GAH! Redhat 7.3 install over HTTP...

[AlexMax]

http://download.com.com/3000-2196-10137641.html?tag=lst-0-1

Is it possible to use this program to install Redhat 7.3 over a network?  I have a machine with Win98 at my disposal, and it currently has the (still ISOed, I can unISO it with WinRAR if need be) three install ISOs in a temporary directory.  I already tried to install it via LAN FTP, and it got to the part where it tried to find the packages and froze.  (I checked the other consoles, and the FTP log, and apparently it ran an invaled command...)

EDIT: Gomen nasai, I just realized that I have a very similar thread (though it asks about FTP)  Apologies.

[ August 20, 2002: Message edited by: AlexMax ]

[voidmain]

RedHat already comes with the ability to be installed over a network. You can install via HTTP, FTP, NFS, etc.

[AlexMax]

Upon trying to connect to the HTTP server

"Failed mounting /dev/loop7 on /tmp/update-disk  This shoudltn't happen.  I am restarting now."

Any ideas?  Remember, the HTTP server is Win98 baswed, and I extracted the contents of the first CD, and turned it into a temporary website using the program described above.

If not, is there any way to install RH over the network getting the files off of a FAT32 filesystem?  I have no other option ATM.

[ August 21, 2002: Message edited by: AlexMax ]

[voidmain]

I forgot to mention that you also need the /RedHat/base/ directory from the CD copied to the /RedHat/base directory under your HTTP server so you have:

http://yourserver/RedHat/RPMS/
and
http://yourserver/RedHat/base/

Do you have the "base" subdirectory?

[AlexMax]

This is what I have so far...

I have the first ISO unpacked into the disc1 directory, but since it seems to want everything withuot the multidisk format of FTP, I just put the starting directory as /disc1/

I do not seem to have a /RedHat/base directory yet ... Should I perhaps unpack all three ISO's into that directory?

And does the error message I specified have anything to do with this?  I forgot to message a part in parenthesis that that error said (Invalid paramitor)

(temporary link, may be down in another hour or two...)

[ August 21, 2002: Message edited by: AlexMax ]

[voidmain]

That looks right.  If you use the network boot disk you should be asked for IP information and then for an HTTP server and directory.  In your case the directory would be "/disc1".  Now you should be able to copy the RPMS from the /RedHat/RPMS directory on disk 2 and 3 into the /disc1/RedHat/RPMS directory and it should work.

[AlexMax]

What about the error?  And what about the /RedHat/base subdir?

[ August 21, 2002: Message edited by: AlexMax ]

[voidmain]

The error looks like it was due to not being able to find the RedHat/base directory (which contains the stage2 of the installation program).  Now that you have the RedHat/base directory have you tried booting from the network boot floppy and start the install?

[ August 21, 2002: Message edited by: VoidMain ]

[AlexMax]

I havn't unpacked the 2nd and 3rd iso's yet

I will do it tomorrow.  Right now, my mother is cheawing me out for trying to install Linux on a computer that I have to share with two brats that I call sisters.

"You need to make it easy for them to use!"

"They shouldn't have to learn anything else!"

And then my dad...

"You're WRONG!  Nobody uses Linux, I;ve been workin in the business world and everyone uses Microsoft products.  You are WRONG!"

Computer unsavey parents are so....

Even worse is when their technical expertiece is outdated.d  (dad)

[voidmain]

You can test it with just one unpacked ISO to see if it will work.  I just mounted up disk one, created a symbolic link under my web root so it shows up the same as yours:

http://myserver/disc1

which contains the RedHat/base and RedHat/RPMS directory.  I created a network boot floppy from the /images/bootnet.img, and a network extra driver disk from the /images/drvnet.img file, booted the bootnet disk, picked my network card from the extra driver disk, told it to configure IP via DHCP, put in the IP address of my web server, and "/disc1" in the directory prompt and it loaded up stage2 of the installation from my http server and started the normal install you would get from a CD install.  So it should work.  I did not try and use your win98 server as an http server from here but I will if you want me to test it.  Like I said, I use Apache web server but it should not matter.

P.S. are you doing this just as an exercise to try the different installation methods?  I'm curious why you are not installing from CD. If you don't have a CD drive on the machine you are trying to install to, you can just temporarily move the CD drive from the machine that does have one to the one you want to install on. Just for the purposes of installation, then move it back.

[ August 21, 2002: Message edited by: VoidMain ]

[AlexMax]

Because I'm short one CD needed for istall.

And it still does that error even with one ISO unpacked.  Do I need all three unpacked?

(Note: I am this clsoe to saynig "fuck it" and trying Mandrake.  How many of the CD's do I need for it?)

EDIT: I did some poking around, and teh message it seemed to have before it errored was...

"Retriving /Redhat/base/updates.img"

I have looked on the origional ISO with WinRAR and have found no such file.

ANOTHER EDIT: I'm currently looking into NFS servers right now...wish me luck...

Yes another edit: I thank you for your help Voidmain, but I fixed the problem.  I am now currently instalilng through FTP.

What was the problem?  My small and shitty FTP server didn't have a full set of commands (It didn't even have ls, only dir) and thusly Linux choked when it tried to execute a command around the time it tried to install packages and the FTP server didn't know what it was.

Solution?  Got rid of taht POS and got fucking BulletProof FTP.  Problem solved.

[ August 22, 2002: Message edited by: AlexMax ]