Software

一、Frugal Install
From DSL Wiki

A Frugal install is where you boot off the hard drive, usually via grub or lilo, and load the DSL compressed image (/KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX) off of the hard drive.

It essentially consists of loading the linux kernel using a boot loader which in turns loads the initial ramdisk (initrd). The initrd then loads the root file system which, in this case, consists of a linux compressed loop (cloop) file -- /KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX.

There are a few ways to go about a frugal install.

1. Boot the LiveCD. Choose Frugal Install from the menu.
2. If your target machine does not have a CD-ROM drive, or you don't want to use a CD, there is the Poor Man's Install.
3. Manually

To upgrade a frugal install, replace your old KNOPPIX file with the new KNOPPIX file. If you use persistent home, opt, or backup.tar.gz, you might have other, old files saved that will replace new ones on boot, unless you remove them from your backup. These files are usually mentioned in the Release Notes.

As of release 3.1, Frugal is not on the Virtual Machine version (dsl-3.1-vmx.zip). You will need to download the CD ISO and assign it to the CD-Rom in VMWare (or burn a CD and boot from that).

二、Installing to the Hard Disk
From DSL Wiki

1) Boot up the DSL livecd. If your computer does not support booting from CDROM drive, then download the boot floppy image from the DSL website and get the RAWRITE32.exe program and create a boot floppy disk. Then use the boot floppy + liveCD to start up DSL.

2) Open up an xterminal window (click on the A:Terminal icon or right-click on the desktop and choose a terminal) and type:


sudo -s
cfdisk /dev/hda


Assuming that you are ready to blow away all of your existing data storage (you might want to back up any special drivers and other important stuff in case you want to re-install the original OS), create 2 new partitions:

* hda1 Linux Swap Type 82 Size (at least 128mb)
* hda2 Linux Type 83 Size (the rest of the disk space, I recommend at least 2gb). Flag this partition as bootable.

If your hard disk is really big, try leaving some unpartitioned space for future use.

* Your DSL installation will go to partition hda2.
* Your DSL swap partition will be hda1.

3) Next, you will need to reboot your system, again with the DSL livecd ...

4) Then type:

sudo -s
mkswap /dev/hda1
swapon /dev/hda1

5) Then follow the hd install script. The FAQ is at http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/dsl-hd-install.html .

So you type:

dsl-hdinstall

and follow the instructions EXACTLY. In other words, if it tells you to type (for example) "hda1" then you type in "hda1". But if it tells you to type in "/dev/hda1" then you type in "/dev/hda1".

You will also be prompted to choose your loader, either GRUB or LILO.

6) Your system will need to reboot again. Remove the CD, and this time boot to the hard drive and continue following the instructions.

Note: There have been many reported problems with networking disappearing after installing DSL 3.2.

Note: If you are attempting to install to a hard drive from within VMWare, you need to define your hard drive as an IDE, NOT the recommended SCSI.

三、Installing to a USB Flash Drive
From DSL Wiki


Contents
[hide]

* 1 Before going any further
* 2 Requirements
* 3 From within DSL
* 4 From within Linux
o 4.1 Method I: Using GRUB as boot loader
o 4.2 Method II: Using GRUB as boot loader
* 5 From within Windows
o 5.1 Method I
o 5.2 Method II
* 6 Convert .iso to USB installation
* 7 Questions
* 8 Modifications for v 3.2 Embedded

[edit]
Before going any further

Save all of your data on your USB to another storage medium, such as a CD/DVD or hard drive.
[edit]
Requirements

USB Drive at least 128 MB in size. 512 MB or more is preferable.
[edit]
From within DSL

Some things have changed since this page was originally written. Since then, an easy (and working) method to install DSL to a USB flash drive is available from within the DSL LiveCD main menu. Simply open the Main menu, go to Apps then Tools and select either a USBZIP or USBHDD and follow the prompts. See the page at USB Booting for more information.
[edit]
From within Linux

* Begin by determining the location of your flash drive. It will be something like /dev/sda

fdisk -l

* Check your syslinux version and upgrade it if you want FAT32 support. (Syslinux 2.11 works for FAT16; Syslinux 3.35 works for FAT32) Compile & install the latest syslinux from http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/boot/syslinux/
* If you need to wipe the MBR on the Flash Disk, do it with a command like below. This shouldn't be necessary unless there's another funky bootloader in the MBR (like, if you were experimenting with another bootable USB linux distro).

