Install Fedora Core 5/Suse 10 without burning CDs

Burning 4-5 CDs to install any modern distro like Fedora Core 5 or Suse 10 is a big pain in the neck. This tutorial will teach you how to install FC5 or Suse or any other distro without burning a single CD!!! This method, however, will only work if you already have Windows installed on your system and want to dual boot with Linux.

1. The first thing you will have to do is copy all the ISO files to your hard disk. Make sure that you copy all the files to the root of the partition and the partition must be formatted in FAT32. If you do not copy the ISO to the root of the partition (i.e. keep inside a folder) the setup will not able to detect the files.

2. Now use winrar to open the first ISO file (disc1). Go inside the folder "isolinux" and copy the files initrd.img and vmlinuz to your c:\boot. You will need to enable viewing of hidden and system files in order to locate c:\boot.

3. Now download the file called grub4dos from here. Extract the folder "boot" and the file "grldr" from the downloaded zip file. Inside the folder "boot" is another folder called "grub"; copy this folder to c:\boot. Copy the file "grldr" to c:\

4. Then open c:\boot\grub\menu.lst and add these following lines.

Code:

title Fedora Core 5 Install
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img

5. Now you have to add grub to your c:\boot.ini file. Open boot.ini and add this line in the end:

Code:

C:\grldr=”Start GRUB”

6. You are now ready to install FC5. Restart your PC and from the boot screen select "Start GRUB". This will load GRUB.

7. From the grub screen select "Fedora Core 5 Install". The setup will now start and you can now select the hard drive partition where you copied the ISO files.

Now sit back and let it install. No more burning and wasting discs and even no more changing CDs during install. After the installation is over you can delete the folder c:\boot\grub as well as c:\grldr and also the reference to this file from your boot.ini file, as these are no longer needed.

I just installed FC5 by this method so I can guarantee you that it will work. Enjoy!!!

UPDATE:

For Suse its a bit different. Instead of initrd.img and vmlinuz, you have to copy initrd and linux. So the changes to c:\boot\grub\menu.lst will be this

Code:

title Suse Install
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/linux
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd

Also you have to type the full name of the first ISO when it asks for the path. So write it down before you begin installation.

Nice work blackpearl! But it wud have been better if u had structurised it in steps in a well defined manner!

kool thx

thankx bro...this deserves to be a sticky. been wanting to do this for ages

mediator said:
Nice work blackpearl! But it wud have been better if u had structurised it in steps in a well defined manner!

Done.

hey hw do i install FC5 if i have a iso dvd image of it?

something similar to this *fedoraforum.org/forum/showthread.php?t=107298
__________

ankurgupta.me said:
hey hw do i install FC5 if i have a iso dvd image of it?

then u need to extract the whole image with winrar & keep the orinal image intact! and rest is the same.

and if this fails u can convert dvd into cd's and install with this method

though its a nice tut.

I cant install suse usin this method.

DukeNukem said:
though its a nice tut.

I cant install suse usin this method.

Read the 2nd part of the tutorial, the "update" part.
If you are not able to install then tell me what problem you have faced.

blackpearl said:
Read the 2nd part of the tutorial, the "update" part.
If you are not able to install then tell me what problem you have faced.

thats what i did initially but failed to install SUSE

cant move after choosing HDD as Installation MEDIUM with ISO NAME DEFINED

Maybe you chose the wrong partition or gave the wrong path. The partitions appear as sda1, sda2, etc. Do not rename the filenames of the ISO. If you have copied it inside a folder you should also specify the folder name like

/folder/disc1.iso

If you copied it to the root of the partition, then just type the file name. I m sure you have mixed up the partition or the filename. It should work.

You might face another problem during the installation so might clear that as well. During installation go into manual partitioning mode. The setup will automatically assign various partitions so don't worry. Just highlight the partition where you have copied the iso files and click "Edit". Now click on the tab "fstab option" and check the box that read "do not mount at startup" or something similar. If you don't do that the installation might fail to proceed.

blackpearl said:
Maybe you chose the wrong partition or gave the wrong path. The partitions appear as sda1, sda2, etc. Do not rename the filenames of the ISO. If you have copied it inside a folder you should also specify the folder name like

/folder/disc1.iso

If you copied it to the root of the partition, then just type the file name. I m sure you have mixed up the partition or the filename. It should work.

