> > About a year ago I picked up an IBM Thinkpad 560 > > (ultra portable, came out in '96) to experiment with > > Linux on. > > > > Because it did not have a builtin CDROM, I had to > > learn a lot about Linux, to get started, but I ended up > > getting everything to work on it. > > > > My advice is to get a laptop with a builtin CDROM, and > > your life will be a bit easier. > > > > I've installed debian on an old NEC Versa (486/75) and never > found its lack of cdrom drive to be a detriment when I was > installing. (I did a network install). > > If you need to install via cdrom (for whatever reason) then, > obviously, a built in cdrom drive makes things easier.
A PCMCIA based cdrom also works fine - as long as your cardbus is supported, the standard install process can invoke it. At least it worked for me - I have an Addonics ATAPI CD. Recently I went to the store looking for Addonics' CDRW because I figured it might have similar form factor - but could only find stuff that makes a big deal about its zoomed-video support. I recall reading that this is not quite the same as normal cardbus and can certainly fry an older bay, so I didn't buy it. You might want to beware the same problem. And if anyone knows more detail about zoomed-video with regards to cardbus, enlighten me further :) * Heather Stern * star@ many places...