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdX bs=512 count=1

( BE *VERY* CAREFUL NOT TO WIPE YOUR HARD DRIVE'S MBR HERE!!!)

Then install http://ms-sys.sourceforge.net/ and put another MBR in its place:

ms-sys -s /dev/sdX

Another way to put MBR in its place is using 'mbr.bin' 512 bytes file from the Syslinux package:

locate mbr.bin
cat /somepath/share/syslinux/mbr.bin > /dev/sdX

* Run fdisk on /dev/sdX, so it looks like this:

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdX1 * 1 1021 253177 b W95 FAT32

Use d to delete existing partitions until none remain. Use n,p,1 to create a new primary partition. Use a to make it bootable. Use t,b to make it W95 FAT32. Don't forget to hit 'a' to make it bootable!

Use 'w' to save the changes and exit

* Download the dsl-embedded zipfile
* Create a FAT16 or FAT32 partition on the pendrive: mkfs.vfat -F 32 /dev/sdX1 ("-F 32" will do FAT32; "-F 16" will do FAT16)
* Mount the pendrive & unzip the dsl-embedded.zip file onto this.
* Unmount the pendrive
* run "syslinux -s /dev/sdX1" (without the quotes) to make it bootable.
* You can now boot via QEMU (from within Linux or windows), OR as native from the USB drive.
* You can also run DSL from a GRUB bootloader menu on your USB key. This is very useful if you're using DSL as part of a data/system rescue toolkit, as you can include multiple preset configurations of DSL as well as other utilities.

Note: syslinux needs the package "mcopy" included in the package "mtools".

Note: Unfortunately, this method does NOT give a 50MB Linux Distribution because qemu dir and method is (comparatively) big. You will end up with a 110MB distribution.

Note: The iocharset=utf8 option when mounting the USB stick may result in the "KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX" not being found upon booting.
[edit]
Method I: Using GRUB as boot loader

Note: This method has been reported not to work under certain conditions

* Download the current.iso dsl-cd image.
* Create an ext2 partition (=> 51MB) on pendrive. Mount it.

mke2fs -v -L "DSL" /dev/<device>
mkdir -p /tmp/pendrive
mount /dev/<device> /tmp/pendrive/

where <device> is the corresponding file which represents your USB storage device/partition.

Note: ext3 is ok too.

* Change to the directory where you mounted the ext2 partition, install GRUB boot loader:

cd /tmp/pendrive/
grub-install --no-floppy --root-directory=. /dev/<device>

Note: Replace <device> with the corresponding file which represents your USB storage device/partition. For example /dev/sdc1

Note 2: This method did not work for me, I used the manual method of running grub and entered "root (hd1,1)" and "setup (hd1)" (your paths will probably vary).

* Copy the contents of the cd image to the usb drive.

mkdir /tmp/dsl-cd
mount [/path_to/]current.iso /tmp/dsl-cd/ -o loop
cp -vR /tmp/dsl-cd/* /tmp/pendrive/

* While in the same directory - where you mounted the ext2 filesystem - create a menu.lst file for grub in the directory ./boot/grub/menu.lst

cat > /tmp/pendrive/boot/grub/menu.lst << EOF
title Damn Small Linux
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/isolinux/linux24 root=/dev/sda1 ro lang=us toram noeject frugal
initrd /boot/isolinux/minirt24.gz
boot
EOF

Note: You might have to change (hd0,0) to the correct partition for your USB drive. However, the default should work on most systems.

* Unmount the filesystem.
* You can now boot from your USB storage device.

