i would say, try it with another pc that has a good boot from lan pxe bios to test that your settings are working . . .
why don't you use my config files?
Yes, the idea of trying the LAN boot to another pc other than the laptop is good advice and learning exercise.
I was very surprised to realize how extensive the bios setup is on those university pc that I can access setup. I tried the ploplinux LAN boot after
changing the Integrated Netword Card settings from the default
ON to the choice
ON w/PXE Enabled -
there are no choices like that in the simple laptop bios - just LAN Boot Enable - so maybe the same effect.
And I've used your config files both at first and most recently ( but at first I didn't have the laptop client MAC address
for the hardware ethernet declaration line in dhcpd.conf ) but now with snort I have that MAC address (it is multicast MAC though).
I have used your config files nearly verbatim (except the full path used in
/etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf ? ). . .
# filename "/ploplinux/pxelinux.0";
filename "/tftpboot/ploplinux/pxelinux.0";
Anyway the university pc - done late last night at campus library just as I had to leave for closing -
had some differences . . . but hung at a
tftp>
prompt on the booting Dell pc.
Good learning experience as you said, especially with snort running on dhcp server / tftp server . . .
as that Dell pc Broadcom NIC is NOT a multicast MAC and the hardware ethernet declaration assigned the fixed-address IP ok - didn't boot plop after that first try.
I am approaching this all from
the tftp server now . . .
I wonder if I
even need a dhcp server with the laptop since it basically overrides any fixed-address I would try to assign by your config files or other ways.
I've learned there are other dhcp servers needed for multicast . . . or I do a zero configuration, unicast, anycast, yada yada yada (translate to German as etc.)(all new terms to me)
without any dhcp server at all - only tftp server.
So I will experiment (and learn more) with the tftp server only tonight - both trying to boot plop boot manager to the university Dell pc and my Sharp laptop.
Finally, a friend brings me an old floppy disk tomorrow -
I learned the laptop bios floppy drive probably is for a USB floppy since the laptop doesn't have a floppy drive -
so I may be trying your instructions etc. about plop boot manager from a floppy using the linux command
Linux: dd if=plpbt.img of=/dev/fd0
http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager.html#noinstallThanks for all your help, education, and understanding.