Fairly New - Wanting to Install Linux piece by piece...what do i need (to do)??

[DJGimmik]

Objective: To learn more about Linux by piecing it together myself (w/out the help of a distro), onto a small PC (old bank computer) to run as a dedicated DHCP server for my home network - strictly command prompt (if i don't need any GUI's).

Hardware: The HDD i would like to use is ~600MB (or can be 2GB if needed - but I would rather not waste the disk space for a DHCP server if it can be helped) ;) The PC has a Pentium 200Mmhz CPU, 32MB of RAM (can downsize to 16 if I can get away with it), built in everything (video, ethernet, etc... - I'm not entirely sure of the chipset(s) involved with all the hardware). No CD-ROM drive - but will jerry-rig one come install time if need to (not hard for me to do at all).

Xtra Wants: I would like to use the 2.6 kernel for this (yes I understand it's still in testing - but if it works like some say, i figured why the heck not? - but can settle for the 2.4.21(?). Eventually I may want to dink with this a little more, and turn it into a wireless access point (or router) - if possible .... but right now i'm staying simple and just doing the DHCP server.

Main Question(s): (1) What files, exactly, do I need to download in order to do this (besides the kernel)? (2) (I'm assuming installation is about 1 degree similar to a normal PC - where I need to format the HDD to the appropriate file system) - what software would I use to do this? (i'm fairly sure it's a form of fdisk - i just can't place the name). (3) How do I go about installing everything (compiling, linking, etc.. etc..)?

I know this is a bigger project than what I'm most likely thinking, but for me to accomplish this would be so incredibly liberating - just the feeling of doing something that not everyone can/does do. Just about anyone can install Windows, or even various distros of Linux (anymore) - how many people actually can (or take the time to) install Linux piece by daunting piece? Like I said, I'd like to learn things here.

I've spent several hrs the past week looking all over the net for instructions on how to just install Linux from scratch (even on this website -which I enjoy very much) - but everything I've found relies on having Linux installed on a previous machine and basically creating a boot disk or something - which defeats the purpose of what I'd like to do. I guess, in part, I'm wanting to make my own distro - but just for this little machine / project of mine. I don't want to use "someone elses distro" - I want to piece it together like a puzzle.

Any help at all will be greatly appreciated. Whether it's just links, or actually lists and/or step by step instructions - it will be appreciated. I love Linux, and everything it stands for (I just don't have a real modem or any luck playing videos/audio with it or I'd have it on all 6 of my current PCs - instead of just 2 of 'em).

Again, thank you all in advance for any help and/or tips in this matter.

[Onager]

I get the idea from your post that you don't have any other machine around running linux, is that correct? If so, you're going to find this _very_ tricky to do. Perhaps you could download knoppix (http://www.knoppix.com) and use that to build an LFS install on a hard disk. Ano

If you do have a running linux machine, on the other hand, things are a little bit easier. This article from IBM (http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-lwl1/) is likely to be a good starting point, for getting the system up to a point where it boots. From there, your best point of reference will likely be the LFS (http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/) docs.

It occurs to me that there may be a third option, installing cygwin (http://www.cygwin.com) on a windows machine, and using the included compiler to do all the compiling required in the article above. I have absolutely no experience with cygwin, perhaps someone else can comment about how feasible that would be.
Good luck!
-Onager
[Edit: Please excuse my stupidity, I see that you do have some systems running linux after all. That'll teach me to read right to the end.]

[JohnT]

Here's some inspiration...http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/


(I'm assuming installation is about 1 degree similar to a normal PC - where I need to format the HDD to the appropriate file system) - what software would I use to do this? (i'm fairly sure it's a form of fdisk - i just can't place the name). (3) How do I go about installing everything (compiling, linking, etc.. etc..)?

These are questions you should already know the answers to, if your thinking of taking on a project of this type. You sound as if you want step by step instructions. These are things you will have to discover on your own, but the suggestion on using Knoppix to get started is a good one. You have to have tools, why not put them in a toolbox.

[mdwatts]

http://old.lwn.net/Distributions/ has all sorts of distros for specific hardware, small or large, floppy based etc.

[motub]

Originally posted by JohnT
These are questions you should already know the answers to, if your thinking of taking on a project of this type.

Absolutely correct. I know that this makes it sound like Linux is still "Uber-Geek Central", but really-- would you advise someone to build a car from a kit when they couldn't identify "those things that keep the wheels from flying off the sticks that the wheels are on"?

It's not that this isn't a worthwhile project, but I think that Knoppix is a good idea, so you know what you're dealing with before you start trying to change things that you're unfamiliar with.

[Sepero]

Originally posted by Onager
LFS (http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/)[/B]Linux From Scratch

[JohnT]

"those things that keep the wheels from flying off the sticks that the wheels are on"?


That's easy...duct tape:p

[o0zi]

Try Linux first with one of the easier distributions, then move to something like Slackware, Debian or Gentoo, and then you'd be better suited for creating your own system.

Perhaps you could try Linux From Scratch, as has already been suggested, or you could try building a Linux bootdisk to learn more (which is what I'm doing at the moment:)).

[DJGimmik]

Onager - Thank you very much for all the links (which I currently have each of 'em open and I'm reading thru them) and the advice.

Everyone else - Thank you too for the helpful advice - especially the duct tape with the tires! That's about what i was thinkin' too ;)

Also, I do know some of the small stuff (like my fdisk comment), i just happen to forget things once in a while - but i found it on the net shortly after posting my thread.

Regardless, thank you all for the support/advice, etc..

Once I get this figured out, I'll let ya'll know how it turned out :)

EDIT: That article from the IBM website is practically perfect! Thank you again very much Onager!

[o0zi]

The IBM article is good, but I couldn't get uClibc and Busybox to compile with their instructions. I put a kernel on a bootdisk by looking at the Bootdisk HOWTO, and then I took the Slackware rootdisk and trimmed it down a bit.

Look for initrd.img in the isolinux directory of the Slackware FTP server.

[DJGimmik]

I'll keep that in mind - thank you :)

I'm getting setup to configure the files
and get them compiled, so I'll see if I
can get everything going based on that
IBM article first.

Again - thank you very much :D