I have an old laptop (Compaq Presario 1630) of which the CD drive and floppy drive are kaput, and which doesn't have an option to boot from USB. Moreover, the MBR is broken, and trying to boot from the H/disk (which once had Puppy on it) shows a broken Grub that won't go beyond the first stage.
Is there a way I could download Puppy from my working desktop to the laptop h/disk? Maybe some sort of cable from D/top to l/top?
It would be a pity to throw the m/c out.
Any suggestions appreciated.
"It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets." - Voltaire
I installed Puppy on a "Progear" touchpad that has the same issues.(no CD at all) I pulled the hard drive and used an laptop to IDE adapter to plug it into my desktop then booted Puppy (2.16), used Gparted, used the Universal installer (full install) and installed GRUB. Then I powered down and put it back into the Progear and let it boot and finish install. Worked like a charm!
Later I re-did it and left a spare partition free so I could copy a newer version sfs files onto using the existing install, add that partition to GRUB and boot it to install a new version without pulling the hard drive again.
My first post! Been lurking and thinking about posting how I did this and got all the goodies (touch screen, Wifi, battery monitor, etc) working. It was a long progect. Once I did it I haven't hardly touched it since!
Hope this helps you out.
I bought a CF-2.5" PATA adaptor from Ebay for about GB£5, and a 1GB CF card. Did a frugal install onto the CF card using a card reader attached to my main PC, using the USB CF Flash Drive option.
The laptop works like a charm, and is totally silent. Best £10 I ever spent.
Iwill: Thanks for your post. Did you mean that you removed the h/drive from your desktop, then connected the laptop to the desktop with the IDE adaptor?
I'm reluctant to remove the hard drive from my desktop - you know, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", or in this case, "don't mess with it".
If I just connect the laptop to the desktop with the adapter, would the desktop recognise it as another hard drive? If so, I could install Puppy on it and make it bootable. Is that plausible?
Thanks
Yes, exactly. Simply removing (completely unplugging) the desktop drive removes it completely from any operation you do. Plug the laptop drive in place of it any your bios "should" recognize it as the new master drive if it is the only one plugged in. (if not, then we can figure it out at that point) Then go though the previous steps. When you are all done, unplug laptop drive and plug desktop back in and all should be as before. Make sure it is completely disconnected and nothing should go wrong. (if it is not there, you can't mess it up)
remove the h/drive from your desktop, then connected the laptop [HD] to the desktop with the IDE adaptor
excellent advice - this is the easy way to do it.
"don't mess with it"
this is bad attitude! Always open the box on everything you possess. Unless you do, you won't know what makes it tick, and, more importantly, how to fix it when it stops ticking.
You should ensure you have at least one working I/O device apart from the k/b and touchpad. Best/cheapest to fix/replace the FDD. Then you can split any larger files into parts with eg PartIT and copy them onto the internal HD and run them from there.
Hi Sage
You may recall that some time back I asked a similar question, and you suggested I remove the laptop CD drive and replace it with a new (or 2nd hand, I suppose) one. I tried , but I couldn't get the darn back of the L/top open.
I think I'd have the same problem with the H/drive.
I will try again - maybe it's just a matter of getting the right screwdriver!
I do have a very old PC - if I can open the L/top, I will try to extract the CD drive from the old PC and try to replace the dead drive with it.
Thanks Iwill and Sage for taking the trouble to advise me.
what is laptop brand/model? Also, jaycar have a usb2ide connector. Perhaps pricey at $aus75, but maybe if you search on the net for a cheaper price. I don't know whether it would work out of the box with puppy though?
Laptops are always a problem - ceaselessly I try to persuade folks not to buy them. At least an old desktop makes a good doorstop and can be used for your indoor plants, flowers, ornaments, etc.
