Installation can be tricky on a machine with 4 megabytes of RAM or less. Here
are a few tricks that can be helpful if you run into problems. (Symptoms might
include: system hangs while booting the bootdisk; root password required on the
rootdisk; inability to run "fdisk" or "mkswap"; and many more, I'm sure...)

If you have DOS and a 5 1/4" floppy drive, you can save 240K by using Loadlin
in conjunction with a 5 1/4" rootdisk. Here's how:

1. Make the rootdisk using RAWRITE.EXE.
2. Unzip lodlin15.zip (look in /kernels) in a directory on your DOS partition.
3. Select an appropriate kernel from a subdirectory under /kernels. The
   /bootdsks.12/WHICH.ONE document might be helpful in selecting the proper
   one for your hardware. Copy it into the directory where you put loadlin.
4. Put the rootdisk into the floppy drive, and use this command to load it:

   loadlinx scsi root=b: ramdisk=1200
            ^^^^      ^^
            ||||      This should be the drive you put the disk in.
            This is the name of the kernel you selected.

Then, install as usual.

------

There will be times when even that method doesn't save enough memory to allow
installation. Here's another method that may possibly even allow installation
to a machine with 2 megabytes:

1. If you have a second floppy drive, great -- you'll want to use that for the
   rootdisk. If not, you'll have to make due with the rootdisk in your boot
   drive. With the rootdisk in the boot drive you won't be able to install from
   floppy disks or make a bootdisk at the end of the installation process, 
   since the disk will be "mounted" in the boot drive and cannot be removed (no
   matter what the screen tells you) until the machine is rebooted. Make a 
   rootdisk using RAWRITE.EXE for the floppy drive you selected.
2. Unzip lodlin15.zip (look in /kernels) in a directory on your DOS partition.
3. Select an appropriate kernel from a subdirectory under /kernels. The
   /bootdsks.12/WHICH.ONE document might be helpful in selecting the proper
   one for your hardware. Copy it into the directory where you put loadlin.
4. Put the rootdisk (NOT write protected) into the floppy drive, and use this
   command to boot it:

   loadlinx scsi root=b: ramdisk=0
            ^^^^      ^^
            ||||      This should be the drive you put the disk in.
            This is the name of the kernel you selected.


Then, install Linux. If you're using the boot floppy drive for the rootdisk,
you will not be able to install from floppy disks. DON'T take the rootdisk out
of the floppy drive for any reason during the installation! Also, since scratch
files may be written to the rootdisk, you'll want to start with a fresh copy if
you need to start over for some reason.

Once installed, you'll need to have a way to start your new system. If you were
lucky enough to have a second floppy drive to use for your rootdisk, then you'll
be able to make a bootdisk at the end of the installation process. This is 
highly recommended. If your boot drive is occupied by the rootdisk, then you've
got two options: Loadlin (a method of booting from DOS) or LILO. And, if you're
using the UMSDOS filesystem then Loadlin is your only choice.

To boot the system with loadlin, you'll use a command similar to the one you
used to start the rootdisk, but you'll replace a: or b: with the name of the
device you're using for your root Linux partition, like this:

   loadlinx scsi root=/dev/hda2 ramdisk=0

Once your machine is up and running, you'll probably want to switch to a
different kernel, such as one of the ones on the A or Q series. The kernels in 
the /kernels directory are designed for installation and aren't as full-featured
as some of the other ones. Or, you could compile a custom kernel especially for
your machine from the source code in /usr/src/linux. This will provide optimal
performance, since it won't contain any unnecessary drivers.

Good luck, people!

Pat