Date: Sat, 13 Jul 2002 16:32:01 +0200 From: Szilveszter Adam <sziszi@bsd.hu> To: Ross Lippert <ripper@eskimo.com> Cc: nik@FreeBSD.ORG, blackend@FreeBSD.ORG, vdvanham@xs4all.nl, freebsd-doc@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: docs/40265: bootfloppies Message-ID: <20020713143201.GC805@fonix.adamsfamily.xx> In-Reply-To: <200207131350.GAA26131@eskimo.com> References: <20020707150214.GE5610@canyon.nothing-going-on.org> <200207131350.GAA26131@eskimo.com>
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On Sat, Jul 13, 2002 at 06:50:39AM -0700, Ross Lippert wrote: > > When I was installing from floppies years ago, I also got hung up > on kern.flp versus boot.flp. Was boot.flp ever anything? Yes, it was (and on -STABLE AFAIK still is) used to generate the bootable first CD of the FreeBSD installation set to correspond to the El Torrito standard. Lately, at least on -CURRENT, a new method of generating bootable CDs has been put into operation (which uses no "fake" boot floppy image, and works like the one from Windows NT) and AFAIR it might be the default by the time 5.0 comes out. This however does not alter the fact that boot.flp was wrongly named all along, and there was only a README file to warn the user about this in the appropriate ftp directory. So, if you did not read the Handbook installation chapter first, you instinctively downloaded the wrong image (and later wondered why it didn't fit on a floppy!) Also, the description has always been rather vague, for example AFAIR it did not even mention that this image was for CD-ROM generation (and as such, only used by 'make release') More, at one point I recall it talked about some "2.88 meg floppy drives" although I really cannot remember such a beast (but it may have existed). Also, I just looked up an up-to-date copy of the Handbook, and it is really confusing that it talks about having to download different floppy images based on even possibly the hardware you are installing to. Although there are plans to move some loadable kernel modules to a third floppy in the future, AFAIK there is no official RELEASE of FreeBSD that needs more than two images up till this day. (But then again, this also may be a historical relict from somewhere in the deep past...) Also, the README.TXT in the floppies directory of the FTP server seems to contain an earlier version of the installation chapter of the Handbook, but I may be wrong here. If so, it really ought to be changed to something else, because it not only duplicates existing content but duplicates it possibly incorrectly.:-P Instead, a quick table-of-contents would be more appropriate there, to tell you quickly what each of the images are good for. Unfortunately, these files are not under the control of the The FreeBSD Documentation Project as of now... -- Regards: Szilveszter ADAM Szombathely Hungary To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-doc" in the body of the message
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