Date: Tue, 2 Apr 1996 23:14:31 -0700 (MST) From: Dave Andersen <angio@shell.aros.net> To: dcv@panix.com (Dimitri Vlahakis) Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Booting large (>1024cyl)ide from floppy? Message-ID: <199604030614.XAA07696@shell.aros.net> In-Reply-To: <199604022216.RAA26557@panix.com> from Dimitri Vlahakis at "Apr 2, 96 05:16:11 pm"
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Lo and behold, Dimitri Vlahakis once said:
> I would like to do the same with freebsd, ie boot my system from the floppy
> drive (since the kernel probably can deal with the hard drive, just the
> bios boot code seems to be the problem.) Is there any way to install just
> the kernel to a floppy disk and have it access the hard drive to load the
> rest of the file system? Or at least enough of the kernel so that it will
> not use the bios boot code?
I think this is almost deserving of FAQ status. :-)
To create the floppy that you boot from:
Assumptions:
You're using fd0 as the floppy
There's really a floppy in there. :-)
First, you need to give the disk a label:
disklabel -w -B fd0 fd1200 (I believe you can also use fd1440)
-w = write a new lael
-B = means to make the disk bootable (implies -r)
fd0 = the floppy drive to use
fd1200 = the format to write the drive
new
Then you need to write a filesystem to the disk:
newfs -t 2 -u 15 -i 65536 -l1 /dev/rfd0a
-t 2 = The number of tracks/cylinder. Defaults to 1.
-u 15 = the number of sectors/track. Defaults to only 4096.
-i 65536 = Byte per inode. Makes the disk use many fewer
inodes to save space, because you're putting one big
file on it.
-l1 = the interleave ratio
Next, mount the drive so you can access it:
mount /dev/fd0a /mnt (or wherever you want it)
Then copy your kernel to the drive:
cp kernel /mnt/kernel
And then unmount the drive:
umount /mnt
> I'm not sure if it would be sufficient for me to just type hd(1,c) or
> something to that effect when the partition choice is given by the
> install disk.
As far as I know, you can do so. I've never tried to boot off a setup
like you've described, though. Give it a shot. :-)
-Dave Andersen
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