best way to install linux to a laptop

[Brent Harding]

I do have a CD burner, but it's usb. Why did I be silly enough to get that?
Well, for Christmas I got it, and the most linux I was in to was my isp's
shell account, which when I switched I no longer have. Wouldn't I just dd
the CD to a file, and put in my own kernel?
Like, dd if=/dev/cdrom of=linux.img, and mount it up with
mount -o loop linux.img /mnt? Then just copy in my system kernel, and
unmount? If I did this, however getting this file on CD from linux will be
hard unless there's an usb driver for hp cdwriter 8200 pluses.  Where do
all those packages come from linuxconf can't seem to locate, like setting
up ppp accounts, and the like? It seems not to find the shell it suggests.
If I ever get broadband I might actually use this to dial my system when at
a remote location with my laptop to get online.
There's no other way to tell my linux box to disconnect so I could get on
without getting an initial connection somewhere.
Sharing the IP without ipmasking, (just simply dialing another system on to
it) doesn't work, and I've tested it, both ifconfigs turn up identical when
the machines are online.
At 03:56 PM 10/17/00 -0500, you 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
>
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