best way to install linux to a laptop

[Chris Nestrud]

You might want to check the PCMCiA howto (www.linuxdoc.org) to make sure
that your laptop has cards which are supported. I was installing Debian on
a friend's laptop, and while it detected the floppy and cd drives without
problems, it didn't detect the PCMCIA modem and NIC. It's also possible
that I missed something in the install.

Chris


On Tue, 17 Oct 2000, Kirk Wood wrote:

> I will attempt to address a number of issues you have brought up:
> 
> 1.  Hardware detection: Nearly every distribution can detect
> hardware. The differences come down to configuration methods and placement
> of files. The other difference is installation of pre-packaged
> bianaries. (One other note, I would recomend not I repeat not going with
> RedHat 7 as there could be some compatibility problems with libraries and
> why invite such potential problems starting out?)
> 
> 2.  Booting from CD, or dealing with posible floppy, CD swap problems. If
> you have access to a CDROM burner, you can make your own bootable CD that
> uses the correct kernel. If this isn't an option, then you will want to
> select either Debian or Slackware. Debian allows downloading most of the
> files. Slackware is laid out in such a manner that installing most things
> from floppy is doable. (Though it will mean a lot of floppys going through
> the drive.)
> 
> 3.  Selecting a distribution because your ISP uses it makes no
> sense. Having said that, I think Debian can give you all the benifits of
> RedHat and a whole lot more. First, you can install a version of RPM that
> will install RPMs without problem (though it is not the recomended means
> as that doesn't update the dpkg database). Second, you can install
> linuxconf the main program for administering your machine. This is a great
> program and I highly recomend it. You can add users, setup your network,
> and a whole lot more. For ease of administration I haven't found anything
> that beats Linuxconf. While RedHat came out with it, thanks to GPL you can
> easily add it to Debian. (And the package is ready to go.)
> 
> The latest Debian will allow you to accept a default install that sets up
> most things needed. It finds PCMCIA if you have it (and removes it if you
> don't). You can easily install it using a PPP acount if you can't bot a
> floppy then mount a CD.
> 
> 
> =======
> Kirk Wood
> Cpt.Kirk at 1tree.net
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup at braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
>