[edit]
Method II: Using GRUB as boot loader

Someone found the above process doesn't work and has documented for others this working process


The Situation:

* Running SLED 10 (Suse)
* The USB key is a 1GB and appears as /dev/sda
* Logged in as root
* The DSL ISO is downloaded to /root/Desktop/dsl-3.3.iso
* Two partitions, the first to use as general USB storage, the second for DSL
* The DSL partition wanted to be ext3 so that Windows doesn't mess it up
* The first partition needs to be the big storage one as Windows doesn't like addressing the second partition on flash drives


The procedure:

* fdisk /dev/sda
o d - Delete all partitions on the key
o n - Make a partition
+ p - Primary partition for general storage
+ 1 - First partition
+ 1 - From the first block
+ 948 - Most of the space, about 933MB
o n - Make a partition
+ p - Primary partition for DSL
+ 2 - Second partition
+ 949 - Start from the next available sector
+ 1012 - To the end of the disk. I give it 64MB
o a - Make the partition bootable
+ 2 - Mark the DSL partition bootable
o t - Change the partition type
+ 1 - Change partition 1
+ b - Change it to Win95 FAT32
o w - Write the changes
* fdisk -l - Gives the following output:

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 948 954131+ b W95 FAT32
/dev/sda2 * 949 1012 64416 83 Linux

Your flash drive should now look like this

* mkdir /mnt/iso
* mkdir /mnt/usb
* mount -o loop /root/Desktop/dsl-3.3.iso /mnt/iso
* mke2fs /dev/sda2

Note: If you want to have an ext3 filesystem, add the -j flag: mke2fs -j /dev/sda2

* mount /dev/sda2 /mnt/usb/
* cd /mnt/iso
* tar cvf - . | (cd /mnt/usb; tar xvf - )
* mkdir /mnt/usb/boot/grub
* cp /boot/grub/*stage* /mnt/usb/boot/grub/
* cat > /mnt/usb/boot/grub/menu.lst << EOF

title Damn Small Linux
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/isolinux/linux24 root=/dev/sda1 ro lang=us toram noeject frugal
initrd /boot/isolinux/minirt24.gz
boot
EOF

* cd /mnt/usb/
* grub-install --no-floppy --root-directory=. /dev/sda
* cd /root
* umount /mnt/usb
* umount /mnt/iso
* rm -r /mnt/iso
* rm -r /mnt/usb

[edit]
From within Windows

Note: This guide assumes that your USB Flash Drive is "F:". Please replace "F" with the correct drive letter.

There are two methods. For either method, you will need:

* A USB flash drive (also called flash disk, pendrive, USB stick...)
* Download "dsl-embedded.zip" from http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/download.html (49Mb - The Torrent is recommended, and is often the fastest)

[edit]
Method I

1. Format your flash drive, from cmd.exe (the "DOS" window) type:

FORMAT F: /fs:FAT32

2. Unzip "dsl-embedded.zip" to your flash drive (you could use the "Extract all files" built into XP with the destination as "F:\")
3. Download Syslinux - Syslinux can also be used by various other platforms, such as Unix.
4. Go to a command prompt and run syslinux for your drive from \win32\syslinux.exe typing

SYSLINUX -ma F:

# If you are running Windows Vista, remember to start cmd.exe as Administrator, otherwise the normal cmd.exe won't be able to access the MBR of your USB drive. # reboot. Note: Booting from USB may or may not work on your computer, mostly dependent on its age and bios setup. Some systems may have problems booting from USB drives formatted as FAT32. Changing the format step to

FORMAT F: /fs:FAT

may allow DSL to boot.

*
o Does not work. Keeps replying "Reading boot sector: The parameter is incorrect."

[edit]
Method II

For this method, you will need "HP USB Key Utility for Windows", from http://h18007.www1.hp.com/suppor ... mpid=reg_R1002_USEN

1. Install "HP USB Key Utility for Windows"
2. Plug in the flash disk and let windows find it (check the letter assigned to your flash disk i.e. F
3. Run Start Menu-> Programs -> HP System Tools -> HP Drive Key Boot Utility
1. On Welcome Screen - click Next
2. Select your flash drive letter (in my case F - click Next
3. Choose Create New or Replace Existing Configuration - click Next
4. Choose Hard Drive - click Next
5. Choose Create New Filesystem - click Next
6. Wait until the drive is formated...
7. Choose HP Firmware Flash Package - click Next, click Finish.
4. Now extract the content of the dsl-embedded.zip file directly onto your flash disk (F: in my case) overwriting all files(!!).
5. Done! Your DamnSmallLinux on USB is ready  Reboot and try it!!

NOTE: This method would not work for me using DSL v3.3 with a Sandisk Cruizer Titanium USB drive.
[edit]
Convert .iso to USB installation

With the guide from [1] you can install the .iso contents non-destructively onto a USB partition. Leave out all the partitioning or formating stuff to prepare an existing and used USB drive for DSL booting:

Note: All path names are examples! Please adapt or you may corrupt existing partitions or files.

