(old)Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

Hi all,

I'm trying to get linux on an old Dell Laptop I have, it was running Windows XP fine, although, it's a bit slow so I qwant to try linux.

This has brought me to Puppy, although I'm getting problems during the installation ISO downloaded. I have tried the latest version time of writing, 4.2.1 (both newer and older retro kernel versions).

The installation CD gets to 'Waiting for modules to complete loading.... pcmcia usb' and then hangs indefinitely with puppy-4.2.1-k2.6.25.16-seamonkey

With puppy-4.2.1retro-k2.6.21.7-seamonkey is doesn't get past Loading Kernel Modules.

I don't care for retaining the hard disk partitioning, and left a 20 gigabyte blank 20 Gigabyte quick formatted partition, although by the looks of it, it's not even getting to the point where it's copying files.

It is an older laptop although other Puppy users have reported success with Puppy on Dell Inspiron 8000 modules.

Does anyone have any advance on how I can get this to install and where the problem may be based on where it's stopping?

Specs Pentium III, 256mb RAM, 20 gig HDD with 1 exmpy 20Gig FAT32 partition.

Do you have another machine on which you can boot the CD?

Note that the CD is not doing an actual install yet.

I just tried the CD in my workstation, it went past the part it hangs on Dell Inspiron 8000 and loads the user interface options which ask 'which type of mouse do you have'.

On the Inspiron it just seems to stop on Loading... PCMCIA USB then it hangs needing a hard reboot.

On other machines it will progress past this point fairly quickly.

stoneferry wrote:I just tried the CD in my workstation, it went past the part it hangs on Dell Inspiron 8000 and loads the user interface options which ask 'which type of mouse do you have'.

On the Inspiron it just seems to stop on Loading... PCMCIA USB then it hangs needing a hard reboot.

On other machines it will progress past this point fairly quickly.

There is a nopcmcia boot option

When it says "boot:"

try typing

puppy nopcmcia


I think that is correct. It should cause the boot with no PCMCIA drivers. If that works, at least we know it is the PCMCIA stuff in the boot image that is hanging.

\i saw that there was a nopcmcia option and tried it a few times, by itself, with acpi=off etc

It should cycle through the pcmcia then to usb then there's another driver, usbmouse ? and all those should be on that same line.

The keyboard is unrespondive when this happens, caps lock won't engage for example.

Any other suggestions? Not the end of the world if I cannot get linux on this laptop, but, I don't want to put Windows XP back on either.

Stoneferry, even though your hardware is old, I think later versions of Puppy might do better with it. If you have a fast Internet connection and a CD-RW, it's little trouble and no expense to try several versions of Puppy to see if any of them work.

Hello Stoneferry,

Have you burned a Live CD using a tool such as menu/multimedia/Burniso2CD?
Did you burn at a low speed, like 4 or 5?
Did you check the *Hash Marks* aka *Md5sums* to make sure your download contains all it's original bits?