You might face another problem during the installation so might clear that as well. During installation go into manual partitioning mode. The setup will automatically assign various partitions so don't worry. Just highlight the partition where you have copied the iso files and click "Edit". Now click on the tab "fstab option" and check the box that read "do not mount at startup" or something similar. If you don't do that the installation might fail to proceed.

initially i've done same as directed by you but it hasnt helped
then
i extracted all the iso's in a folder and given its path as installation medium path BINGO installation is on its way.

Thanks for prompt replies.

A nice one

I have enabled all hidden/system files but there is no "boot" folder in my C:drive.

~Phenom~ said:
I have enabled all hidden/system files but there is no "boot" folder in my C:drive.

Uncheck "Hide protected system files (Recommended)"

N

I have FC5 in DVD, now i want to burn this DVD into CD as i don't have DVD ROM in my PC, i have CDRW with ahead nero, ur valuable suggestion and help is highly respected and valued.

Thanks from BHUTAN

A nice alternative to start grub..

I cant view the folder c:\boot even after disabling "Hide protected system files (Recommended)"
I am using WinXP SP2

raquez said:
I cant view the folder c:\boot even after disabling "Hide protected system files (Recommended)"
I am using WinXP SP2

Because there is no "Boot " (i cant find it too, don know where blackpearl

had it) folder there. MAKE one yourself

OK. If you don't have the "boot" folder then you can create it. OR just copy the folder "grub" to c:\ and then add these following lines to c:\grub\menu.lst

Code:

title Fedora Core 5 Install
kernel (hd0,0)/vmlinuz
initrd (hd0,0)/initrd.img

hey will it work on a NTFS partition......
besides thnx...
but i won't be able to use it if it can't work in NTFS

C

Nice one there.........
Someone else in this section told how to burn a single DVD of the images.....
but this is way better!!!!

your reputation just increased!!

mihirvashist said:
hey will it work on a NTFS partition......
besides thnx...
but i won't be able to use it if it can't work in NTFS

I think it will work with NTFS because the setup was able to detect my NTFS partitions. Not sure though. The best way will be to try it out.

Mandriva can also be installed from hard disk.Shouldn't the menu.lst file be placed in C:\ [(hda0,0)/menu.lst] ,when using latest versions of GRUB4DOS

mihirvashist said:
hey will it work on a NTFS partition......
besides thnx...
but i won't be able to use it if it can't work in NTFS

what r u talking about here installin on ntfs partition or using NTFS partition as source partition
if using NTFS partition as source then answer is "yes it will work"

i've done it througn "GRUB for WINDOWS"

Else

Answer in is NOOOOOOOOOO

S

plz can u tell me where to find c:\boot.i can't find this one!
help me!

its not "boot.i" brother its "boot.ini"
and it is present in the Primary Partition i.e the Boot drive which is usually and always your "C" drive

to see it enable "show hidden files" from folder option or
simlpy
right click on my computer choose "Properties"
then Choose "Advanced" tab (Dont play with it thats why it is called Advanced)

click "Setting" button of "Start up and recovery"

now here you have a "Edit" button which open the "Boot.ini" file for you

Once again dont play with it untill u have proper resource to restore it (in case of #$%^ up

)

AND ONE QUESTION FOR blackperl

I CANT INSTALL FROM ISO's USING THIS METHOD
WHAT CAN BE THE PROBS (and its solu)

TRIED BOTH ON FAT/NTFS PARTITIONS(as Source) AS DIRECTED BUT TO END UP LOOSING FEW HAIRS EVERY TIME.

Though able to install after extracting all iso's in one directory and givng its path at the time of installation both on fat/ntfs drives (as Source)

@DukeNukem: At what point does the installation terminate? Does it show any message? Also are you trying to install FC5 or Suse? For FC5 installation should be a breeze, but for Suse you might have to tweak a few settings. Look at my following reply earlier

*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showpost.php?p=328033&postcount=11

forgive me oh mighty lord (blackpearl)

but i have done everything as per your holy Directions

which fails
i am tryin to install SUSE 10.1
installed grub through "Grub for windows"
copied the iso's to root "C" (hd0,0)
enter only iso name (not found is what i get) when asked
when no use
entered as (hd0,0)/iso.iso (not found is what i get)

then oh mighty lord(blackpearl) an idea hit me
i extracted all iso's in a single folder then
when prompted for source
entered folder name and Holy cow Installation begin with your grace after all it was you oh mighty lord, using whose idea i am able to use the beauty of SUSE

once again Thanks oh Mighty Lord(blackpearl)

VERY VERY NICE POST!!!!! I think its high time I start out doing this. Enough of burning discs. Whew!!!!

