Hi,

I got this leftover PC from work. It came with WinNT and as I want to get
some experience with Linux, I tried to partition the hard disk so I could
install a Linux system. The partitioning died a painful dead and I lost the
WinNT system.
I have a redhat installation disk from a PC magazine. It boots up te PC
allright but then it quits once it notices that it can't write to the
harddisk. The start up doesn't give me an option to go to command line and
run something like fdisk.
This as entry to my current situation.
At the moment I am downloading the bootable cd from Debian for a netinstall
in the hope that it comes with fdisk so I can properly partition my
harddisk, format the partitions and run of in the sunset from there?
So, does the netinstall come with fdisk? If not, or if there are, what is a
possible alternative for me to get some basic os running so I can partition
my harddisk and install any form of Linux operating system?
Any help is appreciated!!!

Thanks,

Michael

On Sun, 02 Oct 2005 07:08:39 +0200, michael\-perth <hellemam@westnet.com.au> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I got this leftover PC from work. It came with WinNT and as I want to get
> some experience with Linux, I tried to partition the hard disk so I could
> install a Linux system. The partitioning died a painful dead and I lost the
> WinNT system.

Ouch!

> I have a redhat installation disk from a PC magazine. It boots up te PC
> allright but then it quits once it notices that it can't write to the
> harddisk.

Ouch! If I recall correctly, the installer does not touch the disk
until it is ready to run the partitioning program. If it quits at this
point, that sounds alarming.

In any case, the install ... well, the redhat from the magazine may
be a stripped-down version, but I would think the installation
software is the same, only the list of packages to install is shorter.
When I installed Fedora Core 4, there were four installation CDs and
a rescue CD... the install offers "expert mode" partitioning, and that
means it runs fdisk or something similar. (Disk druid?)

> The start up doesn't give me an option to go to command line and
> run something like fdisk.

Hit Ctrl-Alt-F2.

The redhat installation sets up a couple of virtual terminals and runs
different things in them. One of them features a bash (a shell).

Each virtual terminal has a key F1...F5 (I can't remember how many there
are). Switch to them in turn until you find the bash. (Use Ctrl-Alt-Fn)

However, be aware the the very first stage you don't have that luxury.
There is no kernel loaded and what you are seeing is essentially a
bootloader. That is where you can just hit enter to get a "graphical
install", or type ... (again, my memory fails me when it comes to the
details) to get a text-mode install. Whatever you type ends up on the
kernel's command line.

Graphical or not does not matter for your task, the bash is the same.

After the kernel has been loaded, the actual installation program
starts and you are asked to specify the language to use during
installation, and the kind of keyboard you have. If I recall correctly,
it's at this point that the other virtual terminals become available.


> This as entry to my current situation.
> At the moment I am downloading the bootable cd from Debian for a netinstall
> in the hope that it comes with fdisk so I can properly partition my
> harddisk, format the partitions and run of in the sunset from there?
> So, does the netinstall come with fdisk? If not, or if there are, what is a
> possible alternative for me to get some basic os running so I can partition
> my harddisk and install any form of Linux operating system?

Are you in position to download a CD image and burn it? What about
the Fedora Core 4 Rescue CD? I have not tried it though. I just think
it should be crammed with tools appropriate for your situation, rather
than e.g. OpenOffice. But others who have actually tried may have better
advice than I.

-Enrique

Thanks for that.
I downloaded a recovery image and that allowed me to start up and then run
fdisk.
Strangely enough my hard disk came up as /dev/hdb and once I choose the
partitions it didn't write them away.
Ran out of time to look deeper into it but I will have a look at the setup
of my harddisk.
One step at the time though, happy enough that at least the machine boots
up.

"Enrique Perez-Terron" <enrio@online.no> wrote in message
newsp.sx0bmxi3nxtvbs@apeiron.home.lan...
> On Sun, 02 Oct 2005 07:08:39 +0200, michael\-perth
> <hellemam@westnet.com.au> wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I got this leftover PC from work. It came with WinNT and as I want to get
>> some experience with Linux, I tried to partition the hard disk so I could
>> install a Linux system. The partitioning died a painful dead and I lost
>> the
>> WinNT system.
>
> Ouch!
>
>> I have a redhat installation disk from a PC magazine. It boots up te PC
>> allright but then it quits once it notices that it can't write to the
>> harddisk.
>
> Ouch! If I recall correctly, the installer does not touch the disk
> until it is ready to run the partitioning program. If it quits at this
> point, that sounds alarming.
>
> In any case, the install ... well, the redhat from the magazine may
> be a stripped-down version, but I would think the installation
> software is the same, only the list of packages to install is shorter.
> When I installed Fedora Core 4, there were four installation CDs and
> a rescue CD... the install offers "expert mode" partitioning, and that
> means it runs fdisk or something similar. (Disk druid?)
>
>> The start up doesn't give me an option to go to command line and
>> run something like fdisk.
>
> Hit Ctrl-Alt-F2.
>
> The redhat installation sets up a couple of virtual terminals and runs
> different things in them. One of them features a bash (a shell).
>
> Each virtual terminal has a key F1...F5 (I can't remember how many there
> are). Switch to them in turn until you find the bash. (Use Ctrl-Alt-Fn)
>
> However, be aware the the very first stage you don't have that luxury.
> There is no kernel loaded and what you are seeing is essentially a
> bootloader. That is where you can just hit enter to get a "graphical
> install", or type ... (again, my memory fails me when it comes to the
> details) to get a text-mode install. Whatever you type ends up on the
> kernel's command line.
>
> Graphical or not does not matter for your task, the bash is the same.
>
> After the kernel has been loaded, the actual installation program
> starts and you are asked to specify the language to use during
> installation, and the kind of keyboard you have. If I recall correctly,
> it's at this point that the other virtual terminals become available.
>
>
>> This as entry to my current situation.
>> At the moment I am downloading the bootable cd from Debian for a
>> netinstall
>> in the hope that it comes with fdisk so I can properly partition my
>> harddisk, format the partitions and run of in the sunset from there?
>> So, does the netinstall come with fdisk? If not, or if there are, what is
>> a
>> possible alternative for me to get some basic os running so I can
>> partition
>> my harddisk and install any form of Linux operating system?
>
> Are you in position to download a CD image and burn it? What about
> the Fedora Core 4 Rescue CD? I have not tried it though. I just think
> it should be crammed with tools appropriate for your situation, rather
> than e.g. OpenOffice. But others who have actually tried may have better
> advice than I.
>
> -Enrique