Re: [gentoo-user] x86 Install CD

[Boyd Stephen Smith Jr.]

On Saturday 29 April 2006 09:59, Jim <Jim@×××××××××××××××××.org> wrote 
about '[gentoo-user] x86 Install CD':
> Is there anyway to modify the x86 install CD?

Same as modifying any install CD.

> Last night I tried to install Gentoo on my laptop and things just didn't
> work out.

Hrm, lets see if we can't fix that.

> I know all the major devices work with Linux because I put in Ubuntu
> 6.06 - Dapper Drake and my Intel wireless ipw2200 and sound worked OTB.
> The sound didn't work with the Gentoo install CD which is no biggie
> since I can fix that after install.  However, the killer was that there
> was no support for ipw2200!  I looked in /lib/firmware and there were
> the firmware binaries for the 2100, but not the 2200.  I couldn't
> download the firmware since Gentoo didn't have support for my wireless
> card.

Gentoo does have support for the ipw2200, but evidently it was not included 
on the install CD you were booting from.

Of course, it doesn't much matter if you boot from a Gentoo CD to install 
Gentoo.  Some of the CDs contain stage files, portage snapshots, 
distfiles, and/or binary packages but you don't have to have these on the 
CD you boot from -- they are all downloadable.  Also, once you get the 
system bootable on it's own you can reboot into it and still use packages 
from the package CD.

> I tried to do an install without network but it failed.  Looking
> at the log, emerge tried to get to the net.  I also noticed that there
> was no stage-3 on the x86 liveCD installer so I picked to make the
> packages from the CD itself.

You must not have the correct CD.  A stage (among other things) is a 
requirement for networkless install.  There's been a stage on the full 
(not minimal) install CDs of gentoo in the 2004.3, 2005.0, 2005.1 and 
2006.0 releases.

I don't know about that crazy CD with the new graphical installer, from 
what I've seen on the list it's added confusion and fails to install in a 
number of situations.  Maybe it doesn't have a stage3, but if it doesn't 
it's not going to be able to install Gentoo w/o network support.

> I put in a pcmcia D-Link card and dmesg showed it, however iwconfig
> didn't list it and Gentoo didn't do anything with it.  The docs on the
> CD weren't much help for wireless.

Probably just need to poke around a little bit more, but I've not had much 
experience setting wireless when booting from a Gentoo installation CD.

> I am going on vacation tomorrow and would really like to have Gentoo,
> though I will "deal" with Ubuntu 6.06 if need be.

Do you already have Dapper installed?  If so, you can install Gentoo in a 
chroot from your existing installation.  Almost nothing changes about the 
install process, you just have to download everything that would normally 
ship on CD, not damage your DD installation before making it possible to 
boot Gentoo, and remove your DD installation afterwards.

If not, you could either do a minimalistic install of DD that supports your 
ipw2200 and then use it to install Gentoo OR, if the DD installation CD 
brings up your ipw2200, exit the DD installer after it brings up the 
ipw2200 and use that environment for a Gentoo install.

> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> There's no place like 127.0.0.1
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

::/64 is similar, just larger. :)

-- 
"If there's one thing we've established over the years,
it's that the vast majority of our users don't have the slightest
clue what's best for them in terms of package stability."
-- Gentoo Developer Ciaran McCreesh