install to an existing fat32 (windows xp) partition?

[galocza]

hello world!

i have a special project. id like to use my netbook (a lenovo edge e135) as a 'photobank'. besides the windows xp i need a small, fast operating system which does the following: after selecting it in a boot menu it starts, moves some files (pictures, maybe 1 or 2 videos) from 2 partitions of an sdcard to a fat32/ntfs partition using some kind of disk cache and then shuts down the device.
i tried to do it with dr-dos (enhanced), managed to install it, wrote the batch file but i failed to make it recognize the card reader didnt matter which usb driver i tried (and theres a few).
so id like to achieve the above in linux. we had a few run-ins but im quite illiterate in linuxish. i looked around the net and found tiny core. well i though it doesnt get much smaller than this, this is what i need - no desktop, unnecessary software and if i want it only a prompt. all i needed to have it installed onto the hdd and to an existing fat32 partition. writing the script, learning how to compiling kernel (if it doesnt contain driver for the card reader) are problems for an another day. lets intall us some linux.
but i failed even in this. i downloaded, burnt and booted the following images, with the following results:

Core-current.iso
prompt only. what to do now?

CorePlus-current.iso
default flwm topside, desktop/tc_install: usb-hdd usb-zip and frugal only
x/gui (tinycore) + installation extension: prompt only
(tried most of the other ones too with similar results)

TinyCore-current.iso
boot tinycore: desktop, no menu item for install

multicore_4.0.1.iso
i thought heres my solution, followed the instrucions here (option 3):
well apparently i cant post 'external' links, its in the wiki, the title is 'Install Tinycore if you already have Windows'

microcore/tinycore
at the prompt i typed tcg or tci in vain (ive read in the forum that the latter might work). anyway, desktop loaded, i followed through the guide, install successful. booted xp, everything in tce directory: nice. booted up tiny core linux, error 15: file not found. damn.

please tell me, how could i get a version of tiny core linux running (with the prequisites above) on my machine? the leanest, smallest, fastest booting if possible?
i might not know much about linux but im very good at following instructions (though this didnt help me much with multicore).

thanks in advance, sorry if its too long or redundant,
g

[bmarkus]

Does your PC boot from USB?

Who will use it, you or and users (anybody else)?

Do you need a user interface or the goal is an automated transfer?

My starting approach would be to install nothing new on the PC but use an USB stick with Tiny Core (its is small, easier than a Core only in the beginning) and write application in Python. Fast, easy development, GUI can be made (Tkinter), etc. Just a personal preference.

[galocza]

thanks for your quick answer.

yes it boots from usb, both pendrive and external cd-rom.

only i will use it, security is not an issue.

no, i only need a core system with the card reader driver and a script to create directories on the hdd and move the files, yes, an automated transfer is my aim. the ideal process would look like this: put in sdcard-> open the lid-> press power button-> choose tiny core in bootloader (or set the timer to 1 sec if its possible, linux being the default system)-> linux boots up-> automated script starts-> after finishing shuts down the netbook-> i close lid.
i dont know if it goes to sleep mode or something if the lid is closed, but if the lid can be closed after the boot menu step all the better.

the main use would be me walking around a city, making material for timelapse videos (taking maybe hundreds but mostly thousands of pictures) and being able to transfer these to the netbook without much hassle - practically on the move (eg on a crowded metro or bus or standing on the street people shoving me from every direction). so i really dont want to boot from a pendrive. connecting and disconnecting one two more steps, sticking one out from the side one more chance for an accident, carrying one - well, one more thing to carry (besides extra card, extra batteries, tripod, lens cleaner, gorilla pod, another camera etc, etc .

i dont really need anything than the functionailty above, no gui, no networking capabilies, no support for any hardware except for the card reader, hdd, keyboard and display. what i need is to boot, move files, and shut down.

even if id manage finally install it the way id like, ill still have a few blocks in the road: my card reader isnt recognized (and the card i put in it of course). all the usb devices i plugged in it (the cd drive and 2 pendrives) work fine however. i have the appropriate driver for it though - but first things first, i need a working system .

thanks again for taking an interest,
g

ps: and my name is géza. not joking.

[bmarkus]

Are you from Budapest?

[galocza]

no, i live in zalaegerszeg.

[bmarkus]

no, i live in zalaegerszeg.

Is there a metro ?

[galocza]

no bu there are in london, dublin - or munich where ill be in a week from now...

[bmarkus]

no bu there are in london, dublin - or munich where ill be in a week from now...

OK, így már értem

[bmarkus]

When TC is running and you insert a FAT formatted SD card, does its mounting point appears in /mnt ? If not, is it formatted on WINDOWS? Check its partition table with fdisk and post it here.

[galocza]

no, although i can mount any number of usb devices. it seems the kernel doesnt contain drivers for the card reader. i have them, downloaded from the realtek website.
but i could only try mounting an sdcard with tc booted from the cd.
card has 2 partitions, a 2mb fat12 and the rest, ~16gb fat32, formatted under windows.

EDIT ps: i lied there isnt a metro in dublin. but theres tram, and the principle is the same

EDIT2: just for funsies i connected the sdcard by a card reader (that cheap chinese pendrive looking kind, nothing extra) and as expected both partitions could be mounted from it.