* Mount USB drive, with e.g. mount /dev/sda1 /flash - can be either FAT16 or FAT32!
* Mount ISO image, with e.g. mount /tmp/dsl-3.2.iso /tmp/iso -o loop
* Copy all contents from ISO to USB drive: cp -vr /tmp/iso/* /flash/
* Rename and move syslinux files to root directory: mv /flash/boot/isolinux/* /flash/
* Rename isolinux.cfg: mv /flash/isolinux.cfg /flash/syslinux.cfg
* Unmount USB drive: umount /flash
* Install syslinux: syslinux /dev/sda1 and eventually set the MBR boot flag for this partition (with fdisk).

[edit]
Questions

* Why does DSL installed on USB disk won't finish booting after conversion from .iso?
o It appears that KNOPPIX file is hard-wired to seek for CD-ROM and not USB drive. Use embedded version.

* Why does the from-within-Linux method require FAT16, but the Windows method work with FAT32? Could I just leave and reuse an existing FAT32 USB partition using the Linux syslinux version?
o Either method should work however, as per previous notes, using FAT might provide better results than FAT32.
o Syslinux is the key reason for FAT16 vs. FAT32... CentOS 4.4 (which is essentially Red Hat ES4) comes with syslinux 2.11 which does not support FAT32. Syslinux 3.35 (the latest, as of this writing) works with FAT32 just fine.

* Why my keyboard and usb mouse do not work when I entered X windows?
o Try to enable 'usb device emulation legacy' entry in your bios setup.

[edit]
Modifications for v 3.2 Embedded

After installation I added autorun.inf penguin.ico /USB /tightvnc

Trying to run the dsl-linux.sh in my distro did not work I had to modify the file (it was setup for a second drive and qemu did not exist in the download)

Here are some configuration settings that I found I had to modify after the installation. I also created an autorun.inf that works flawlessly with this. The autorun.inf file is also configured for use of TightVNC if the folder tightvnc is created at the root of the drive. I also created a context link to the folder USB.

* autorun.inf

[autorun]
icon=penguin.ico
label=Damn Small Linux
open=dsl-base.bat
action=Run Damn Small Linux in qemu
shell\vncviewer\command=tightvnc\vncviewer.exe
shell\vncviewer=Run the VNC Viewer Application
shell\tightvnc\command=tightvnc\tightvnc-1.2.9-setup.exe
shell\tightvnc=Run the TightVNC Server Installation
shell\usbfolder\command="explorer.exe USB\"
shell\usbfolder=Open the USB folder in Windows Explorer


This next file I modified and paired up with the windows equivalent so you do not have to answer the questions every boot. Some people might find the -m 256 beyond and should change as needed.

* dsl-linux.sh

qemu/qemu -L qemu/ -no-kqemu -soundhw sb16 -m 256 -localtime \
-kernel linux24 -initrd minirt24.gz -hda KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX \
-append "qemu vga=791 quiet noscsi nousb nofirewire atapicd noideraid \
noacpi acpi=off noapm noagp ide1=noprobe ide2=noprobe nomce frugal"


You must also download qemu and copy these files to the qemu dir on the usb drive.

* qemu
* qemu-img
* qemu-i386

If you wish to use the rest of the context menu I've created, download the TightVNC installer, vncviewer and put them in a \tightvnc.

At this point I made all of the damn small linux files hidden and hid the TightVNC, USB folders. Its a low level of security but works nicely. To use anything you just right click the drive in My Computer.

四、Imprinting Bootable Images to USB Devices (Windows)
From DSL Wiki
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Introduction
* 2 Step 1
* 3 Step 2
* 4 Step 3
* 5 Step 4
* 6 Step 5
* 7 Step 6
* 8 Step 7

[edit]
Introduction

This is how to install DSL to a USB Key from Windows XP (98,NT,2000?) workstation without burning the ISO and without having to boot into DSL from the CD and partition the USB key (of course if you want to partition it you'll have to use a partitioning tool, cfdisk, or something else like that).
[edit]
Step 1

Procure USB Key and make sure it is formatted with FAT, just to be sure its working.

