Linux install with a USB cdrom on Panasonic CF-18 Toughbook

[spoon]

im trying to find a distrobution that will install with a USB cdrom. Im installing it on a panasonic CF-18 Toughbook. There is no internal cdrom, the floppy drive is USB, and i dont have access to a pcmcia cdrom. I prefer slackware but i will run any distro to get away from microshaft. FreeBSD does install but the driver for the intel wireless nic kernel panics. I dont have the money to get a cisco aironet right now. thx
later

[loft306]

On the wireless nic issue there are two drivers that work with it one is NDISwrapper and is gpl and the other is drivrloader that is not gpl and costs $20 and is a bit easier to setup But i would try the ndiswrapper first....

On the subject of a distro that will install onto that setup If you can boot from that cdrom then you can install any distro or if you cant but can boot off of the floppy then you can make a boot floppy that will make the cdrom boot here is a link to a floppy image that will boot a cdrom http://btmgr.sourceforge.net/index.p...=download.html

Just another note you can also try KNOPPIX it is a selfcontained linux distro that runs off of the cdrom and allows you to get everything working then you can do a network install of Gentoo from inside of KNOPPIX see the alternate install guide #3. http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/altinstall.xml and the gentoo handbook http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml this method works realy well with installing on laptops

And whatever distro you end up using i recomend the 2.6.x kernel on the lappie, it just supports pcmcia & acpi(power management)better . So use a distro that uses the 2.6.x kernel recompile with the 2.6.x kernel

[spoon]

ya i can boot any distro cd but when it looks to copy files it cant find the cdrom. it is not recognized. i will try the wireless driver tho.