Click to See Complete Forum and Search --> : SuSE 7.3 + Freecom Parallel CD + IBM Thinkpad 560E


gjensen
07-23-2002, 07:43 AM
Greetings!

Search on the Internet reveals that many users managed to get SuSE 7.3 running on the IBM Thinkpad 560E (which I just got from an auction for a song) - how on earth did you get it working?

The 560E doesn't have a built-in CD ROM, so the previous owner invested in a Freecom Parallel CD (Serial K646...). According to the FAQ's I've read so far, SuSE comes with PARIDE, and if I'm not mistaken this does support Freecom drives.

Head-scratching fact is: the boot disk doesn't seem to contain that driver, neither the module disk.

I have drivers for DOS and Windows (with Windows 98 having been already installed), so I can actually see and read the disks both from the command-prompt when booting into DOS as well as from within Windows.

I have thus created the disk set (boot, root, module1, module 2) as suggested by the INSTALL program on the first CD, but still no luck: Linux is actually loaded into RAM disk, the install program then seems to continue but can't mount the CD-ROM.

I have since tried to install other distributions as well (Mandrake, Debian, Knoppix still flying about on my table - I can't boot from a parallel port CD ;-)) but to no avail.

How can I teach SuSE Linux 7.3. about my parallel port CD-ROM from Freecom (one old bugger, an 8speed drive)?

Or is this really one piece of machinery I'd have to scrap completely, so as to purchase those rather expensive PCMCIA port CD-ROM drives?

Hints, links, tips etc. would be appreciated. This problem seems to be running through all distributions that come on a CD - thus the question: has perhaps someone created a boot disk / disk image that includes a parallel port CD-ROM driver?

I'm already playing for two days now, and my coffee consumption just gets way out of hand on this... :-)

Gerard

Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379
07-23-2002, 11:23 PM
I don't know about SuSE, but I do know that Slackware has a special bootdisk that includes the paride modules into the kernel.

You need to find out what specific parallel port CD-ROM driver your drive needs. Then, you should see if SuSE has a special bootdisk for paride. If it doesn't, it may already have it installed in the main bootdisk.

If that is the case, try running this:

/sbin/modprobe parport
/sbin/modprobe paride
/sbin/modprobe <name of CDROM driver>

And that may help.

gjensen
07-24-2002, 04:54 AM
Hi Alex,

Originally posted by Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379
I don't know about SuSE, but I do know that Slackware has a special bootdisk that includes the paride modules into the kernel.

Well, SuSE also allows you to specify CD-ROM modules that you'd wish to include. Two of them deal with Freecom drives, namely Freecom Power parallel port as well as Freecom Power IQ (vers. 2). Neither of them allows access to the drive I have though.

You need to find out what specific parallel port CD-ROM driver your drive needs. Then, you should see if SuSE has a special bootdisk for paride. If it doesn't, it may already have it installed in the main bootdisk.

SuSE allows me to create a standard boot disk plus two "modules" disks as well as a "rescue disk" which you can start from within a menu of its Linuxrc program. As far as I can see, it doesn't have any special boot disk images apart from that - unless someone points me at a directory I haven't looked at yet.

If that is the case, try running this:

/sbin/modprobe parport
/sbin/modprobe paride
/sbin/modprobe <name of CDROM driver>

And that may help.

The only way I get to a Linux prompt is by activating the "rescue disk" option, in which case I neither get modprobe nor insmod under /sbin.

If I just use the bootdisk of SuSE, I'll get into Linuxrc alright, even have a fully menu controlled interface - up to the point of "Start installation/update" wher I get the chance to choose the source medium, eagerly choose "CD-ROM" and get the (by now well known) error message "Unable to mount the CD-ROM!"

Help my small little brain get itself around the following: if I get *ANY* distribution to recognise the CD-ROM after its installation, should I not be able to start the installation from there?

In this case, are there any known distributions that immediately support Freecom Parallel CD Kits with a serial number of K6464429?

Gerard