*
o updated

You can do it with Windows Explorer. Use FAT format!
[edit]
Step 2

Download the images necessary (as of this writing, bootimage 0.8 was used and filesystem image 0.9.0.1 was used.) and also download WinImage (a share/freeware program -- google it.), and install Daemon Tools or some other ISO viewing/manipulating program.

*
o updated

Install WinImage.

DSL images necessary are:

bootfloppy-usb.img

dsl-x.x.iso (x.x. is for version used)
[edit]
Step 3

Open WinImage. Select the File - Open, navigate to and select the boot image you wish to use. Select Disk - Use removable disk (x with x: being the drive letter of your USB key you wish to install DSL onto.

*
o updated

In newer versions of DSL first download bootfloppy-usb.img. Open it with WinImage. Select Disk - Use removable disk (x with x: being the drive letter of your USB key you wish to install DSL onto.
[edit]
Step 4

Select Disk - Read Disk / Write Disk. It may say "image must be resized" blah blah. Do it.

*
o updated

In newer version of WinImage just select Disk / Write Disk or use shortcut Ctrl-W. It may say "image must be resized" blah blah. Do it.
[edit]
Step 5

Once that is complete, view the USB drives contents in windows Explorer. Mount the filesystem image to another drive. The filesystem image contains a directory called boot/. You can overwrite the files in the root of the USB Key with the files from boot/. This basically replaces bootimage 0.8 (since it seems to not be updated with the system release) with what I'll just call bootimage-current. (basically the boot files for whatever filesystem image you're using) In this case, 0.9.0.1.

*
o updated

In newer version of DSL first download dsl-x.x.iso (x.x is version number). In WinImage open iso image you dowloaded and then select Image / Extract (Ctrl-X). You are asked to select Path. Use letter representing your USB key (previosly you wrote bootimage on the same USB key). Check option Extract with pathname and click on OK.

That's all, you are ready to go (skip next steps)!
[edit]
Step 6

Confirm overwriting of the files. Assuming your bios is up to date, and you've read a lot of the other facts on making sure your usb key will work with your bios, etc, then all you should have to do is reboot and set the USB drive as the boot drive. DSL boots up, loads, and thats where I'm writing this from.
[edit]
Step 7

For more help on customizing your DSL install check doom4's post in this forum about DSL on USB-stick HOWTO It also goes over some DSL basics that I didn't cover.

http://damnsmalllinux.org/cgi-bin/forums/ikonboard.cgi?;act=ST;f=11;t=3613

For the record, stay away from cheap knockoff USB keys...they're fine for windows and stuff like that but apparently it doesn't like DSL.

五、Floppy Only Install with Netcard (Poormans Install)
From DSL Wiki

(Originally written by Robert Shingledecker. He posted it on 2004-06-26)

Having read the many posts of how to install DSL with no cdrom using a huge stack floppies, I wanted to create a script using only one floppy.

I wanted to make a simple way to install DSL on older laptops that have NO CDROM.

I started by looking for a single floppy Linux distro with good pcmcia network support.

I have found that TOMSRTBT is very good. It works with several old pcmcia network cards. However, with that distro which need 1.72 MB support on floppy. Not all old floppy drives support that format. So I've also used BGRescue from http://omnibus.uni-freiburg.de/~giannone/rescue/current/ which fit on standard floppy and support various PCMCIA card

The systems that I have used for testing have:

32MB memory

1.44 floppy drive

128MB HD

800x600 screen

Linksys PCMCIA network card model PCMLM56

Also works with Xircom RealPort2 Model R2E-100


pentium 166

16 MB memory

1.44 floppy

2 Go HD

800x600

Linksys PCMCIA


pentium 233

80 MB memory

1.44 floppy

2Go HD

1024x768

Linksys PCMCIA


I have written a tiny frugal_lite.sh. It is written in ASH shell.

It provides the traditional "poorman's" install and boot floppy creation via the net.


First you must download and create TOMSRTBT or BGRescue disk or any boot disk with mini linux. With your pcmcia card inserted try booting your mini linux and see if network card is seen.

After booting up be sure to REMOVE the linux mini distribution disk.


Look at the output of the ifconfig command. If you see your IP then you are ready to go. If you see 1.1.1.1 then you must manually input your IP address. Like the following two lines:

ifconfig eth0 192.168.0.14 netmask 255.255.255.0
route add default gw 192.168.0.1

Then add your nameserver like this:

echo "nameserver xx.xx.xx.xx" >> /etc/resolv.conf

Next test your network setup by pinging an internet site.


