Problem installing Linuxcnc on old Thinkpad

Hi. I have been trying all night to install Linuxcnc on an old IBM Thinkpad.

I am able to load up a copy of AntiX which is a live version of Linux just fine. That tells me my disk drive is fine and computer works. I'm using a Thinkpad because it's tough and has a parallel port. I am using a blank hard drive.

Since my Thinkpad 600e doesn't have an internet connection, I used a different computer to download the ISO image. With that DVD, I put it in the drive and restart the computer. I have selected the correct order of where the bios looks for an OS, because it works using the AntiX live version of Linux.

When I reset the computer, it spins the DVD and then comes up with the error number which means "No OS".

I'm wondering if the drive doesn't work with DVD's but does with CD's. Are these two different formats and the ISO file won't work?
Why can't there be a version of Linuxcnc that fits on a single CD? Like I said, it works when using AntiX.

Is there possibly some mis-match from using a 32 bit or 64 bit operating system?

What can I do? Maybe buy a USB to Sata adapter and use a different computer to transfer LinuxCNC to the hard drive directly? Would the LinuxCNC ISO file be in the right place for the bios to hand over control to the hard drive?

Do I need to flash the bios or something? Probably not because the AntiX software works.

Any help would be appreciated.

An old laptop like that almost certainly will not have good enough latency for running machinery with Linuxcnc.

When you tried to burn the Linuxcnc iso to the DVD how did you do that? Are you sure you burned the ISO to the DVD correctly? Does the DVD work in a computer with a known good DVD drive?

A Lappy that old may only have a CD-ROM drive, and they can not read a DVD. CDs and DVDs are different formats a DVD drive can read both, a CD drive can't.

The older versions of Linuxcnc ISOs could be installed on a CD. Here is a link to the last one that could be installed on CD.
linuxcnc.org/iso/ubuntu-10.04-linuxcnc2-i386.iso
I'd suggust trying one of those and testing the latency, just to see if your Thinkpad is worth the effort of trying to get the current version installed. (but I suspect it probably isn't.)

Linuxcnc's ISO is 32bit, and will work on a 64bit computer. (no that isn't the problem)

How did you install AntiX? Was that on a DVD, CD or USB? What ever method you used should work for Linuxcnc (aside from the current version of Linuxcnc not fitting on a CD.)

You shouldn't need to flash anything,

Well, if 366MHz isn't enough speed, then OK. I can get one of those old laptops you mentioned.

The way I burned the CD was by downloading the Weezy Linux image to a thumb drive, and then moving that to a Vista computer running Rufus. Using Rufus, we burnt a DVD. That DVD was then put into the laptop and used as the ISO image.

I'm 99% sure we did the burning correctly. We used new disks and also used 2 other varieties of boot-disk-making software. None of them worked.

I have not tried the ISO image on any other computers. It's something I could try though. I am at work right now, so can't do it immediately. It looks like it's OK, because the color of the disk changed slightly.

I actually have two Thinkpad 600E's. One disk drive doesn't say anything on the outside of it, the other does say DVD on it. I've been trying different combinations as it's easy to swap one for the other. Come to think of it, would the bios need to be reconfigured for a DVD drive?

Using an image that only uses one CD, rather than a DVD is something I can do at my next go at this. I can report back what happens.

The AntiX disk was given to me by a co-worker. I don't know his set up, really. I just popped it in and it worked. It might be either a CD or a DVD. I guess I could ask him the next time I see him. Also, come to think of it, I bought a CD set of Linux off of Amazon for $5.00 and those didn't work either. Those might be DVD's as well. That might be what the underlying issue is. A disk drive that only reads CD's. But since I have another drive that does say DVD on it that one should work, unless the bios aren't configured for that style of disk drive.

Thank you for your help, Todd. It is appreciated.

Well, if buying a T42 is what I need to do, that's OK. I just had two old Thinkpads with a parallel port on each. They are very rugged and I don't need to worry about them getting damaged because one was only $45 and the other was $200 but I got my money's worth already.

Thanks for the advice. I did a Mach3 install a few years ago, and adjusting a setting on the bios made a huge difference. It's esoteric knowledge, and relatively few people ever dig into bios settings to set up a computer for a CNC, so the rare people that know what to do are highly appreciated. I'm turning to Linux now because Windows locked me out one day, out of the blue. "Un-authorized copy" or something like that even though I had it for a year and bought the computer from CL.

I think suggesting a new user try to start out with such hardware and those ancient iso images, borders on cruel and unusual punishment. I suggest you pick up an old/refurbished desktop less than 10 years old and use the current software. In the end I think you'll be much happier.

Is he still your friend?