I'm trying to install a dual boot system. I'm running WinME on the original hard drive (C), and now I want to install Mandrake 9.2 on my new hard disk (D). So far, I have downloaded the 3 install CD iso files, and put them in a directory C:/mandrake/install. I've verified the md5 sums and these are correct. I have created a boot floppy from the hd.img file, and this also seems to be OK. I've formatted the D drive, and created a single, primary DOS partition on it. The hard drives are configured with D as master and C as slave. The C drive consists of a single FAT32/Windows partition. Now for the problem. I boot from the floppy, the Mandrake install program starts up, and it asks me where I've put the iso files. I enter the partition (C drive) and then the directory "mandrake/install", and it says that it can't find the files (more specifically, "I need the subdirectory /Mandrake/base..."). However it lists the files in this directory and of course these are the 3 iso's that I need... So...how do I get the installer to recognise the iso files and install them? Do I need to partition my hard drive(s) in some particular way beforehand? Thank you in advance for your help!

Sounds like you need to unpack those ISO files first before you can install it from a HD!!! On the other hands, why not burn those ISO files as image files onto CDs and install it from there? Shouldn't it be easier that way??? I don't know why sometimes people just make it harder for themselves then they have to. taurus

No, Its possible to install from iso images placed on a partition... I dunno about mandrake, but its no big deal. I think redhat also supports that. All the installer has to do is mount the ISO image (with mount -o loop) just as it mounts a CD.

Thank you both for your input. Audiophile: would you mind explaining that last sentence for me? What is "mount -o loop"? And how exactly do I implement this? Taurus: I did indeed try burning the ISO's on to CD first, and this only caused more pain and anguish...that's why I'm trying to install from the hard drive specifically. I daresay I can find a utility to unpack the ISO images, but how do I proceed from there? Isn't the boot floppy expecting to find ISO's rather than unpacked files? Do I need to fix up any partitions first, or is that all handled by the install program (assuming I can get it started)?

The biggest problem for most people new to linux is how to burn thos ISO images correctly so that you can boot it up using the first CD!!! It depends on what program you use but if you head over to www.linuxiso.org and read up on how to do that (left side), then you shouldn't have all those headaches... It works for me everytime!!! And by the way, if you want to mount your ISO using "-o loop," you need to have Linux running first on your system... I don't believe you can do that with Windows although you sure can use WinISO or UltraISO to unpack the ISO images!!! So, I recommend you burn those ISO files as image files, not data to ensure that you can boot from them or at least the first CD. It's up to you... taurus

Thats exactly what I was saying, when the mandrake installer is started, its obviously done in a fully functional system, so there should be no problem in loading fat32 fs modules, location the ISO and mounting it. maerong, I think you should read the Mandrake Installation FAQ, and the Documentation provided on the CD, I'm very sure they have explained how to install from ISO images on the HD.

I've got the answer to this now. Apparently there's a bug in the Mandrake installer, it doesn't work with more than one ISO image in the folder. The solution was to unpack the ISO's (I used UltraISO, WinISO seems to cost money now) and copy the RPM's 2 and 3 into the Mandrake folder. Re-booted from the installation floppy and everything worked perfectly!