Installing SUSE without DVD

[xwb]

Ideally I'd like to install SUSE with development tools from CD.

The only CD from the SUSE site is a live CD which doesn't have any development tools. The DVD has development tools but I have a laptop that doesn't have a DVD drive and doesn't know about USB DVD drives unless an OS is installed.

The live CD does not have any development tools at all. Gone are the days when they came with development tools. Now all we get is office software.

The only way I can think of doing this is to install Windows 98 or FreeDOS, suck the ISO over the network, and install from the hard disk. I would do it in DOS6, which has a smaller footprint but the ISO is 4GB which is more than DOS can handle.

Any suggestions on how else I can do this?

 

[pentode]

Why can't you just install the basic system from the CD and then pull in whatever additional software you want via the Internet?

 

[BadBigBen]

Question about the LapTop, does it allow booting from USB or is too old for that?

because you could use the install DVD then from the external DVD drive and install from that...

as Pentode mentioned, you could install the missing software from the internet...

or you burn yourself an Internet Installation Boot Image x86-64 (Internet Installation Boot Image x86) boot from it and install over the internet...

further info (OpenSuSE WiKi):

Installation without CD
Installation using images
SuSE install from USB drive


Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[xwb]

It is too old for booting from an external USB DVD.

I could pull the stuff off the internet but I wasn't intending to and it seems an absolute waste since everything I want is already on the DVD. Also, if I want to redo the installation, I have to get everything off the internet again. The last time I did one of these, the machine was stuck on the internet for 6 hours with numerous restarts because either the server reset or the ISP lost the connection.

Anyway, my idea didn't work. It started the installation but couldn't find the DVD. I couldn't figure out which file to change to get it to pick up the local disk.

I'll try out the ideas suggested in Installation without CD. Basically make a minimal boot CD and do the rest from the network

 

[xwb]

The link to the first boot CD is gone, it goes straight to SUSE11.1 which is a 4Gb download.

The link to the boot.iso goes to the same place. I'll have a look for other network install ISOs.

Strange the the 10.3 distribution doesn't have the boot.iso or CD1.iso mentioned in the article.

 

[BadBigBen]

That is correct that the first and second link point toward the latest release, and it points to the openSUSE-11.1-NET-x86_64.iso (117mb) and openSUSE-11.1-NET-i586.iso (89.9mb) respectively...

There is another way to update the after an install from the live CD, namely if you use the DVD (over the USB drive) as the repo for the updates...

or take a look at 10.2 you can DL all the CDs from the following link: ftp://mirror.colorado.edu/pub/opensuse/distribution/10.2/iso/cd/

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.

 

[xwb]

Sorry - I was writing about the Installation without CD link. The title is a bit misleading as the first thing it tells you to do is to make a CD/DVD! How can someone install without a CD if they have to make a CD?

Your links work. I just re-read it and saw it. I'll give that a try. The shops aren't 24 hours here and I've run right out of CDs so I guess it will have to be tomorrow.

 

[IRudebwoy]

Install using the live CD. Then, if you have an external dvd drive, you can add a repository that uses the DVD to install the needed software.

 

[xwb]

That's worth a try but I'll have to put it on hold until next week: I've been given half a dozen jobs by my better half and I won't be finished until at least 2300 tonight.

 

[BadBigBen]

Install using the live CD. Then, if you have an external dvd drive, you can add a repository that uses the DVD to install the needed software.

isn't that what I said?

The title is a bit misleading as the first thing it tells you to do is to make a CD/DVD!

actually it doesn't, what is misleading is that makeSUSEdvd is not just for making DVD's but for copying files from the ISO's to a given directory...

Manual Installation
[edit]
Place the files with makeSUSEdvd

You can place the files from the ISOs with makeSUSEdvd. Just run the following:

# makeSUSEdvd -i -s /srv/ftp/suse10.0

This will put all the files in /srv/ftp/suse10.0.

Source: en.opensuse.org/Network_Installation_Source




Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.

 

[DonQuichote]

If it is too old to boot from USB, maybe a BIOS upgrade exists to overcome this?

