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Ubuntu GNU/Linux on a Sharp PC-CV50F

Please note: I've switched to running Debian on my Sharp PC-CV50F since I wrote this page.

My Sharp PC-CV50F finally arrived (don't ask). Here is how I installed Ubuntu GNU/Linux on it.

Connecting

The Sharp PC-CV50F acts as a USB-harddrive ("DirectHD") if you plug it in to another computer via the tiny USB-port on the right side. So I did that, and the machine showed up as a usb-storage device - /dev/sdb on my desktop machine.

Partitioning/filesystem

I quickly used fdisk to remove all the Windows-partitions (I did leave the "Dell Utility" partition there, I don't know if I should have), and created a /dev/sdb1 for most of the space and /dev/sdb2 for around 1GB of swap.

It's preferable to remember to mark sdb1 bootable.

topper:~# fdisk -l /dev/sdb

Disk /dev/sdb: 20.0 GB, 20003880960 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 2432 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1   *           1        2296    18442588+  83  Linux
/dev/sdb2            2297        2426     1044225   82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb3            2427        2432       48195   de  Dell Utility
topper:~# 

Then I created an XFS filesystem on /dev/sdb1 (mkfs.xfs /dev/sdb1) and prepared /dev/sdb2 as swap (mkswap /dev/sdb2).

Installing (debootstrap)

The new XFS-partition was mounted on /mnt/hodja on my desktop. I got an Ubuntu GNU/Linux 5.04 hoary Install cd and put the files from that in /var/local/ (my desktop machine does not have a cd-rom drive either).

Following the instructions in Appendix C.4.2 on the cd: file:///cdrom/ubuntu/doc/install/manual/en/apcs04.html I downloaded a debootstrap.deb-package and installed it.

Unset all LC_* variables beforee running debootstrap! (POSIX or C is probably fine).

I then started debootstrap, still following the instructions in the manual, and it started installing the system on /mnt/hodja:

/usr/sbin/debootstrap --arch i386 hoary /mnt/hodja file:/var/local/ubuntu

This ended with the very nice message: 'Base system installed successfully.'

Manual installation chores

Set up /mnt/hodja/etc/fstab:

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
/dev/hda1       /               xfs     defaults        0       0
/dev/hda2       none            swap    sw              0       2
proc            /proc           proc    defaults        0       0
sys             /sys            sysfs   defaults        0       0

Edit /mnt/hodja/etc/hostname and /mnt/hodja/etc/hosts:

hodja
127.0.0.1       hodja.koldfront.dk hodja localhost

Networking in /etc/network/interfaces:

# Used by ifup(8) and ifdown(8). See the interfaces(5) manpage or
# /usr/share/doc/ifupdown/examples for more information.

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp

chroot

Then I chroot into the new machine: chroot /mnt/hodja and, remember this!, mount /proc (otherwise /proc/partitions is not available, and funny things may very well happen - like no IDE-driver loaded in your initrd...)

To still have my files available under /var/local, I do this:

mount -o bind /var/local /mnt/hodja/var/local

Setting up the base-system

Set up locale and keyboard by running 'dpkg-reconfigure locales console-data'. Chose en_DK.UTF-8.

I had to make an /etc/apt/sources.list myself:

deb file:/var/local/ubuntu hoary main restricted

Install lilo and linux-image-2.6.10-5-386 with apt-get. The initrd.img made can go wrong (no IDE-driver loaded on boot!) if your fstab has sdb* in it, for instance.

Run liloconfig - change fstab to read sdb1/2 before!

Change boot to /dev/sdb in lilo.conf - run lilo.

Change fstab back. You'll need to change lilo.conf when you have booted the new machine.

base-config

Run /usr/sbin/base-config new

This starts a host of daemons on the desktop machine, that I just shut down (gdm being the most odd one).

Wireless networking

Install linux-wlan-ng

Add 1280x768 to /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Boot!

Unmount /mnt/hodja/var/local, /mnt/hodja, remove the usb-cable and power the machine up.

Fix lilo.conf, add append="i8042.nomux" from Debian-link below, run lilo

Links

Ubuntu

Debian

Japan

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