[Kupo]

Hey, I currently have Windows XP Pro but I want to install Mandrake Linux version 10 on my second hard drive which is FAT32. I'm using the floppy disk to help me boot the install. But, when i get to the install and it asks me to pick a cd drive, i put my primary and it says that the Mandrake cd is not inside.Can anyone help?

[danleff]

Booting directly from the cd drive would be better, but this is a common problem with the Mandrake install cd's.

Is there a reason that you are not booting from the cd directly?

It is good that you are installing Mandrake to a second hard drive. This should prevent the issue with corrupting/improper reading of the Windows partiton that we have seen with kernel 2.6 installs on the same drive as Windows is on.

Try booting with the second Mandrake cd in the drive and when prompted that it is not a Manrdake install cd, switch to the first cd and see if the install process continues.

[Kupo]

I would boot from the cd directly, but for some reason, it does not want to read it either... It says " Boot from CD:......" and it starts up windows.

[danleff]

Ahh...as long as you have booting from cd in the bios set ahead of booting from the hard drive (which it looks like you have), then the problem is the burn. Look at the cd (pop the 1st install cd in after booting to Windows) and what do you see on the cd when you view it, one ISO file or a bunch of directories and files? Double check this.

If you see the iso file only, you just burned the iso file on the cd, rather than the image. If you used Nero, you must choose the "burn Image" option located in the "file" dropdown menu.

Burn the image at no faster than 4X or 8X speed, as iso images do not like to be burned any faster, to burn correctly.

At this point, if the image attempts to boot, but gives an error about not being a Mandrake install cd, then try booting from cd #2, then when the error occurs, pop in disk one and allow it to run.

[Kupo]

Aha! You're right. the iso is not extracted. It is still a rar file. But can't I still just boot from the floppy? It doesn't seem to wanna read any cd to boot off of.

[martouf]

"boot from the floopy" - means the kernel is loaded and needs to load the initial ram disk
(initrd) filesystem before it can actually do anything useful.

without a filesystem mounted (initrd at a minimum), all the kernel can do is notice, for instance,
you've typed a key on the keyboard and basically look at you and say "yeah? what am I supposed
to do with this?"

It's important you take your own good time to read all the DIY instructions and follow them
to the letter when making your own CDs or buy CDs which have already been mastered.

[10Mhz]

Hi Kupo,

I had the same problem like many others out there booting from the Mandrake 10.0 installation Cdrom. Trying to boot from floppy with the cdrom.img provided on the mandrake cd did not help either.

I have burned the iso images correctly, tryied to burn new disks with lower speeds x8, x16 and without luck. I thought the problem was in the cdrom being older than the cdburner and therefore could not boot from the cd. But, suprisingly the cdrom could read the disk and execute the installation in the windows environment. So the chance of bad burned cdrom was heavily reduced.

Eventually it turned out to be a problem of booting mandrake cds on older bios systems and motherbord firmware.

After long searching, in some distant linux forum some nice guy pointed me to the working solution.

Smart Boot Manager
http://linux.simple.be/tools/sbm

Use the sbootmgr.dsk floppy image provided with the rawwrite program available on the mandrake cd in the /dosutils directory to create a bootable floopy disk.

Note: You will not be able to access the floppy from the windows. Its normal.

Insert the first Linux Mandrake 10.0 installation cd into the cdrom.
Boot using the floopy image and .... VIOLA! The disk should boot automatically.
Continue the setup normally.

Hope it will help all of those out there having the same frustrating problem. Im writing this post using Mandrakes Konqueror browser, so the method works.

Btw, the operating system is totally great, hard a bit to use at the beginning when you lack of technical information and not used to it. But its definetly better than windows in many aspects, gives you a much bigger freedom, works faster than windows notably on the older pcs (I have a PIII 450).. anyway.. Good luck with the setup.

10Mhzbzzzz.. d;-)

[Kupo]

Wow! that really does help guy, thnx. But! one other thing. when you guys says "burn the boot iso slowly" do you mean burn the whole cd with the iso extracted?

[Dapper Dan]

LOL! I sure am glad I'm not the only person who accidently types, "floopy!"

[danleff]

No need to "extract" the iso image.

What cd burning software are you using?

If Nero, click on the file dropdown menu and choose the option "burn image." A dialog box will come up and you need to point it to where the iso image for Puppy is on your hard drive. Click OK and choose to burn the image (from the dialog box) to burn at 4X or 8X. This will set up the iso image (extract it, so to speak) to a bootable cd of Puppy. If done correctly, you will see several files on the cd, such as vmlinux, image.gz and a few others.

Then try to boot from the burned cd.

[martouf]

danleff - a one point kupo said the downloaded file was a "rar" file. Sound like an archive
format file to me, not an ISO image file.

If so, then YES kupo, you need to extract the ISO image file from whatever archive it is in.
You must have the ISO image to burn your disc.

kupo - "burn the disc slowly" means use something less than the fastest write speed
your disc drive permits. Disc writing software will permit you to select the disc writing
speed. Don't use the "optimal" or "fastest" setting (whatever your software calls it).

Choose 4x or even 2x instead. Higher speed increases your chance of bit errors as you write
the disc and you need a byte-for-byte exact image copy.

[10Mhz]

Quote:

Originally posted by martouf:
danleff - a one point kupo said the downloaded file was a "rar" file. Sound like an archive
format file to me, not an ISO image file.

If so, then YES kupo, you need to extract the ISO image file from whatever archive it is in.
You must have the ISO image to burn your disc.

Actually an .iso file can have a file assosiation to a rar program and any .iso files will appear with the rar icon in windows XP.

Kupo, To exactly figure out what is the file extension do the following:
Open My Computer or any other window, At the top in the View tab choose Folder Options and On the rightest tab, I think where all of the options boxes find the box saying (Hide file extensions for known file types) Uncheck this box. Chose ok.

After you done this go to the file you wish to check and look at its name, if it ends with .rar follow martoufs advice and extract the .iso file outside of the .rar file. Otherwise you do not need to extract the file. Extracting it and burning it will simply make a copy of the extracted files on the disk and will not make it bootable.

10Mhz

[Kupo]

Yes yes, I believe martouf and 10mhz are very right! What you told me to do 10 mhz was already done! And it is a rar type file.

[10Mhz]

Quote:

Originally posted by Kupo
Yes yes, I believe martouf and 10mhz are very right! What you told me to do 10 mhz was already done! And it is a rar type file.

ok great; keep us posted.