Other possibility is to launch udhcpcd then dhclient to automatically assign you an ip


If you made it here you are ready to go!

Next grab the frugal_lite.sh script like this:

wget http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/li ... rent/frugal_lite.sh

Now using fdisk create two linux partitions each large enough to hold DSL. I used 64MB to be safe. Could be smaller.

Edit the file you just downloaded so that the fourth line reads (case sensitive! "linux" not "Linux"):

URL="distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/damnsmall/current"

Make the fifth line read:

PROTOCOL="http"

Next place a GOOD (no bad sectors) floppy into the floppy drive.

Note: The hard drive partitons are NOT mounted. The floppy is NOT mounted.

Finally run the frugal_lite.sh like this:

ash frugal_lite.sh

Follow the prompts.

Upon completion the system will reboot off the DSL boot floppy and start loading DSL.

Be sure to boot with the following:

boot: dsl vga=normal

Note: After you get your system running from boot floppy (poorman's) then you can install again into the other partition using the standard frugal_instal.sh giving you much more control of your system. Use the (L)ive CD install option as the poorman's is a virtual liveCD.

Or if the other partiton is large enough then do a regular dsl-hdinstall.

If you do this re-install into the other partition either frugal or full install then you can get rid of the poorman's by using fdisk to change it totype 82 (swap) and then format it for swap by using the mkswap /dev/hdaX

Anyway, I hope that you find this script useful. It should provide the most flexible way to enjoy the latest version of DSL.

Note2: On my systems I had to remove the else block from the frugal script and remove the =/dev/... after the -o inside the same script. And before installing to hard drive, I needed to delete the tmp file (which is a link to /ramdisk/tmp), create swap, activate it and then create the tmp directory by hand.


Follow-up Question: Will it do a standard hard drive install ?

Answer:

It grabs the iso from net and temporarily stores it in a partition. It then moves the KNOPPIX folder to the other partition and creates the boot floppy, then iso is removed. System then reboots from boot floppy. Now you are running a poorman's. From there you have the following choices...

1. You are done! You have a poormans/boot floppy all from the net!

2. You boot up your poorman's DSL and run frugal_instal.sh into the now other empty partition. Then you don't need the boot floppy and you have a much more custom system.

3. If the other partition is large enough, then you can: Boot up from floppy and then do a full dsl-hdinstall into the empty partition.

The choice is your any of the three types. Depending on your hardware and/or choice.

For older systems it is best to boot using:

boot: dsl vga=normal

and for installing using options 2 or 3 it is best to use:

boot: dsl 2 vga=normal

Also when you have completed options 2 or 3 you can then change the poorman's partition into a swap partition. From the new DSL system, run cfdisk and change the proper partition from 83 ot 82. Then run mkswap on that partition. Reboot and you are all set.

I hope this helps get DSL on many older computers.

Note:seems don't work with scsi hard drives

六、Loadlin Install
From DSL Wiki
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Introduction
* 2 This procedure requires the following things
* 3 1) Try booting the CD
* 4 2) Copy the compressed filesystem
* 5 3) Copy the boot files
* 6 4) Configure loadlin.exe
* 7 5) Configure config.sys
* 8 Notes
* 9 What about the extensions?

[edit]
Introduction

This is yet another version of "poorman's install", but it works. Try it and compare with other "poorman's" methods.

Note that this installation method works for most Knoppix-based Live-CD variants, as well as for Knoppix itself.
[edit]
This procedure requires the following things

- DSL cd, or dsl iso image file and a tool for extracting its contents.

- loadlin.exe, version 1.6c by Hans Lermen.Obtain it from this site: ftp://elserv.ffm.fgan.de/pub/linux/loadlin-1.6/ or other dos/linux utilities collection sites.

