UPDATE - Was Re: Challenge - Getting Debian Working on a Pair of Real Old Laptops
On Tue, 2008-09-02 at 21:52 -0700, Scarletdown wrote: > I have a pair of old P-I based Toshiba Laptops (Satellite Pro 425CDT and > Portege 650CT), and I am trying to figure out how to get a working > Debian installation on them. These laptops are very light on RAM. The > Satellite has 40MB (which I believe is the most she can take), and the > Portege has 24MB (can take up to 80MB). > > Both of them have successfully run Windows 98SE, so I figure they should > be able to run an ultra lightweight Debian desktop as well. For the > local desktop setup, which will just be mostly for maintenance purposes, > I am wanting to use LXDE as my desktop environment with the only > additional X-based apps installed being XMMS (these have decent on board > sound, so it would be a shame to let it go to waste), and Dillo, for > basic graphical web browsing. > > The primary use for these two laptops however, will be as thin clients > which would connect to another more fully featured Debian system via > XDMCP. For this, I will use GDM, since none of the other login managers > I have tried have any easy way to select remote login as a session. > > I am guessing that these laptops can't use a 2.6 kernel, since I tried > Damn Small Linux (which uses 2.4) on them just to see if I could get a > working desktop, and was able to run Fluxbox and get on the Web with > Dillo. > > So now that I know that these laptops can boot up into functional Linux > systems, are there any suggestions I might try to get a proper "pure" > Debian setup on them? I don't want to go with DSL, because there are > just too many annoying little details to configure manually. Come to > think of it, I don't really want to go with any live distro. This project is progressing (slow and painful, but it is progressing). Here is where I am at now: Woody installed via a set of Net Install floppies from http://archive.debian.org/debian-archive/ Portege boots up and networking is enabled. XFree86 is installed with GDM as the login manager and IceWM as my window manager of choice (LXDE does not work on a 2.2 kernel, apparently). Desktop looks pretty nice and runs fast enough. Pre-X configuration archived onto my NAS drive via PartImage (just in case I need to start over). Kernel 2.4.18 installed and LILO configured to select either that one or the 2.2.20 kernel. Now for the problems still remaining (and new issues as well) 1: When running the 2.4 kernel, the PCMCIA manager does not detect the PCMCIA NIC (3Com 3CCFE574BT), so no network connectivity when running 2.4. 2: The version of GDM that is installed has no menu options to configure GDM or to connect via XDMCP (not even a menu for Reboot/Shutdown/Restart X, etc). 3: Attempting to do a dist-upgrade after pointing apt to ftp.us.debian.org fails due to some issue with upgrading e2fsprogs. (don't remember the error unfortunately). 4: No sound, despite having esound installed. I guess the biggest issue is the second one. The whole point of this project was to set up a thin client to connect to a more able-bodied Linux box via the "Connect via XDMCP" option from GDM. Unfortunately, this version does not have it. Is there a way to enable the other typical menus in GDM, or does this version (don't remember the version number, but it should be whatever the final version of GDM was before Woody was retired) predate those features? If the former, then issues 1 and 3 are nonissues, since running 2.2.20 would be sufficient for this system. If the latter, then issue 1 needs to be addressed, since I suspect that if I can get networking working with the 2.4 kernel, then I should be able to dist-upgrade to etch and have a more recent version of GDM and other desirable features. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Challenge - Getting Debian Working on a Pair of Real Old Laptops
On Thu, Sep 04, 2008 at 02:31:26PM -0700, Scarletdown wrote: > On Thu, 2008-09-04 at 09:58 -0700, Andrew Sackville-West wrote: > > > you may improve the ultimate installed experience by rolling your own > > kernel with just the bare minimum you need for these lappies. > > That sounds like a good idea. So, what do I need to do my own custom > kernel? I haven't done it in a couple of years, and then it was only to say I'd done it ;-). Install kernel-package and read /usr/share/doc/kernel-package/README.gz and google on "debian kernel compile" or similar. It's pretty bullet-proof in debian. It's just a matter of determining what you need for your hardware and turning off everything else. Personally, I'd compile a static kernel without an initrd. As to the rest of your questions, sorry, beyond my skill set. A signature.asc Description: Digital signature
