From owner-cvs-all  Wed May 26  9:28:42 1999
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From: Robert Nordier <rnordier@nordier.com>
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Subject: Re: cvs commit: src/sys/i386/boot/biosboot table.c
In-Reply-To: <199905261550.VAA16036@mail.cgu.chel.su> from Andrey Zakhvatov at "May 26, 1999 09:50:14 pm"
To: andy@cgu.chel.su (Andrey Zakhvatov)
Date: Wed, 26 May 1999 18:25:04 +0200 (SAST)
Cc: sobomax@altavista.net, rnordier@nordier.com, bde@zeta.org.au,
	brian@Awfulhak.org, cvs-all@FreeBSD.ORG, cvs-committers@FreeBSD.ORG
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> > > > Anyone else with reasons to keep the /sys/i386/boot/* (except netboot)
> > > > code around any longer?
> > > _ Have we method to load kernel from DOS partition?
> > > _ I mean ability to have pseudo-diskless workstations with biosboot
> > > and kernel image on local disk for users that must have ability to
> > > work on FreeBSD-based X terminals, for example.
> >
> > Yes, /boot/loader autors claims that loader also can load kernel out of
> > FAT/FAT32 partition, so you can make diskette with /boot/loader and write
> > corresponding loader.rc script to load kernel out of a DOS partition.
> 
>   Ok, but it can't helps me to save some diskettes :(
>   And I prefer using DOS utility like biosboot.exe, which can be running
> from user menu. It's strange to use additional diskette (with very short
> life time).

You're thinking of dosboot (fbsdboot.exe): biosboot is just the
old boot1 and boot2.

The issue with dosboot is that it hasn't changed in four years,
and it can't be built with the FreeBSD toolchain; so there's no
real real reason for keeping it in the source tree.

Like other DOS programs useful for FreeBSD (fdimage.exe or fips.exe,
for instance), fbsdboot.exe can always be made available in the

    pub/FreeBSD/tools

on ftp.freebsd.org (and mirror sites, CD-ROMs, etc).

So deleting it from the source tree won't make matters any worse
... and may even improve them, since it allows some DOS programmer
without commit priviledges to actually maintain it.

--
Robert Nordier


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