+++ Despite being wrong in every important aspect, that is a very good analogy +++
Hex (in Darwin's Watch)

 

[xwb]

isn't that what I said?

Similar - I read yours as making a small bootable ISO which pulled stuff off a DVD drive somewhere on the network. Not quite the same as installing from the live CD and then getting stuff off the DVD.

Anyway, I haven't had a chance to do either as yet: just taking a breather before going back to clearing the attic. Just found a stack of old Byte magazines and all the really interesting Circuit Cellar articles.

 

[BadBigBen]

xwb - not trying to be nitpicking but it is exactly what I had written...

There is another way to update the after an install from the live CD, namely if you use the DVD (over the USB drive) as the repo for the updates...

but keep us posted as to your progress...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.

 

[xwb]

Don - the machine is too old to boot from the USB drive. The last update on the Dell site is dated 2002.

Here's the story so far.

1) I plugged in the USB DVD.
2) I put 11.1 live CD in the CD drive and 11.1 DVD in the USB DVD Drive.
3) Had a few attempts at trying to get the system to boot from the CD (the CD has to get up to speed first)
4) Live CD booted, it loaded all the drivers and then a strange thing happened.
5) It switched to the USB DVD drive and I was able to install from the DVD.

I can't explain how the system decided to switch from the CD to the USB DVD. Doesn't make any sense at all but I managed to get a development system installed so I won't bother trying to find out how it magically switched installation devices without my telling it.

The only problem now is that the PS/2 mouse doesn't work but I've raised that as another thread.

Ben, thanks for all your help.

 

[BadBigBen]

No problem... glad you got it installed finally...

I'll keep an eye out for the other thread as well...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.

 

[flubbard]

Glad to see that it seems to be working now. Out of curiosity, did you have the ability to connect to the network? If so, couldn't you have gone the ftp option for installation, which would not have required the dvd and probably been a much smaller download to begin with? I believe that it's called the network install.

- flub

 

[xwb]

I can see the network on a good day. Some days samba just refuses to talk and I have to resort to memory sticks. Other days it is fine. Setup is exactly the same: there is a W2k server, a few XP, a few Linux and one other 2K machine. Some days everyone can see everyone, some days some Linux machines cannot see the server. They can ping it but cannot see the file system. I've got no idea why.

I've yet to try a network install. Days when I have time to try it, the network plays up. If I power everything down and up it works sometimes but I don't really like doing that as it disrupts the other users. There is a lot of hanging about.

 

[flubbard]

A couple of possibilities:

1. If you are able to ping the host, but not connect to the samba share, it is sounding either like smb is not running (check with service smb status) or it could be a firewall issue (which you could check by temporarily disabling iptables and see if the problem resolves itself)

2. Also, are you connecting by computer name or ip_address, could be a dns issue.

3. Can you ping both ways (from client to server and from server to client)? You may have a mismatch on the subnet. I would imagine that your server has a static ip, do your workstations as well, or are they all configured by way of DHCP. You may want to check their setup.

4. You should also make sure that your static ip on the server does not overlap with the addresses your DHCP server is assigning. It's possible that you are pinging a system other than your server that has just been given the same address.

5. If you are using DHCP, do you have enough available addresses. You may be running out of addresses to assign if you have too many devices on the network at a time.

Just some thoughts, unfortunately intermittent problems are usually the hardest to solve.

- flub

 

[xwb]

I haven't quite figured out why samba starts and then falls over. I was going to play with the IP tables but I'll have to wait until everyone goes home before I do that.

2) Connecting by IP address

3) Can ping both ways, all firewalls are down

4) Net masks are the same

5) I am using DHCP - there are only 10 machines on the network. Don't think it has run out of addresses.

Once I figure out why samba keeps on dying, I think I'll have it licked. I'll have to read up about samba first.

 

[flubbard]

Have you taken a look in your log files on the server to see if samba is throwing any errors. You might check in /var/log/messages or in the samba directory under /var/log. If an error is occurring, I would think it would show up in one of these places and might point you in the right direction.

- flub