Howto: Install Opensuse Without A Cd

[tuxcantfly]

Main Website At http://lubi.sourceforge.net/unetbootin.html

What This Does

It's an installer for Windows or Linux users that lets you install OpenSuse 10.3 or the Factory version without a CD. The way it works is that a small (8 MB) installer places the PXE (netboot) version of the OpenSuse installer on your hard drive, and configures your boot loader, either NTLDR if using Windows, or GRUB if using Linux, to boot from the PXE installer, and downloads and installs OpenSuse from the net.

Requirements

You will need to either have a Windows (95-Vista) or Linux (any distro that uses GRUB) install already on your hard drive. You'll also need an internet connection. Apart from that, the requirements are the same as the standard OpenSuse 10.3 requirements.

Instructions

Download the appropriate installer package for openSUSE 10.3 or Factory from http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...roup_id=198821

If using Windows, download the .exe file, if using OpenSuse, Fedora, or another rpm-based distro, download the .rpm file, if using Ubuntu, Debian, or another deb-based distro, download the .deb file, and if using a distro that doesn't support rpm or deb, download the sh file.

Then, install the package, and reboot. A menu entry should appear in the boot menu, titled "UNetbootin". Select that entry, and boot.

If installing openSUSE, after rebooting, ignore any error messages and select back if prompted for a CD, then go to the main menu, select the "Start Installation" option, choose "Network" as the source, choose "HTTP" as the protocol, and for the server, specify:

download.opensuse.org

and for the folder, if installing openSUSE 10.3, specify:

distribution/10.3/repo/oss/

Or, if installing openSUSE-Factory, specify:

distribution/SL-OSS-factory/inst-source/

Then, the main installer will start, and wait as OpenSuse is downloaded and installed.

More

UNetbootin also supports Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandriva, Arch Linux, and Debian. Post a reply if you need any help, new features, or another supported distro. The website is located at http://lubi.sourceforge.net/unetbootin.html

[tuxcantfly]

I also posted this thread on the Suse Forums at http://www.suseforums.net/index.php?showtopic=39081 and the main UNetbootin thread with instructions for Ubuntu is at http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=3411879

[tuxcantfly]

Also, in case you don't know the server details for the installation, use this:

Select "FTP" as the installation source option

server: ftp.mirrorservice.org
folder: sites/ftp.opensuse.org/pub/opensuse/distribution/10.2/repo/oss/

You can also use other mirrors, see http://en.opensuse.org/INSTALL_Internet for details.

[BLTicklemonster]

Hmmm, so I'm using hda7 as my main gutsy drive, and want to partition and set up suse on my hdd1 drive (partition so I keep some files I have in there safe), will I have an easy time doing this, or will it be a nightmare? (I also have two other partitions/drives that I want to keep safe. One is more storage space, the other is windows xp)

[tuxcantfly]

Hmmm, so I'm using hda7 as my main gutsy drive, and want to partition and set up suse on my hdd1 drive (partition so I keep some files I have in there safe), will I have an easy time doing this, or will it be a nightmare? (I also have two other partitions/drives that I want to keep safe. One is more storage space, the other is windows xp)

Just don't delete the drives when you get to the partitioning stage, and you should be safe. I'd do the partitioning beforehand with GParted, that way you can be sure that everything's ready for the Suse installer; just make sure to do manual partitioning and select the partition you made beforehand as root; otherwise it might try to wipe out other partitions. Other than that, for the bootloader, I'd just keep Ubuntu's bootloader, and add an entry like this:

Title OpenSuse
root (hd3,1)
configfile /boot/grub/menu.lst

That way you'll be able to keep your current bootloader config and also be able to boot openSuse. I'd also keep a Super Grub Disk handy to fix GRUB in case something goes terribly wrong and GRUB won't boot.

[BLTicklemonster]

Super Grub Disk?

[tuxcantfly]

Super Grub Disk?

It's a handy CD that lets you fix GRUB in case you totally screw it up and can't boot anymore. It's not necessary for this, but it's generally good to have, in case of a system emergency. http://supergrub.forjamari.linex.org/

[LuisAugusto]

You can install basely all Distros without a CD.
I have "create" (possibly a lot of people thought it before myself) a method:

-Create a 5 GB partition (with 1 GB is enought for most cases).*
-Download the desire ISO image.
-Put it on the new partition.
-Extract the kernel file and the initrd (in SuSE: Linux and initrd)
-Reboot.

-On the grub menu press "e"
-On the root option, write the drive number (if sda1=hd0,0 if sda2=hd0,1 and so on)
-On the kernel option write: /linux (in SuSE case)
-On the initrd option write: /initrd

You'll boot. Then select Installation/update from hard drive.
Then write the name location of the iso file, for example:
/opensuse103.iso

And you know the rest

*As a side note: You can even make everything I pointed out, without making a partition, however, during the instalation you won't be able to modify (resize, erase, etc.) the partition that host the kernel, initrd and iso files.

[tuxcantfly]

You can install basely all Distros without a CD.
I have "create" (possibly a lot of people thought it before myself) a method:

-Create a 5 GB partition (with 1 GB is enought for most cases).*
-Download the desire ISO image.
-Put it on the new partition.
-Extract the kernel file and the initrd (in SuSE: Linux and initrd)
-Reboot.

-On the grub menu press "e"
-On the root option, write the drive number (if sda1=hd0,0 if sda2=hd0,1 and so on)
-On the kernel option write: /linux (in SuSE case)
-On the initrd option write: /initrd

You'll boot. Then select Installation/update from hard drive.
Then write the name location of the iso file, for example:
/opensuse103.iso

And you know the rest

*As a side note: You can even make everything I pointed out, without making a partition, however, during the instalation you won't be able to modify (resize, erase, etc.) the partition that host the kernel, initrd and iso files.

Only problem with that is that you need a Linux install already before you can install Linux, as most Windows users have only 1 partition so they wouldn't be able to do the resizing bit if they have the iso on the desktop already.

[tuxcantfly]

I've released a new build that can install opensuse 10.3 as well. Do the same as with 10.2, only for the server details, select "http", and enter the following:

server: download.opensuse.org
folder: distribution/10.3/repo/oss/