@DukeNukem: All's well that ends well

Hey! Thanks Oh Mighty Lord(blackpearl).

One question ( you must be thinking what a jackass i am

)

first ive created cd's of the iso's from DvD (i dont have a DvD Drive, done it from friends PC)
then ive created the iso's from cd's at my PC
named them 1,2,3,4,5

then given the 1.iso as the file name in the installation source is this method ok or iam really/literally bothering you from the very beginning. if i am then please forgive me and dont curse on me oh Mighty Lord (blackpearl)

The Mighty Lord (me) is very confused whether you have sucessfuly installed Suse/FC5, whatever, or not?? Your earlier post said that you were able to "use the beauty of Suse" and now you ask whether the method will work??

Anyway, given the benevolent nature of the Mighty Lord (me) I have decided to pardon you of the pain you have caused me.

Converting the DVD into CDs is a hell lot of work, and I m unsure whether it works or not. But given that the tutorial is now made sticky, I have little doubt of its working provided that you have followed the procedure without any mistake.

If you copied the ISOs to the root of the drive and when you were asked for the file name, you must type only the filename. NOT (hda0,0)/file1.iso. That would make the setup program to search for a folder named "(hda0,0)" on the root of the drive. If you copied it in a folder then type folder/file1.iso.

I hope by the grace of GOD and The Mighty Lord (me) you are successful this time.

blackpearl said:
The Mighty Lord (me) is very confused whether you have sucessfuly installed Suse/FC5, whatever, or not?? Your earlier post said that you were able to "use the beauty of Suse" and now you ask whether the method will work??

oh my mighty lord(blackpearl) i've successfully installed and using the beauty of suse 10.1 by extracting the iso's to singel directory "su" (all 5 iso's to it) and by the CD's themself. this is after failing to do as what u've directed through iso files directly.

blackpearl said:
Anyway, given the benevolent nature of the Mighty Lord (me) I have decided to pardon you of the pain you have caused me.

Thanks for forgiveness

blackpearl said:
Converting the DVD into CDs is a hell lot of work, and I m unsure whether it works or not. But given that the tutorial is now made sticky, I have little doubt of its working provided that you have followed the procedure without any mistake.

its not a SUSE DvD, its a DvD which have the 5 CD iso of Suse 10.1.
so no questio about errors creating iso's from DvD
i first burned then at my friends pc and then truned them to iso's at my ps

blackpearl said:
If you copied the ISOs to the root of the drive and when you were asked for the file name, you must type only the filename. NOT (hda0,0)/file1.iso. That would make the setup program to search for a folder named "(hda0,0)" on the root of the drive. If you copied it in a folder then type folder/file1.iso.

copied to root (hd0,0) then tried (hd0,0)/1.iso and 1.iso as source, but to end in vain.

copied to (hd0,0)/iso/ then tried (hd0,0)/iso/1.iso and /iso/1.iso and iso/1.iso as source, but to end in vain.

blackpearl said:
I hope by the grace of GOD and The Mighty Lord (me) you are successful this time.

Iam successfull, but i think its is the first time ever that mighty lord's(blackpearl) words are not working

any ways

Thanks Oh mighty Lord(blackpearl) for atleast listening to me and for your helpfull, kind, generous, greedless, hateless, equi for all nature

DukeNukem said:
copied to root (hd0,0) then tried (hd0,0)/1.iso and 1.iso as source, but to end in vain.

copied to (hd0,0)/iso/ then tried (hd0,0)/iso/1.iso and /iso/1.iso and iso/1.iso as source, but to end in vain.

Seems like the name has got to do with it. The default names of the ISOs are:

SUSE_LINUX_10_1_I386_CD1.iso
..................................CD2.iso
...etc

Try renaming the isos to these default names and see if that works.

K

Thanks blackpearl!!

I have just installed SUSE-10.1 in my pc without any cd. folowing your instructions.

Well I had to create the C:/boot folder.

