Blog post part 2, above... But, I need to know more.
At this point, I've clearly begun the other 'normal' method of getting documentation about installing Linux, reading the installation disk documentation, lets keep reading.
Wow! I sure hope that the DVD boots! If not..........
A floppy disk... NOT previously listed as a requirement of the PC. My pc does not have a floppy.
So lets look into the install images directory....
Ok, where is cdrom.img?
Where is network.img?
Where is PCMCIA.img?
What is all.img used for?
What is boot.img used for?
And the prior section of install.txt (section 2) said I need to burn these to a floppy... that is not right, either. The all.img file is over 10 megs, as is also the boot.iso file. They won't fit on a floppy disk, and a newbie might not know to check the file sizes!!! hd_grub is 141k, so that could be burned to a floppy and may boot the (floppy based) system, but I don't know how useful it will be.
I know what grub is used for, but I've never got intimate with it.... there is a link at the hd_grub.img box, saying I could visit I pasted the link URL into a new FireFox tab and..... Do I really HAVE to keep doing this?
This is sickening, and the astute reader will say, stop reading the ONE or TWO documents that you know are wrong.
I say FIX EVERY PROBLEM.
I say stop acting like you are already a Linux guru, go USE the documents which the internet is telling newbies to use. Start at the distros ISO, just like a newbie.
If you have to recall how to do something from your memory, the document fails.
Lets open the index.htm file. In FireFox 2.0.0.7, which is the latest version of the browser. The one on the DVD which I burned, so I can install Mandriva.
Titlebar of new browser tab reads "WELCOME - Mandriva Linux 2007". Ok, this is a little closer to today.
I'll skip testing all the links to various countries.... Italy seems to work properly (this is a joke about my ignorance of Italian: I believe the linked page is written in italian because everything ends in 'i'. Just a joke, laugh with me here).
The ever-so-cheeky
Quote:
(contributors welcome!)
Lets read down a bit further in index.htm
Quote:
2. Installing
See the install.htm file.
IMPORTANT COMPATIBILITY NOTE:
snip
See the install.htm file.
IMPORTANT COMPATIBILITY NOTE:
snip
Quote:
Firefox can't find the file at /I:/x86_64/install.htm.
Oh, cool, another install.txt... lets click on this install.txt, in hopes of getting a different document.
Hey, WAIT just a minute..... It's the same file from Blog post part 2, above... But, I need to know more.
At this point, I've clearly begun the other 'normal' method of getting documentation about installing Linux, reading the installation disk documentation, lets keep reading.
Quote:
1. Boot directly from CD
The Installation CDROM is bootable. In most cases, just insert the CD
into the drive and reboot the machine. Follow the instructions
displayed on screen: press the [Enter] key to start the
installation, or press [F1] for additional help.
NOTE:
On some laptops (portable computers), the system may not be
able to boot from the CD. In such a case, you should prepare a
boot floppy. See point 2 for details.
The Installation CDROM is bootable. In most cases, just insert the CD
into the drive and reboot the machine. Follow the instructions
displayed on screen: press the [Enter] key to start the
installation, or press [F1] for additional help.
NOTE:
On some laptops (portable computers), the system may not be
able to boot from the CD. In such a case, you should prepare a
boot floppy. See point 2 for details.
Quote:
2. Make a boot floppy with Windows
If your computer cannot boot from the CDROM, you must make a
boot floppy under Windows as follows:
* insert the CDROM, then open the icon
"My Computer", right click on the CDROM drive
icon and select "Open"
* go into the "dosutils" directory and
double-click on the "rawwritewin" icon
* insert a blank floppy in the floppy drive
* select "D:\images\cdrom.img" in the "Image
File" field (assuming that your CDROM drive is
"D:", otherwise replace "D:" as needed)
* select "A:" in the "Floppy Drive" field then
click on "Write".
To begin the installation:
* insert the CDROM in the drive, as well as the boot floppy, then
* restart the computer.
If your computer cannot boot from the CDROM, you must make a
boot floppy under Windows as follows:
* insert the CDROM, then open the icon
"My Computer", right click on the CDROM drive
icon and select "Open"
* go into the "dosutils" directory and
double-click on the "rawwritewin" icon
* insert a blank floppy in the floppy drive
* select "D:\images\cdrom.img" in the "Image
File" field (assuming that your CDROM drive is
"D:", otherwise replace "D:" as needed)
* select "A:" in the "Floppy Drive" field then
click on "Write".
