Loading Linux on an older Notebook

I am trying to re-utilize an old ultra-rugged Getac M220 notebook. It was an XP machine but I am going to put some lightweight Linux Distro on it. The problem is it only have a CD drive and the BIOS will not boot from the USB port, ergo I can not just install from a flashdrive. I do not want to invest much in this piece of yestertech.

I am thinking that there must be some application that will allow me to boot from CD but install the OS from a flash drive.

Has anyone heard of a program like this?

Thanks!

 

I would suggest creating a bootable live/install CD for Bodhi Linux Install Bodhi Linux | Distro Geeks
If you want to try here is a link to the iso file Bodhi Linux (Bodhi is based on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, there is also a 14.04 based version)
Bodhi Linux - Browse /3.0.0-beta at SourceForge.net I would suggest the x86 beta

 

Given the 855 chipset and a LV Dothan CPU, you'll need something fairly light - especially if the RAM is not maxed out - to get this oldie to behave properly in this day and age.

I'd suggest downloading several "live" CDs from various distros (Mint, Fedora...), testing them out and verifying which one works the best on that particular piece of hardware, then installing it.

Good luck.

 

Boot from USB without BIOS Support via PLoP CD | USB Pen Drive Linux

 

Thanks for all the advice guys, it is appreciated, but Alexahawker wins the prize! My problem with "live CD's" is that they are actually "live DVD's" and I do not want to invest in a DVD drive for this old computer! : )

As to distros, I am thinking of Navatrex or Lubunto.

 

^ this. I used it earlier this year and it worked brilliant.

 

Wow, that is an old laptop. I can understand not wanting to invest any money into it.

As far as a distro is concerned, you could try Arch with a very lightweight WM on top or just pure CLI.

 

Debian still makes CD images for its KDE, XFCE and LXDE flavours:
Index of /debian-cd/7.6.0/amd64/iso-cd

 

Being a Mint man, I was unaware of that Debian still produced CD ISO's. Thanks, rep given.

 

The link I gave was for 64 bit ISOs. The M220's Pentium M 738 is 32 bit so this link is more appropriate:
Index of /debian-cd/7.6.0/i386/iso-cd

XFCE or LXDE should be pretty snappy on those things.

 

Great tip Ko-Niner above. Azrial, you could try the directions found here: Boot From a USB Drive Even if your BIOS Won’t Let You
It's supposed to provide a work-a-round for just what you'd like to do (I think). I'll burn a couple of cd's later after work of distros that should work for you and send them off.
Here seems to be several choices that should work also:
https://www.osdisc.com/products/linux/32bit/oldcomputers

Take care:hi2:

 

Also please come back and let us know how it runs and what distro you go with. I'm sure you'll be mainly using it for the basics like Internet and Email, but would be great to hear how it works as in speed. Thanks.

 

Since you already know how to boot from Live USB, I will just give my suggestion for the OS, as I had quite some experience with it over the last year. Supposing that you do not want to spend too much time setting it up (if you did, I'd go Arch), I would put my choices in this order:

Manjaro Netbook edition:
★ low ram requirements (~190MB)
★ slim, but still functional and fairly modern interface (stripped-down XFCE) unlike the LXDE versions which do work, but you do miss some things
★ largest screen real-estate: small taskbar + removal of windows title bars (very functional) = more space for the actual content of windows, which is important on small/low resolution screens
★ access to virtually all existing linux software from AUR (don't underestimate it for old machines). And all software is most up-to-date.


Manjaro LXDE edition:
★ lowest ram requirements (~120MB)
★ access to virtually all existing linux software from AUR (don't underestimate it for old machines). And all software is most up-to-date.

Lubuntu (LXDE edition):
★ lowest ram requirements (~120MB)
- ugly and horrible to update
- less functional than Manjaro LXDE, less software and quite dated

Mind you, even though you might have an old laptop, it is still beneficial to have access to the latest possible software. For example, if you use BTRFS on your disk, which will boost its performance and reliability, you always want to use the latest kernel and btrfs-progs packages.