Results 1 to 8 of 8

Thread: Problems With old PC

  1. September 2nd, 2003, 03:09 AM #1
    n01100110
    n01100110 is offline
    Senior Member n01100110's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Posts
    352

    Post Problems With old PC

    A Friend recently gave me this old beat up box. It's an old packard bell. Intel SX processor. It's running Phoenix BIOS A486 Version 1.01.E BIOS. But the thing is i can't figure out how to get an OS onto it , because it will not boot to a cd. I've tried to configure it to boot from a cd through the bios , but it seems like the bios is too old and it doesnt have any option to configure boot-up options. It does boot from a floppy though. I mean i can boot to DOS everytime i want to use it but i was hoping i could get it to boot from a CD so i could install linux on it or something. Can anyone help me on what changes i need to make to the system or anything i might be able to do so i can boot from a cd. Thanks
    "Serenity is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it."
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  2. September 2nd, 2003, 03:12 AM #2
    NeuTron
    NeuTron is offline
    AO Veteran NeuTron's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Posts
    550
    You could use a Windows 98 boot disk because it can boot with a generic CD driver. I believe you could read most linux distro install CD's with it. I have not tried this method but am fairly sure it would work.
    -NeuTron
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  3. September 2nd, 2003, 03:19 AM #3
    cheyenne1212
    cheyenne1212 is offline
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Memphis, TN
    Posts
    3,747
    Yeah, Try using a WIN 98 Startup Disk. Make sure the CD is in the CD drive.

    Once you get to a prompt type setup.exe. That should get it going for you.
    =
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  4. September 2nd, 2003, 03:22 AM #4
    DeadAddict
    DeadAddict is offline
    Senior Member DeadAddict's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Posts
    2,583
    This is what I would do I would open up the case take out the harddrive that is in the pack bell and put it into another computer that does boot from a cd and once Linux was installed on the harddrive put it back in the packard bell. I believe it will work because linux remounts device's when it boots up and as far as windows goes I would do what NeuTron and cheyenne said.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  5. September 2nd, 2003, 03:31 AM #5
    L1nk
    L1nk is offline
    Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Posts
    41
    try this: go to another win98 comd create a startup disk. then on the old comp run scandisk from the floppy to check if the drive has any errors in it. Then run fdisk to erase everything thats in there so that you can make a clean install. Then put the CD in the drive, select the drive and run setup.exe from the MS-Dos. Let me know how it goes and if u have any other questions.

    edit: oops must have missed the linux part lol. sorry about that. well if u install win98 in it, it could make it easer to install linux
    \"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.\" (Sign hanging in Einstein\'s office at Princeton)
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  6. September 2nd, 2003, 05:01 AM #6
    Swampy_ finger
    Swampy_ finger is offline
    Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Posts
    49
    Make sure you have enough ram to even run a OS
    Spread Firefox.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  7. September 2nd, 2003, 05:31 AM #7
    jinxy
    jinxy is offline
    Regal Making Handler
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Posts
    1,668
    The only way you will be able to do it is with a boot disk as peeps have already said. You can use a win95 or 98 boot floppy. I no nothing of nix so cant help you there. Windows is easy though.

    Just get hold of a boot disk and boot to it. Then, at the prompt type fdisk. Then delete any partitions. Follow the instructions to do this.

    Then create a partition using all available space and set it to active.

    Then type format c: /s , let it do the format then reboot to the floppy and when the option to boot with cd rom support comes up select it.

    Then watch to see what drive letter the driver loads for and type X:/setup. (Where X is the letter of your drive). Then follwow the instructions to install.

    You can boot to the floppy with cd rom support to begin with and then type setupfrom your cd drive but i have found that this can lead to miss reads on some older pc,s

    Anyway i hope this is of some help.
    What happens if a big asteroid hits the Earth? Judging from realistic simulations involving a sledge hammer and a common laboratory frog, we can assume it will be pretty bad. - Dave Barry
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  8. September 2nd, 2003, 07:14 AM #8
    Tedob1
    Tedob1 is offline
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Posts
    4,785
    linux comes with an image for a boot floppy and one for a root floppy. With these you can start the install from a cd. just read the docs in the DOS folder for instructions on making them on a windows machine.
    Bukhari:V3B48N826 “The Prophet said, ‘Isn’t the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?’ The women said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘This is because of the deficiency of a woman’s mind.’”
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
« Previous Thread | Next Thread »

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Forum Rules