Re: Challenge - Getting Debian Working on a Pair of Real Old Laptops
On Thu, 2008-09-04 at 09:58 -0700, Andrew Sackville-West wrote: > you may improve the ultimate installed experience by rolling your own > kernel with just the bare minimum you need for these lappies. That sounds like a good idea. So, what do I need to do my own custom kernel? Also, where can I get the 3c579 PCMCIA NIC module? I took a look at modconf, and that is not one of the options. Then again, I didn't see any PCMCIA opetions there. And apparently, modules aren't available for install via apt-get either. Anyway, so far, I have been able to get a bare etch system booted up with kernel 2.4.27. On my build box, everything works fine (except for an inability for modprobe to find psmouse (wtf? I thought that was pretty standard across the board) Now, when I transfer the hard drive back to one of the laptops, PCMCIA services fails to start (Can't locate module ds, whatever that is), and hotplug doesn't find it either. I have pcmcia-cs and pcmciautils installed, but apparently those are for the 2.6 kernels. What is the equivalent for 2.4? -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Challenge - Getting Debian Working on a Pair of Real Old Laptops
On Tue, Sep 02, 2008 at 09:52:48PM -0700, Scarletdown wrote: > I have a pair of old P-I based Toshiba Laptops (Satellite Pro 425CDT and > Portege 650CT), and I am trying to figure out how to get a working > Debian installation on them. These laptops are very light on RAM. The > Satellite has 40MB (which I believe is the most she can take), and the > Portege has 24MB (can take up to 80MB). > > Both of them have successfully run Windows 98SE, so I figure they should > be able to run an ultra lightweight Debian desktop as well. For the > local desktop setup, which will just be mostly for maintenance purposes, > I am wanting to use LXDE as my desktop environment with the only > additional X-based apps installed being XMMS (these have decent on board > sound, so it would be a shame to let it go to waste), and Dillo, for > basic graphical web browsing. > > The primary use for these two laptops however, will be as thin clients > which would connect to another more fully featured Debian system via > XDMCP. For this, I will use GDM, since none of the other login managers > I have tried have any easy way to select remote login as a session. > > So anyway, I have run a test install, by first doing a minimal net > install of Stable on my "build box" and upgrading to Sid. After > transferring the drive from the build box to one of the laptops, I was > greeted with a kernel panic (same with when I tried it in the other > laptop). I don't recall what the actual full error messages were, but > apparently, neither 24MB or 40MB are sufficient to run a bare bones > console only implementation of Debian? some info on the kernel panic would probably help a lot... > > I am guessing that these laptops can't use a 2.6 kernel, since I tried > Damn Small Linux (which uses 2.4) on them just to see if I could get a > working desktop, and was able to run Fluxbox and get on the Web with > Dillo. > > So now that I know that these laptops can boot up into functional Linux > systems, are there any suggestions I might try to get a proper "pure" > Debian setup on them? I don't want to go with DSL, because there are > just too many annoying little details to configure manually. Come to > think of it, I don't really want to go with any live distro. > > Suggestions? Pointers? Tips? you may improve the ultimate installed experience by rolling your own kernel with just the bare minimum you need for these lappies. A signature.asc Description: Digital signature
Re: Challenge - Getting Debian Working on a Pair of Real Old Laptops
