Kali linux install and network problem

I have recently install Kali Linux on a older machine and used a network install and the first error i ran into was the mirror archive error so i chose not to use one, however when I booted first, I was stuck in a terminal, I had no network ability, (I'm using Ethernet) and i was unable to update and install packages. Also tools like iwconfig and network manager don't exist on the system. I'm pretty stuck and any hint would help

details:
older system (don't know exact type but late 19s system if i had to guess)
1 GB of ddr ram
installing using a 700 MB CD

network install is, by definition, 'bare bones' and without adding a repo, it can't install any extra tools on those bare bones.. that includes drivers and many applications..

Does your system have a USB slot?
if it does, download a more complete ISO image and write it to a USB stick and boot from it to install, and even without network access, you will get a more 'complete' system.

Most of the (SOLVED) posts I've seen on this issue are people installing Kali as a VM and are due to insufficient hard drive partition alocation. The fixes suggest boosting to 40gigs partition and it seems to fix the user's problem.
I'm given a few options while selecting the amount of the hard drive I'm trying to use, and I've tried all of them to rule out this as a solution. IE "use entire disc", "use biggest open space", etc