To begin the installation:
* insert the CDROM in the drive, as well as the boot floppy, then
* restart the computer.
Quote:
3. Other installation methods
If for any reason the previous methods do not fit your needs (you
want to perform a network install, an install from pcmcia devices
orĀ ...), you will also need to make a boot floppy:
* Under Linux (or other modern UNIX systems) type at prompt:
$ dd if=xxxxx.img of=/dev/fd0
* Under Windows, follow the method described in point 2, but
using xxxxx.img (see below) instead of
cdrom.img.
* Under DOS, assuming your CD is drive D:, type:
D:\> dosutils\rawrite.exe -f install\images\xxxxx.img -d A
Here the list of boot images:
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| cdrom.img | install from CD-ROM |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| hd_grub.img | install from hard-disk (from a Linux, |
| | Windows, or ReiserFS filesystem) |
| | you can configure it for your system at: |
| | http://qa.mandriva.com/hd_grub.cgi |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| network.img | install from ftp/nfs/http |
| | NOTE: you will need to insert network_drivers.img |
| | in your floppy drive when prompted |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| pcmcia.img | install from pcmcia devices (warning, most pcmcia |
| | network adapters are now directly supported |
| | from network.img) |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+
If for any reason the previous methods do not fit your needs (you
want to perform a network install, an install from pcmcia devices
orĀ ...), you will also need to make a boot floppy:
* Under Linux (or other modern UNIX systems) type at prompt:
$ dd if=xxxxx.img of=/dev/fd0
* Under Windows, follow the method described in point 2, but
using xxxxx.img (see below) instead of
cdrom.img.
* Under DOS, assuming your CD is drive D:, type:
D:\> dosutils\rawrite.exe -f install\images\xxxxx.img -d A
Here the list of boot images:
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| cdrom.img | install from CD-ROM |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| hd_grub.img | install from hard-disk (from a Linux, |
| | Windows, or ReiserFS filesystem) |
| | you can configure it for your system at: |
| | http://qa.mandriva.com/hd_grub.cgi |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| network.img | install from ftp/nfs/http |
| | NOTE: you will need to insert network_drivers.img |
| | in your floppy drive when prompted |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| pcmcia.img | install from pcmcia devices (warning, most pcmcia |
| | network adapters are now directly supported |
| | from network.img) |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------+
Code:
all.img boot.iso hd_grub.img
Where is network.img?
Where is PCMCIA.img?
What is all.img used for?
What is boot.img used for?
And the prior section of install.txt (section 2) said I need to burn these to a floppy... that is not right, either. The all.img file is over 10 megs, as is also the boot.iso file. They won't fit on a floppy disk, and a newbie might not know to check the file sizes!!! hd_grub is 141k, so that could be burned to a floppy and may boot the (floppy based) system, but I don't know how useful it will be.
I know what grub is used for, but I've never got intimate with it.... there is a link at the hd_grub.img box, saying I could visit
Code:
http://qa.mandriva.com/hd_grub.cgi
Quote:
Object not found!
The requested URL was not found on this server. If you entered the URL manually please check your spelling and try again.
If you think this is a server error, please contact the webmaster.
Error 404
qa.mandriva.com
Apache/2.0.55 (Mandriva Linux/PREFORK-1mdk)
The requested URL was not found on this server. If you entered the URL manually please check your spelling and try again.
If you think this is a server error, please contact the webmaster.
Error 404
qa.mandriva.com
Apache/2.0.55 (Mandriva Linux/PREFORK-1mdk)
This is sickening, and the astute reader will say, stop reading the ONE or TWO documents that you know are wrong.
I say FIX EVERY PROBLEM.
I say stop acting like you are already a Linux guru, go USE the documents which the internet is telling newbies to use. Start at the distros ISO, just like a newbie.
If you have to recall how to do something from your memory, the document fails.
Recent Blog Entries by dunbar
- Getting into Linux a bit more..... (May 5th, 2008)
- Part three... (October 13th, 2007)
- Part two... (October 13th, 2007)
- Linux documentation (October 13th, 2007)
- Bloatware (September 24th, 2007)