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 Scarletdown wrote: > I have a pair of old P-I based Toshiba Laptops (Satellite Pro 425CDT and > Portege 650CT), and I am trying to figure out how to get a working > Debian installation on them. These laptops are very light on RAM. The > Satellite has 40MB (which I believe is the most she can take), and the > Portege has 24MB (can take up to 80MB). > > Both of them have successfully run Windows 98SE, so I figure they should > be able to run an ultra lightweight Debian desktop as well. For the > local desktop setup, which will just be mostly for maintenance purposes, > I am wanting to use LXDE as my desktop environment with the only > additional X-based apps installed being XMMS (these have decent on board > sound, so it would be a shame to let it go to waste), and Dillo, for > basic graphical web browsing. > > The primary use for these two laptops however, will be as thin clients > which would connect to another more fully featured Debian system via > XDMCP. For this, I will use GDM, since none of the other login managers > I have tried have any easy way to select remote login as a session. > > So anyway, I have run a test install, by first doing a minimal net > install of Stable on my "build box" and upgrading to Sid. After > transferring the drive from the build box to one of the laptops, I was > greeted with a kernel panic (same with when I tried it in the other > laptop). I don't recall what the actual full error messages were, but > apparently, neither 24MB or 40MB are sufficient to run a bare bones > console only implementation of Debian? > > I am guessing that these laptops can't use a 2.6 kernel, since I tried > Damn Small Linux (which uses 2.4) on them just to see if I could get a > working desktop, and was able to run Fluxbox and get on the Web with > Dillo. > > So now that I know that these laptops can boot up into functional Linux > systems, are there any suggestions I might try to get a proper "pure" > Debian setup on them? I don't want to go with DSL, because there are > just too many annoying little details to configure manually. Come to > think of it, I don't really want to go with any live distro. > > Suggestions? Pointers? Tips? > > > > > > My 480CDT was great with Sid, Till it died (housemates spilled beer on it). My trick was aptitude purge python. (I'm a python coder so I put it back), but that strips the system down. You can also pass init=/bin/sh to the kernel and work your way up fom there.. - -- Rich Healey - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Developer / Systems Admin - OpenPGP: 0x8C8147807 MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED] AIM: richohealey33 irc.psych0tik.net-> #hbh #admins richohealey irc.freenode.org -> #hbh #debian PythonNinja -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (Darwin) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iEYEARECAAYFAki/lFYACgkQLeTfO4yBSAfLLACaAnp8Dd1Jx45w/dziyIwX0nVc Q+IAnRBRH+eXkZ3iVvpktUK5rr/4K5a/ =0rQg -END PGP SIGNATURE- -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Challenge - Getting Debian Working on a Pair of Real Old Laptops
I have a pair of old P-I based Toshiba Laptops (Satellite Pro 425CDT and Portege 650CT), and I am trying to figure out how to get a working Debian installation on them. These laptops are very light on RAM. The Satellite has 40MB (which I believe is the most she can take), and the Portege has 24MB (can take up to 80MB). Both of them have successfully run Windows 98SE, so I figure they should be able to run an ultra lightweight Debian desktop as well. For the local desktop setup, which will just be mostly for maintenance purposes, I am wanting to use LXDE as my desktop environment with the only additional X-based apps installed being XMMS (these have decent on board sound, so it would be a shame to let it go to waste), and Dillo, for basic graphical web browsing. The primary use for these two laptops however, will be as thin clients which would connect to another more fully featured Debian system via XDMCP. For this, I will use GDM, since none of the other login managers I have tried have any easy way to select remote login as a session. So anyway, I have run a test install, by first doing a minimal net install of Stable on my "build box" and upgrading to Sid. After transferring the drive from the build box to one of the laptops, I was greeted with a kernel panic (same with when I tried it in the other laptop). I don't recall what the actual full error messages were, but apparently, neither 24MB or 40MB are sufficient to run a bare bones console only implementation of Debian? I am guessing that these laptops can't use a 2.6 kernel, since I tried Damn Small Linux (which uses 2.4) on them just to see if I could get a working desktop, and was able to run Fluxbox and get on the Web with Dillo. So now that I know that these laptops can boot up into functional Linux systems, are there any suggestions I might try to get a proper "pure" Debian setup on them? I don't want to go with DSL, because there are just too many annoying little details to configure manually. Come to think of it, I don't really want to go with any live distro. Suggestions? Pointers? Tips? -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