On starting GRUB install from my winxp boot menu and selecting SUSE install the installation statrted as usual. well you have to select "back" in the first screen. select the hard disk partition where you have kept the iso-s. the folder should be specified as /SUSE/CD1.iso (assuming the folder name SUSE and the first Suse install disk as CD1). ALL other cd iso should be uniform in naming and in the same folder.

while partitioning the partition which holds the iso-s should be edited in partition screen and "dont mount partition on startup" option should be checked.

choose the necessary softwares.

and the installation statrts.

after initial reboot---

dont forget to start the installation process again.select "boot from hard disk installed" or some such option which re-starts the remaining installations etc.

I hope there should be no confusion.

thanks blankpearl again for his hard works and being the path-bearer.

PLEASE TELL ME HOW I CAN INSTALL DEBIAN-3.1 N THIS WAY.

oh my mighty lord
can we install Knoppix using your directed directions.

It will probably (read as should) work for both Knoppix and Debian. The necessary files are named vmlinuz and initrd.img in both the distros.

A

nice work black pearl

but can uou tell me how to make red hat 9 detect sata hardrives
i have only redhat 9 and my mob is d101g...

the installer starts and stops with error " no devices were found ......"

i tried changing the sata combination to Ide controller and vice versa

but nothing happened

pls help me out,

Red hat 9 does not detect SATA so there is no way you can install it. Choose a linux distro that is based on kernel 2.6 or later because those detects SATA drive. Red hat 9 is very old, get a different one.

A

well i was thinkin if i could download the latest kernel and replace those in the installer <redhat cd1> and then try installing , will it work , how do i go about it ? any help

by the way thanks for the reply

@ blackpearl

Nice tute friend. Repu added.

avinashtatti@gmail.com said:
well i was thinkin if i could download the latest kernel and replace those in the installer <redhat cd1> and then try installing , will it work , how do i go about it ? any help

by the way thanks for the reply

You can upgrade the kernel after installing linux, but before installation... I'm not sure. You have to ask some linux expert.

------

I think you have to download the source files and then replace the kernel. Tough job.

will this method also work in my case ?? u said it will work in dual boot. what about me ?? I already have Ubuntu 6.10 , PCLinuxOS -BigDaddy and Windows XP SP2 installed. Please reply urgently as I have just copied the 5 CD iso images of Fedora Core 6 in my system and I m dying to try it but really dont wanna waste CDs.

As long as you have windows on your system, it will work.

Thanx buddy. will soon delete PCLinuxOS partitions and install FC6 ur way. wish me luck.

I couldnot install by this method SUSE 10.1 Remastered
There is no isolinux folder.
There is no vmlinuz file.
initrd file found in SUSE-Linux-10.1-Remastered-i386-CD1/boot/i386/loader folder
BTW I have already installed SUSE 10.1 Remastered on my computer.

@blackpearl,I deleted my PCLinuxOS to create space for FC6. This made my GRUB gone ie Ubuntu Gone. Then I tried ur method successfully installed FC6 , but when I rebooted , it just didnt started .Black screeen appeared with some flashing coloured letters like @ ! , etc. I think My system doesnt support such high gfx , so i just formatted FC6 . PCLinux OS was already gone. I just reinstalled ubuntu 6.10. that means ur method just ****ed my system and wasted my 3 precious hrs. Though there is no fault of urs in it. I will try ur method in future but only for those distros which are compatible with my hardware .

V

DukeNukem said:
Because there is no "Boot " (i cant find it too, don know where blackpearl had it) folder there. MAKE one yourself

Well, Anaconda starts up fine and asks me where the it should search. I point it to the right drive and the installation aborts by saying 'installation stopped unexpectedly [1/1]' and then prepares the system for reboot. My ISO is on a FAT32 partition and the SHA1SUM is fine. What could be wrong?? :!:

"'installation stopped unexpectedly "

I wonder what the reason is? Probably corrupted file, hardware problem etc.

The ISO is fine. If it was corrupt, it wouldn't have passed the SHA1SUM test. I doubt hardware problem. I've got Ubuntu and Slackware running and I've installed FC5 in the past from CDs.

Does the installation process start before terminating? or does it terminate as soon as you point to the drive?
Is your hard disk detected at all?

The installation process terminates only after I point the location where it should supposed to start. I found that images from torrents are reliable. Check it out the review here *itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/article.php/3680246