[NBLUG] FW: Linux on Laptop

[ME]

(Comments below)

On Wed, 9 May 2001, Loraditch, Greg wrote:
> > I will be setting up a PPP connect with my account under this system,

One of the biggest problems with many laptps and their "modems" that come
integrated in the boards, is that the modems are frequently "winmodems"
and do not have wide consistent support on linux (yet.) There have been
some "LinModems" that are really WinModems too but some support exists in
linux. (It does require more work for you to enable these thought.) If you
have an integrated WinModem, you may not see it work in Linux depending on
the kind/type.

There are many papers out there to explain why winmodems are bad ideas but
the summary is this:

To cut costs, hardware is eliminated from the modem, and replaced with
software to emulate the missing hardware and "suck" CPU cycles from your
processor with a "background" application (or bit of code) that arbitrates
the emulated hardware/os/hardware intewface. (over-simplified)

> >  but would first like to know if it is possible to:
> > 
> > 	1. use an external floppy on a Thinkpad760 to use a linux boot disk.

I am not sure about items specific to this thinkpad, but to the 560, and 2
other models, this was possible with Debian and I would *assume* also
possible with RedHat and others.

This may be of some help for you:
http://www.linux-laptop.net/

(Secific to the links to IBM laptops with many variations of the 760 hlf
way down the page:-)

http://www.linux-laptop.net/ibm.html

At one time there were issues with the ThinkPad 560 uusing a
"non-standard" system for the external floppy and you needed to pass the
kernel during boot an option to tell the loading kernel you were using a
thinkpad560 external floppy but my 560 never needed this. (Prob not an
issue any more esp for your 760.)

> > 	2.  After which, if the Thinkpad will recognize the internal cd-rom
> > which has Linux.

Yes (it should), or perform a flppy disk (15 floppies in an example
debian) base install with PCMCIA card services and network the rest, or
use most CD-ROM drives out there. (There could be some parallel port based
CD-ROM drives that may be a bit more tricky to set up, but most SCSI OR
(E)IDE (ATAPI) CD-ROM drives are recognized by the many various linux
kernels set up for use with the linux installs.

Others may be able to help with RedHat specifics.

> > The BIOS for this particular machine will not flash to boot off the
> > internal cd-rom, only PCM card, floppy, or hd.
> > 
> > Therefore; does the boot up of the linux kernel (from the external floppy)
> > load some kind of driver for a cd-rom, so that it can proceed and begin
> > reading off the internal cd-rom?

(Not sure about RedHat with boot floppy, but) In Debian, the rescue" disk
used if you wish to start from a floppy disk for an installation actually
loads a kernel and a very simple root filesystem (on separate disk with
newer versions and on the same floppy with older ones.) Once the kerel is
loaded (assuming support for the CD-ROM drive is in that kernel or loaded
modules) you  can then access files stored on a CD.

> > Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks!!
> > Greg L.
> > gregl at sonic.net

Hoe it offers some help.

-ME