- either MS-DOS (3.3 or later), FreeDOS, or Windows (95, 98, or 98SE). If the computer has Windows ME, 2000, or XP, and has a vfat (FAT32) partition, you will need a DOS boot floppy (otherwise, tough luck since Bill Gates owns you, body and soul!). A Windows rescue boot disk will work; that of Windows 98 or 98SE is preferred.
[edit]
1) Try booting the CD

Try booting DSL off the CD first if you can. There is no point in doing the next steps if this did not work. You may need a DSL boot floppy if you cannot boot directly from the CD drive. Take note of all the boot options that you needed to use to get the computer to its best DSL state. Also note the device name of the FAT32 partition that you will use for the installation. Obtain this information by executing the command "less /etc/fstab".
[edit]
2) Copy the compressed filesystem

From the DSL cd or the dsl iso image file, copy the folder KNOPPIX onto the computer's drive (partition) that is in FAT32 format. This folder must be placed at the top directory of that drive (ie C:\KNOPPIX\).
[edit]
3) Copy the boot files

In the DSL cd or the dsl iso image file, locate the folder "isolinux" inside the folder "boot". Copy the folder "isolinux" onto the top directory of the same drive as where KNOPPIX was copied to (ie C:\isolinux\).
[edit]
4) Configure loadlin.exe

Extract the file loadlin.exe and place it inside the "isolinux" folder.

Inside the "isolinux" folder, create a text file "options.txt" containing the following lines (see notes below these for more information):

linux24
root=/dev/ram
rw
initrd=minirt24.gz
vga=normal
ramdisk_size=100000
init=/etc/init
lang=us
apm=power-off
nomce
noapic
quiet
BOOT_IMAGE=knoppix

[edit]
5) Configure config.sys

(optional) To configure config.sys to offer you a boot menu, for booting Windows or Linux, add these lines to the top of your config.sys file:

[menu]
menuitem=windows,windows
menuitem=linux,linux
menudefault=linux,10

[linux]
shell=c:\isolinux\loadlin.exe @c:\isolinux\options.txt

[windows]
(everything that was in your config.sys should be after this line)

[edit]
Notes

You need to edit these to include the boot options that you found necessary when you first tried booting off the CD. You will usually change the option "vga=normal" to something like "vga=788", "vga=791", "vga=794" or whatever matches your video setup, although "normal" works in most cases. Also, you may need to include the line "fromhd=/dev/hda1" or similar that points to the device name of the FAT32 partition where you placed the KNOPPIX folder. Most cases, this is not needed as the boot script automatically scans all available devices for the compressed image file "knoppix".

That's it for the installation. To boot to DSL, you have many options depending on how good you are with editing the files CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT.

The basic procedure is to first boot your computer to DOS prompt, with as little overhead as possible. With Windows (95, 98, 98SE), you press the F8 key while booting up to get a boot menu, then select the option that says "command prompt only". If the computer is too quick for you, then wait for the computer to finish loading Windows completely before shutting down to "MS-DOS mode". This may cause problems depending on what utilities and drivers are active when you reach the DOS prompt. Use the Windows rescue boot disk instead. Don't try to use the "command prompt window" inside Windows as loadlin does its job exactly the same way as common DOS viruses (overwrite DOS in memory, with the exception of trashing your computer or sending obscene messages by email to everyone you know and then trashing their computers).

Second, go inside the "isolinux" folder on the drive here you placed it in. Next, execute the command "loadlin @options.txt". Everything should boot up as if from the DSL CD, except that this one is faster. You may encounter something new: a series of setup dialog screens. Select the settings that match your machine. Afterwards you should see the DSL desktop. If all you see is a blank screen or other weird, blinking, or psychedelic images, the settings you selected are wrong. Press Ctrl-Alt-F1 to get to the prompt line, execute "sudo shutdown -r now" to restart the computer, and better luck next time. Note that you can do things from this prompt line as you would from an XTerminal window, the way Real Men used to.

You cannot use HIMEM.SYS (Linux won't mount root on /dev/ram).
[edit]
What about the extensions?

This is simple. Just place all of them at the top directory of the drive where KNOPPIX is, or create a folder called "optional" and place the extensions there. As of DSL 1.0.1, the uci extensions must be at the top directory while the other types can be in either locations for them to be detected automatically during boot-up. You can also place them anywhere else you like (yes, even on NTFS partitions), as long as you can find them from inside DSL (e.g. using emelfm or from a console terminal). Mount that partition (e.g. /dev/hda1 onto /mnt/hda1) and execute "mydsl-load /mnt/hda1/wherever/whatever.dsl" to load it.

That is it for this howto. For more information, search the web for "loadlin howto".