Connect Linux and delete Windows! Possible?

[Yosuke_]

Hello!
Well, I have an Idea! I'm runbing Linux Slackware 10 on my computer. I also have very old computer with Windows 98. I want to install Linux on my old computer, so I can connect them and test network stuff! The problem is this: My old computer doesn't have a CD-ROM, Floppy Drive, only Ethernet card. And I can't pluggin my CD-ROM, because my old computer is very old.

I want to connect my Linux box with that old Windows box, copy Linux installation files to Windows box, and install Linux.

But I have no idea how to connect them. Both computers have ethernet cards. And I have a cross-wire cable, so I can connect them. But how to setup everything so both computers see each other?

I have heard that there is some cind of NetBios protocol, it confuses me! Can I just use TCP/IP and connect both computers, run Apache on my Linux box and download files to my Windows box?

Thank you!

[lagitus]

You could just run zipslack but I doubt you would be satisfied with that. :)
Can the old machine boot from network?

[oilyfish]

I have done this several times by removing the hard drive (from old laptops without CD's) and popping them into computers that have a CD for the install and then returning the drive to the original computer.

If it's a laptop drive you have to have an adapter or you can do it on another laptop that has a CD drive.

O.F.

[Yosuke_]

Thank you!
Well, the old computers HDD is soo old that I can't plug it on my new computer! How can I do it with networking way (TCP/IP) !?

[Choozo]

Hard to tell when you seem to be too embarassed about the hardware specs on that old box to tell us? ;)

Type of CPU?
Memory?
Harddisk size?

[Yosuke_]

Well, I don't have much to say:
CPU 66MHz
3 Hard disks: ~1GB, 540MB, ??
I think memory is 16 or 32

The HDD are scsi I think, they have 50 Pins, so I can't connect them to my Linux box!

When I had Windows on my computer I had connected bouth computers and they worked great, but don't have an idea how to do it with Linux.

[XiaoKJ]

there are some distros (like debian) that allows installing from hard disc, or over the network.

for example, to install debian, you may be bold enough to install the debian installer on your old computer with your net connection and reboot to get it running, then continuing from the net install.

[soulestream]

well i was going to say suse has a nice network install but on a machine that old forget it with suse. Can you do a network install, without a floppy disk or if the bios is to old to support network booting.


try finding a scsi cd-rom on ebay



soule

[psi42]

Originally posted by Yosuke_

3 Hard disks: ~1GB, 540MB, ??


I would suggest you put the better part of slackware disc 1 on the 540 MB drive. Then press F8 during windows bootup and boot to "command prompt only," and boot the slackware installer with loadlin (there are instructions on the disc).


Can I just use TCP/IP and connect both computers, run Apache on my Linux box and download files to my Windows box?


Yes. Set them both to use a static IP (i.e. 10.0.0.2 and 10.0.0.3), then run Apache or Samba or whatever on the linux box.

:)

~psi42

[Choozo]

16 or 32 MB RAM ..... uhhhh ..... I guess even Win98 had a hard time running on that?

And as for the "66MHz CPU", I have no real clue. A really old 386 or 486?

I really can't see any recent distros running on those specs, even dedicated firewall distros like SmoothWall or IPCop would have a real hard time.

[Yosuke_]

Thank you!

Yes. Set them both to use a static IP (i.e. 10.0.0.2 and 10.0.0.3), then run Apache or Samba or whatever on the linux box.

Is it realy that easy? You mean I just Plug in my cross-over wire on bouth ethernet cards, set TCP/IP Protocol on Windows box, set different IP's for bouth computers, run Apache and thats it? :D

16 or 32 MB RAM ..... uhhhh ..... I guess even Win98 had a hard time running on that?
Yes, it was cind of hard to work, when everything you open just hangs and crashes! :(

And as for the "66MHz CPU", I have no real clue. A really old 386 or 486?
Sorry, I realy don't have an idea. I have only one monitor and only one power wire, so its cind of painful to turn it on. I checked hardware, but I didn't find any info.

I don't want to run any graphic manegers on that old computer ( since I have only one monitor :p )!

After I will turn it on bouth computers will be connected, and on my old computer I will just have keyboard connected ( just to login ) and then I can test networking tools etc.. from my new computer to old one! Thank you!

[Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379]

If you know what kind of Network card that the machine has, you can do what lagitus suggested, and boot the machine from the network.

You can use Etherboot (http://freshmeat.net/projects/etherboot/) to make a boot ROM on a floppy so the machine can use the floppy to gain network access for tftp, and the whole other netbooting gang of protocols.