Home server - lots of questions

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Home server - lots of questions

(12 posts) (5 voices)

Started 9 years ago by resetreset
Latest reply from Bellard
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resetreset

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OK, I'm trying to install Slitaz on my old Win98 laptop (P-ii, 64 megs RAM), I got the "Windows and DOS users" SliTaz GNU/Linux 4.0 archive (51 Mb) - slitaz-4.0.zip file. In the install text file it says something about tazboot.exe , but in the directory mentioned there is no such file! There IS a tazboot.cmd - what am I supposed to do?

I want to know - does this version mean that I will NOT have to format the drive to a Linux filesystem? i.e. I can use the FAT16 or 32 or whatever it is that Win98 is, and use Linux from there? (I remember the old UMSDOS thing).

My main question is - can I indeed host websites on this thing if and when I DO get it running? I'm planning for a FIRST level domain, ie. something.com , will that be possible (I have a dynamic IP from my ISP)? Btw, I find that DynDNS isn't there any more, I was quite fond of that concept - are there any others like it?

Finally, Slitaz DOES offer LAMP right? Like, a relatively recent version of PHP and all? I also need some way to mail from the server (I'm really quite clueless about mail server configging, I'd like to be simple as possible), and an FTP server, obviously, since if I'm going to be setting up websites, I need a way to get the HTML ON to the machine....

By the way, I forgot to say - the laptop's DVD drive is bust, prolly the floppy drive too and I have no flppies anyway, and it does NOT boot from USB. I only managed to get that slitaz file onto it via a USB stick (thank God Win98 recognises that stick!). I *will* be able to install Slitaz, right? :) PLease don't break my heart, guys...... :) And the USB interface will be the net connection - that's possible, right? What do I have to do in Slitaz? (I'll be getting a USB-to-ethernet cable to connect the latop to my ISPs router).

Thanks for your replies guys, it's nice to be back on a hacker-type forum after a long time.... :)

Cheers.

Posted 9 years ago #
llev

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Hi and welcome!

I'll try to give some answers but you'll get definitive answers from Key Masters :)

I think the SliTaz website is run on SliTaz, so presumably it has all that's needed!

I'm not sure whether hosting is compatible with an ISP's dynamic IPs (plus, are you sure your contract allows this?). You may get info here but it's not the distribution's job...

If you can get SliTaz running you should be able to install it. But from what you say it seems you have no native ethernet card either, so don't screw up the install or you'll have no way to rescue your system(*)! (But maybe you don't want to wipe out Windows?)
(*) Except by taking the hard drive out and connecting it to another PC.

My advice: check your floppy drive and find a valid floppy, then install Plop boot manager on it, it will allow you to boot from USB flash- or hard-drives (not from USB optical drives).

Posted 9 years ago #
Bellard

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You can get tazboot.exe here: http://mirror.slitaz.org/boot/tazboot.exe
It works in real mode (ms-dos mode) only.
I will update slitaz-4.0.zip - thanks to the report

You can use the FAT16 or 32 (or NTFS). It works like UMSDOS with posixovl

SliTaz dev (i.e. with mercurial write access) can create <whatever>.by.slitaz.org DNS names with http://ns.slitaz.org/ . Send a username and a password to pascal.bellard@slitaz.org to get an account.

To find packages, files... http://pkgs.slitaz.org/search.sh?package=php&version=s

With tazboot.exe (and your slitaz-4.0.zip) you have installed SliTaz ... in a DOS directory.

Posted 9 years ago #
Bellard

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Key Master

You can try to boot from the USB. (in real mode only)
Download tazboot.exe and plpbt.bin and launch :
C:\> tazboot kernel=plpbt.bin vm=text fnt=bios usb1=1
or
C:\> tazboot kernel=plpbt.bin vm=text fnt=bios usb1=2

Posted 9 years ago #
oui

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Are you already using SliTaz and how do you do that? On your place, I would shrink (not format as you say! only change the size!) my Windows partition and create as well a Linux SWAP partition (128 MB) as you have limited RAM as well as a little Linux partition! The tool to do that is the graphic mode gparted and can be find in SliTaz (as well as in other Linux live CD's). The size depends of course of the free capacity of your actual hard disk and views about the use of both, Windows and Linux! You can install max. 4 primary partitions. Pls reserve partition no. 4 for SWAP (as Windows has automatic no. 1 now!). To do that, you would have to create partition no. 2 and 3 before SWAP (3 can be created with a symbolic size, only to give the better partition no. to your swap). If you have enough room on your hd you can create partition no. 2 as logical partition and create in it a first partition no. 5 so you will get a more flexible system design...

to solve definitivelly your boot problems, pls try to install a boot loader like grub4dos (SliTaz would propose you to install it for you if you make a full installation in an own partition for SliTaz...).

note: grub overwrites your initial MBR but save it on the partition, where you install! If you remake an installation, don't erase it with the rest of the system! you can save it on dropbox etc. before you do that! dropbox is accessible from both: Windows and Linux! in Windows. you also can create a completely new MBR but it contains only the need for Windows of course...

Posted 9 years ago #
Bellard

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Key Master

@oui
resetreset has a bootstrap problem. If the plop (plpbt.bin) does not work, the only way to boot SliTaz is slitaz-4.0.zip + tazboot.exe.

He will be able to test SliTaz, install packages. No need to do 'tazlito writefs' before shutdown.
- If SliTaz is ok for him, he can continue with a real install (with partitionning).
- If not he simply do 'deltree \slitaz'

About slitaz-4.0.zip :
pro: easy to install (pre installed), easy to remove. No partition reshape, no storage size to choose.
con: slower than a classic install (how much ?), max file size is 2Gb. Maybe others filesystem limitations ?

@resetreset
Did you try it ?

Posted 9 years ago #
resetreset

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OK, sorry, I'm checking back in here after a couple of days.... am I clear that if I use tazboot.exe , I don't need to format my W98 drive or anything? OK, so that leads me to the question of what tazboot IS - can someone tell me? :)

I will try it as soon as I can.

Posted 9 years ago #
Bellard

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Key Master

tazboot.exe is is a Linux boot loader that runs under DOS in real mode.
Unlike loadlin, it supports bzImage and zImage format (in fact *any* linux format, including ELKS), multiple initrd, ISO image loops...

The sources are in http://hg.slitaz.org/wok/file/702e87e36a56/syslinux/stuff/iso2exe/

Posted 9 years ago #
resetreset

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can you please explain to me what "initrd" is? i'm sorry to say i don't know, and i've been on linux for YEARS....

Posted 9 years ago #
resetreset

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oh, and what's a "ISO image loop"?

Posted 9 years ago #
Ceel

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resetreset has a bootstrap problem

Why not use the bootloader of Windows to launch SliTaz?
I know it works with Win XP an Vista.

Posted 9 years ago #
Bellard

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Key Master

@resetreset

An initrd is a file holding the ramfs data used as filesystem by the linux kernel. The rootfs.gz of SliTaz.

An IS0 image loop is a way to use the files stored in a file storing a CD/DVD image :
- somewhere in the partition, you have a file, say slitaz.iso
- in this slitaz.iso there files and directories such as bzImage and rootfs.gz
tazboot.exe can load bzImage and rootfs.gz directly.

Posted 9 years ago #

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