Install Linux from a 3 1/2in disk

[Bill]

Almost all the distros have floppy images available for installation via the web. Those are the files that show up as 1.2m and/or 1.44m when you ftp in.

[BullGod]

Any one know which or even if you can install linux from a 3 1/2 from the DOS prompt

[cs25x]

try one of the mini distributions, coyote, mulinux, tomsrtbt, monkey.
And if one of them doesnt fill your bill, do a search for "mini linux"
They are all different with different uses in mind. mu can be a complete installation, toms is great in an emergency, coyote? long time since i used it, but it was ok.

[FoBoT]

do you mean load it onto a hard drive from floppy?

or run it from the floppy with no hard drive?

[scott_R]

If you're trying to run linux from a 3 1/2, you'll probably want something like trinux. (Imagine a severely stripped down linux.) If you're trying to download and install off a floppy, you'll want a modem or other network connection. Then, download the startup disks. (I think there are about 10 for debian.) After you have them, reboot your computer, feeding it the disks as necessary. These will build it to the point where it can take care of itself. Afterwards, it will ask you to hook up to the internet or another network to add other programs.

If this is what you mean to do, you might not want to try it with a slow connection, unless you have a lot of patience. Most distros take a couple cd's work of data, and it can take weeks of downloading on a 56k connect.

If you mean a full featured version of linux directly from floppy, you are asking for a long drawn out painful experience. Yes, you can do it, but it consists of downloading at least a couple hundred floppies worth of data, then feeding them in as needed. You'll be lucky if your floppy drive doesn't puke before you finish loading.

If you're determined to do it this way though, you might want to try out peanut linux, or a similar distro. It's a basic linux, but it still includes some nice features.

[ph34r]

Both Debian and Slack are setup for floppy installs - just use the A and N packages for Slack - uses 15 or 16 floppys total. Once that is on, you can use the network to install the rest. Or, you can setup a network install to begin with, and use a CD on another machine.

[Tyr-7BE]

Depends on what you want to do. I put Mandrake 7.2 CD on my hard drive, and then rebooted and started the install with a floppy. If that's what you're trying to do, there should be a file called "rawwrite" in the dosutils/ directory on the CD (for RH and Mandrake at least). Run it and choose "hd.img" or whatever image suits your install choice.