However, releasing the drives is rarely a problem. Usually it's just a pair of clasps or pair of screws adjacent/under the drive itself. Bear in mind the favourite trick of hiding screws under little rubber feet, etc. If you are forced to open the damn thing it's the problem of sliding a very thin but very strong blade along the sides between the upper and lower sections and flexing the two halves when you meet the many snap-in clips. Some will break, but since with old stuff you're only going to bother once, the glue gun comes to the rescue upon re-assembly. If not, Snowdog has/had a garage full of spares he was trying to get rid of! P&P from Canada to Oz is your only problem! Sorry, but I hate these monstrosities so much I refuse them for my junk store so can't offer spares. Perhaps you can have more impact on your countryman BK who seems to be enamoured with laptops, WiFi and all those worthless shiny new lamps.
If the good ladies of China can close the blighter, then YOU'RE the bloke to open it up again!
it's all in the technique. I had a, very brief stint, working with NCR computers assembling/configuring/testing workstations ca 1990. I had a very frustrating 1/2 day, installing floppy drives & connecting them up, & was getting cuts on wrists as there wasn't enough space to fit both hands etc. Then, all of a sudden, I stopped trying to work out how to do it with my head, & my hands took over. I was going to write a book "Zen & the Art of Installing Floppy Drives into NCR workstations", but that other bloke beat me to it!
Some of the older laptops were acually made so you could upgrade ram and drives easily (if you knew the tricks). Some you just pry the keyboard slightly and it pops out and everything comes out through the top! You may just need to look at the problem from the other way around.
Hi muggins - and everyone who has made suggestions.
Ye olde laptop is a CompactPresario 1692. I did have Puppy on it, via a dying CD drive, but then I trashed Grub (don't know how), and then the laptop became pretty useless. Now I'm trying to revive it, without a CD or floppy drive, and no hardware/bios support for usb.
Well, I'll try each of your suggestions in the hope that something will click.
Thanks guys.
BTW, muggins, I worked for NCR in the UK, from about 1962 to 1970 , and then worked with computers till I retired in 1995, (which gives you an idea of my age - not quite senile!) so you can imagine I'm well out of touch with current computer stuff! I'm no dog lover, but I do love Puppy!
"It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets." - Voltaire
I took the hard drive out of a Compaq Armada 7400 the other day, so had to find this post again.
It came out with two screws on the underside of the case. Once I'd undone this (they use a very weird star shaped screw head which I think may be Compaq-specific, but a flat blade screwdriver worked), it was simply the matter of pulling the hard drive out of a plastic cage that slid out of the side.
I'll take photos if it helps.
Incidentally this is what you need to install puppy to your noodled disk from your desktop PC. It will probably have larger connectors for the hard drive. No commercial connection between me and these people, and I've never used them.
Chris.
Several have suggested using a USB hard drive adapter, but back when I used one Puppy thought it was a USB device and installed selinux etc. for USB use. Then when I put it back into the machine it didn't work right.
This is what I was reffering to:
Nothing weird about star-driven screws and their close relatives the Torx. They've been used in mass production for decades as they confer better non-slip and torque control for automated systems. You can get a bunch of screwdriver bits from CPC for less than a fiver which includes most star bits. You can also get a selection of security drivers (with the hollow centre for screws with the 'pip' in the middle) for a few quid more.
Whilst you're ordering from CPC, get yourself a 3.5" - to - 2.5" IDE converter for about £3 in preference to the USB device. USB Hdrive connections can be unpredictable in Linux and can run into driver issues with 'dozeXP or fail in W98.
lwill wrote:Several have suggested using a USB hard drive adapter, but back when I used one Puppy thought it was a USB device and installed selinux etc. for USB use. Then when I put it back into the machine it didn't work right.
This is what I was reffering to: http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?c ... &sku=17705
(first place I pulled up on google)
I have an old laptop (Compaq Presario 1630) of which the CD drive and floppy drive are kaput, and which doesn't have an option to boot from USB. Moreover, the MBR is broken, and trying to boot from the H/disk (which once had Puppy on it) shows a broken Grub that won't go beyond the first stage. 
(but it can be done using USB HD case adapter rather than IDE harness/adapter)
