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From: craig@tuna.progroup.com (Craig W. Shaver)
Message-Id: <199711131644.IAA18340@ProGroup.COM>
Subject: Re: MBR on a floppy disk, possible?
To: Emmanuel.Duros@sophia.inria.fr
Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 08:44:53 -0800 (PST)
Cc: questions@FreeBSD.ORG
In-Reply-To: <199711131051.LAA18058@chouette.inria.fr> from "Emmanuel Duros" at Nov 13, 97 11:51:41 am
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> 
> 
> Hi,
> 
> I have got a PC with 2 HDs.
> 
> On the first PC I already have NT installed. The second HD is a removable
> HD on which I am installing FreeBSD.
> 
> I want to leave the MBR of the first HD untouched, this way NT would
> always boot first.
> 
> In order to start FreeBSD I was wondering if it was it possible to have
> a floppy with a MBR which would boot FreeBSD on the second HD. I
> remember I did this once with LILO/Linux.


I have done this with several O/S's, but I have not tried to make a 
boot floppy on FreeBSD.  The easy way to do this is to use the boot
floppy from the installation distribution.  When you see the boot
prompt just enter the location of your kernel on the hard disk.
Something like boot: sd(1,a)kernel .

The hard way is to make a file system on the floppy and as a part
of that process put the boot record down on the first tracks of the
floppy.  See the man page for newfs.



> 
> As I boot the PC with this floppy I would always start FreeBSD...
> 
> Is there a way of doing this?
> 
> Thanks
> Emmanuel
> 
> 


-- 
Craig Shaver  (craig@progroup.com) (415)390-0654 
Productivity Group POB 60458 Sunnyvale, CA  94088