Re: IBM Thinkpad 560 install problem (debian 1.3)
On Fri, 3 Sep 1999, John Miskinis wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I have been reading much information about the Thinkpad 560 and
> linux, but have not come across anything that relates to MY problem.
Have you read <URL=http://www.netsurf.org/~renaud/unix/linux-tp560.html>
which is Debian specific?
> This is my first attempt to install linux ever. I only have a 1.3
> debian distribution on CD, from "Boot" magazine, from 1996. It may
> be that this version will never run on my system, or perhaps someone
> out there can help me. The kernel is 2.0.29_2.0.29-7
It's pretty brutal to do your first ever install with a three-year-old
distribution on a laptop! I suggest using Debian 2.1, the current stable
release. I don't believe that kernel 2.0.29 has the Thinkpad 560 APM
patch. Also, make sure you know what hardware you're dealing with--is it
an original Thinkpad 560, or is it a 560E, 560X, etc?
> When I boot from the "rescue" disk to perform the install, I
> type "linux floppy=thinkpad" at the "boot:" prompt. I then
> see:
The 560 does not require the floppy=thinkpad option. In fact, that option
will probably make the floppy fail after the first disk is read. Also,
you'll need the tecra disks instead of the standard install disks (I'm not
sure if this was true for Debian 1.3, but it is true for 2.0 and beyond
for certain.)
> Any and all help is greatly appreciated, I really want to run linux!
> I have a 2.1G drive, that I partitioned with DOS fdisk, to have
> 1G, 900M, and 112M. I hope to leave Windows95 on the 1G (for now)
> put linux on the 900M, and it's swap on the 112M, if that makes
> sense.
Since the original 560 can have a maximum of 40M RAM, 112M swap is
overkill. I use 40M RAM and 40M swap on my 560 which is running Debian 2.1
with kernel 2.2.5 (from proposed updates) and the pcmcia packages from the
unstable release custom compiled. You would probably want to use the
default kernel (2.0.36?) which should work fine with the 560.
Debian is not the easiest distribution to install for a beginner, and the
Thinkpad 560 is definitely not the easiest machine to install it on. It's
going to take some patience and determination.
Thanks. Syrus.
--
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Syrus Nemat-Nasser <syrus@ucsd.edu> UCSD Physics Dept.
Reply to: