Selecting 2.4 Kernel on Boot Floppy Debian Install

[Charles Steinkuehler]

Leo J Mauler wrote:
> On Fri, 09 Jan 2004 09:59:15 -0600 Charles Steinkuehler
> <charles at steinkuehler.net> writes:

>> You might try using the Smart Boot Manager (sbm.bin 
>> in the install directory of CD1 on my 3.0 r1 CD set).  
>> From the sbm README:
>> 
>> What's the use of SBM on the CD then ?
>> 
>>    SBM includes an IDE driver that allows us to boot 
>> the cds even on  machines with a BIOS that wouldn't 
>> support booting from CD, provided our CDROM is 
>> an IDE one, that is, so you can make a SBM floppy 
>> and boot from it and then tell it to boot from your 
>> CDROM.
>> 
>>    Also, there are some cases where the BIOS would 
>> allow booting from the CD but isolinux fails to boot 
>> from there, in this case you can either boot using a CD 
>> other than the first, as the others don't use isolinux, or 
>> you can make a SBM floppy and boot from this floppy 
>> and then tell SBM to boot your CDROM.
> 
> If SBM isn't on the Debian 3.0_r0 CD set, would booting from a SBM floppy
> found on the Debian 3.0_r2 CD Set still allow booting of a CD from the
> 3.0_r0 set?
> 
> Sorry, I'm not feeling very competent with computers right now.  Half my
> home network's computers just fell off the network for what seems to be
> the reason that both 8-port switches and four network cards suddenly
> failed *simultaneously*.  One of the network cards was my only PCMCIA
> laptop network card <sigh>.

I haven't tried, but I get the impression SBM is a floppy 'boot-strap' 
for booting off a CD-ROM on systems that don't support this directly, or 
don't support the newer boot methods (ie: isolinux vs. 
floppy-emulation).  I'd definately give it a shot, as since you've got a 
CD, booting off it (either directly or with sbm) would be the easiest 
way to install.

...of course, you could always setup the tftp boot image along with 
etherboot, and do a full network install.  :)

-- 
Charles Steinkuehler
charles at steinkuehler.net