Baslinux mailing list

[sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>]

The problem is how to use a 500MHz laptop computer given to us without a 
hard drive or hard drive enclosure, and possibly in need of a ROM update.

On Sat, 25 Jun 2005, James Miller wrote:

> On Sat, 25 Jun 2005, David Moberg wrote:
>
> > sindi keesan wrote:
> >
> > > Someone else managed to use a ROM burner but we don't have
> > > one of those.
> >
> > Fairly simple devices. Everyone seems to charge an arm and a leg
> > for them.
>
> I've seen them pretty cheap online lately--as little as $35. These are just a 
> glorified circuitboard with an adaptor for the ROM/PROM/EPROM and a parallel 
> port. The parallel port is meant to hook, by parallel cable (not too 
> surprisingly), to a computer running software to do the burning. There is 
> definitely Win software for this, but not sure about Linux.
>
> James

If the ROM update program requires Windows anyway, I can't think of 
another way to run it.  We don't need a 500MHz computer enough to invest 
$35 in a ROM burner.

If we could get the laptop to boot, I could try running the ROM update 
program from parport zip drive after booting from DOS floppy disk, and 
then also running BL3 with mplayer from the zip drive.  Mplayer might take 
2-3 minutes to load into memory (over 300MB available) but should run 
quickly after that.  It would also fit onto our 4MB CF card in adaptor.

Another question - after we boot from floppy drive, while the computer is 
still running, could we remove the floppy drive and insert the DVD-ROM 
drive?  If not, can BL3 be made to boot somehow from CF drive?  We cannot 
get into the BIOS of this computer by hitting DEL or various other keys, 
to check possible boot devices, but is PCMCIA ever an option?

This is of course all just theory unless we can get the thing to boot.

Sindi