How to do an HTTP Install

[Paul Higgins]

Wish I could help you more on this, but I've never done a net install before.  
I've only read about it recently, in the Debian install manual.  (My rather 
outdated x86 work machine runs Debian 3.1r2 "Sarge", as does my G4 machine at 
home).

First of all, I'd rule out the obvious and make sure that the CDs are not 
faulty.  Can you boot them on any other Mac?  You should be able to boot your 
G5 with them (I can boot my dual G5 with the YDL 4.0.1 CDs as well as the 
latest PPC version of Debian).

Furthermore, are you absolutely sure that the replacement combo drive will not 
boot on the Powerbook (e.g. did you try a known good boot CD like OS X)?  
Because usually the Other World Computer people are pretty good with 
compatibility issues (I've done business with them myself).  If that is 
really the case, and you're committed to installing YDL rather than some 
other version of Linux, then I'd seriously consider getting a refund or 
exchange on the drive.  It may be possible to do a net install of YDL, but 
I'll bet that it's not a trivial matter, and certainly there's no 
blow-by-blow in the install guide that TerraSoft provides.

I really hate to sound like a broken record here when it comes to my 
enthusiasm for Debian, but if you want to try it you can download the 3.1r2 
install manual here:

<http://www.debian.org/releases/sarge/installmanual>

The Debian install manual has a whole section on net installation, I think 
using a flash drive as a ramdisk to boot into the Debian installer.  I'd also 
recommend picking up "Debian 3.1 Bible" at any good bookstore, as the Debian 
install manual does not cover getting the GUI up and running, believe it or 
not.  (Unfortunately, the book only comes with the x86 version of Debian, so 
you'll still have to do some downloading).

There are some other possibilities as well: you may be able to boot off an 
external Firewire optical drive (maybe even a Firewire hard drive, I can't 
remember if this is supported by Powerbooks).  With a sufficiently large 
Flash drive (1 GB) you could install the first YDL disc as an image and boot 
from that (again, assuming this is supported).  You could even install YDL on 
some other Mac and then use Carbon Copy Cloner to copy the install to your 
Powerbook, but I have no idea about whether YDL will work if you do this.  

-PRH

On Sunday 17 September 2006 16:12, Mark Christal wrote:
> I purchased the cadillac of YDL distros with installation support,
> but haven't been able to get YDL installed because the combo drive on
> my  G4 Powerbook was faulty and the replacement drive I purchased
> from Other World Computer is not fully Mac compatible so that I can't
> boot up on the YDL install disk.  YDL installation support suggest I
> do an "HTTP Install" and promised that information on how to do that
> can be found on the YDL lists.  However, I can't find discussion that
> explains how to do that in a way I can understand, so if anyone knows
> if and how I can do this, please respond.
>
> I am starting with a full set of the YDL installation disks and my G4
> Powerbook fully prepared to proceed with a dual-boot setup:  I have
> OS X on one partion, and half the drive( ~14 GB) partioned as "Free
> space."  I can connect to the Internet via DSL or WiFi and I have a
> G5 Power Mac I can network to. Now what?
>
>    --Mark Christal