Installation of Linux on Compaq Armada 7400/7800 Portables
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0206-0799-A
Please obtain and study the Linux + Microsoft Windows NT - Loader FAQ available at
http://linuxcentral.com/linux/LDP/HOWTO/mini/Linux+NT-Loader.html
.
This FAQ references a utility program called “boot part”, which makes the process much easier and is available at
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/gvollant/bootpart.htm
.
The procedure in the above mentioned FAQ requires a copy of the Linux boot sector be copied to the Windows NT
partition. The above utility does this for you. Otherwise, you must copy the data from the Linux file system to the NT
file system which if Windows NT is installed as NTFS requires using a floppy as the medium.
LILO can be used as the boot manager by installing Microsoft Windows NT first then Linux. Install the Linux boot
partition into a primary partition and make it active. You can then add the Microsoft Windows NT partition to LILO’s
boot menu, which will then launch Microsoft Windows NT’s loader.
In the case of Microsoft Windows NT on an NTFS partition, which uses the whole hard drive then, the only alternatives
are to re-install Microsoft Windows NT into a smaller partition or use a commercial utility to shrink the current NTFS
partition. The Open Source utility, fips that comes with most Linux distributions, will only split FAT16 and FAT32
partitions not NTFS.
Questions and Answers
Q:
Is Compaq late to the Linux market and behind competitors like HP, Sun, IBM and Dell?
A:
No. In fact Compaq has been participating in various Linux projects for at least four years. From the “Digital
Classic” side of Compaq, a project to port Linux to the Alpha processor started in May of 1994, and Digital
Classic joined Linux International in November of 1995 as the first system vendor to participate. Compaq will
continue to contribute time and energy into the Linux community.
Many of the companies announcing support for Linux may not understand the complexity of the Linux market
requirements and are not prepared to fully support the Linux customer. At the corporate level, Compaq has
studied, understands and has developed a plan that includes delivering quality Linux support in line with the
growth of the Linux community.
Q:
What additional
contributions has Compaq made to the Linux marketplace?
A:
Starting in May of 1994, Compaq contributed hardware for porting Linux to the Alpha architecture for the
XFree86 organization to build X Window System servers, and for research purposes. In addition, Compaq
donated a server system called tsx-11.mit.edu, which is the premier system that first distributes new copies of
the Linux kernel to other sites. Compaq has contributed the time of four engineers to help the Alpha Linux
community port Linux to the Alpha platform. Compaq also contributes a person to act as Executive Director of
Linux International; a vendor organization dedicated to the promotion of the Linux Operating System. Compaq
commercial portables division is also devoting resources to Linux development, as evident by the testing
conducted to develop this paper. Lastly, Compaq provides speakers to Linux User Groups worldwide.
Q:
Will Compaq or its competitors provide technical support for Linux customers?
A:
The Linux community provides its own technical support through the use of news groups, Internet relay chat
(IRC), web sites, and e-mail. However, there is no official and central support group for Linux. Some Linux
package providers may provide technical support by phone or email. Compaq Computer Corporation customer
services offers special fee based support for the Linux operating system and the platforms it is used on. Contact
customer services for additional information.
Hardware support is provided directly from the sub-component hardware manufacturers such as graphics card
vendors, NIC vendors, etc. Device drivers are typically available for sub-component parts from the Linux
community via web sites, newsgroups, etc. A portion of these device drivers has also been bundled with each
