On 4/7/2011 8:14 AM, Markus Falb wrote: >>> I thought I did that a long time ago. Put the small boot.img file that is >>> in the /images on the CD or DVD isos on a USB drive (you can use a >>> loopback mount to get it if you can't find a place to download it >>> separately), boot from it, pick nfs as the install method, and point it to >>> the directory containing the CD >>> iso images that you have under an NFS export on another box. > > ... > >> But when I said "simple" I really meant >> "following official methods and instructions given by Them, >> the CentOS powers-that-be". >> >> I assume that the lack of a CD drive on the HP micro-server >> is a sign of things to come, >> so I would hope there would be an official method of installing CentOS >> on such a machine. >> > > I think what Les suggested is one official supported method as outlined > in the Installation Guide. How "official" do you want it ? Here's the prompt you'll see and what it means: http://docs.redhat.com/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/5/html-single/Installation_Guide/index.html#s1-begininstall-nfs-x86 > I prefer PXE, but thats also not "simple", and not possible in every > environment, colocations for instance. There is one quirk about USB booting that I forgot: it is likely to confuse the installer's concept of disk names and where to install grub. I do nfs installs all the time because it is quicker/easier than swapping CDs in machines that don't have a DVD drive, but I normally burn the first disk and use 'linux askmethod' at the boot prompt. But, if grub isn't automatically installed right automatically, you can get into a shell with ctl-alt-F-something (F2 or F4, I think) and fix it before rebooting, or you should be able to boot even the boot.img into rescue mode - you just have to point it at the media again. -- Les Mikesell lesmikesell at gmail.com