A.2.2.3 No Bootable DVD Drive Available
If your computer does not contain a bootable DVD-ROM drive or if the one you have
is not supported by Linux, there are several options you can install your machine
without a built-in DVD drive:
Using an External Boot Device
If it is supported by your BIOS and the installation kernel, boot from external DVD
drives or USB storage devices.
Network Boot via PXE
If a machine lacks a DVD drive, but provides a working ethernet connection,
perform a completely network-based installation. See Section “Remote Installation
via VNC—PXE Boot and Wake on LAN” (Chapter 2, Remote Installation, ↑Refer-
ence) and Section “Remote Installation via SSH—PXE Boot and Wake on LAN”
(Chapter 2, Remote Installation, ↑Reference) for details.
External Boot Devices
Linux supports most existing DVD drives. If the system has neither a DVD drive nor
a oppy disk, it is still possible that an external DVD drive, connected through USB,
FireWire, or SCSI, can be used to boot the system. This depends mainly on the inter-
action of the BIOS and the hardware used. Sometimes a BIOS update may help if
you encounter problems.
When installing from a KDE or GNOME Live CD, you can also create a “Live USB stick”
to boot from. Refer to http://en.opensuse.org/Live_USB_stick for detailed instruc-
tions.
A.2.2.4 Booting from Installation Media Fails
One reason why a machine does not boot the installation media can be an incorrect
boot sequence setting in BIOS. The BIOS boot sequence must have DVD drive set as
the rst entry for booting. Otherwise the machine would try to boot from another
medium, typically the hard disk. Guidance for changing the BIOS boot sequence can
be found the documentation provided with your motherboard, or in the following
paragraphs.
The BIOS is the software that enables the very basic functions of a computer. Moth-
erboard vendors provide a BIOS specically made for their hardware. Normally, the
BIOS setup can only be accessed at a specic time—when the machine is booting.
During this initialization phase, the machine performs a number of diagnostic hard-
ware tests. One of them is a memory check, indicated by a memory counter. When
the counter appears, look for a line, usually below the counter or somewhere at the
bottom, mentioning the key to press to access the BIOS setup. Usually the key to
press is one of [Del], [F1], or [Esc]. Press this key until the BIOS setup screen appears.
Procedure A.1: Changing the BIOS Boot Sequence
1 Enter the BIOS using the proper key as announced by the boot routines and
wait for the BIOS screen to appear.
Help and Troubleshooting 245
