4mb Laptop HOWTO

4mb Laptop HOWTO

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5
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4mb Laptop HOWTO by Bruce Richardson

Published:

2000

Pages:

72

Downloads:

9,079

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4mb Laptop HOWTO

By

5
(1 Review)
How to put a "grown-up" Linux on a small-spec (4mb RAM,

Book Excerpt

sure to use the -r option when mounting floppies on the laptops.

· It is not wise to use the mkfs.ext2 that comes with the mini-Linux to create file-systems on the partitions into which SlackWare will be installed. It should only be used to create the file-system on the temporary root partition. Once installation is complete this partition can be reformatted and re-used.

4.3.2. Procedure

If installing on an Aero, make sure the floppy drive is inserted before switching on and do not remove it.

1. Boot from the mini-Linux (-- With muLinux, wait until the boot- process complains about the small memory space and offers the option of dropping into a shell - take that option and work in the limited single-user mode it gives you. --)

2. Use fdisk to create the partitions.

3. Reboot on leaving fdisk (with muLinux you may simply have to turn off and on again at this point).

4. Use mkswap on the swap partition and then activate it (this will make muLinux muc

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This is the computer equivalent of going camping and making a fire with flint and steel. The author had two laptops with 4 Mb RAM, 200 Mb hard drives and 486 processors that he wanted to put a useful Linux OS on. (486 laptops can still occasionally be found, usually by archaeologists excavating Mayan tombs.)

He describes using floppy discs to partition the drives and start the installation process. He ends up with machines that operate through the Terminal, don't have a GUI, but can do e-mail, networking, some simple writing and printing and are capable of repairing other machines.

Recommended for anyone who thinks he or she knows their way around computers.