Baslinux mailing list

[Sindi Keesan <keesan AT iamjlamb.com>]

On Fri, 30 Jul 2004 3aoo-cvfd AT dea.spamcon.org wrote:

> Sindi Keesan wrote:
> > 
> > It appears that the file itself is corrupted somehow, two 
> > different ways.
> 
> You use two different methods and get corruption in two
> different ways.  The problem appears to be at your end.
> What md5sum do you get for your downloads?  Are they the
> same as the md5sum given at the site?
I am at a different location so I cannot check.

Summary of events.

1.  Download at first shell account with lynx 2.8.4 for SunOS, transfer
with DOS kermit (direct-dial).  Pkunzip complains about CRC count on the
.img file.  I saved it but don't have a way to do md5sum in DOS.

2.  Download via DOS lynx 2.8.5 (having dialed with miniterm and epppd) on 
a different computer.  Pkzip says 'not a zip file'.  I think I deleted it.

3.  Try DOS lynx again on a third computer and watch it download.  Starts
quite slowly then speeds up to 2K/sec.  At 44K suddenly lynx decides the
file is complete and asks me to save it to disk.  I did not try unzipping
this.  Something in the file seems to have confused lynx.

I tried to download with wget for DOS (which I used once before 
successfully) but it did not work, possibly due to ignorance on my part.

4.  Dial with miniterm, telnet to a second shell account with Redhat 9.  
Use wget to download the file there.  Check md5sum and it matches.  
Download via FTP, the zip file unzips.  I will put it on two floppy disks 
soon and hope it works on the laptop since I have NOT been able to get 
anything ppp working there in DOS, just direct-dial kermit, so I cannot 
download via FTP to that computer (unless it happens to like my BL2 disks 
or I make new ones for it on disks it formatted).  

5.  Telnet back and download with lynx at Redhat computer.  Lynx download
starts off at 1K and goes slow for a bit then speeds up to 11-12 K/sec.  
The .img file seems to be at the beginning and maybe loads slower and
maybe also messes up lynx (sometimes - but not the lynx at this shell
account, at least not this time).  Same md5sum.  I did not retrieve this
one from the shell account, just testing if lynx was the problem.  

So I don't know think any single program is the problem, except it seems 
unlikely that DOS lynx will transfer this file properly.  I don't know if 
the first time around the problem was due to SunOs Lynx 2.8.4 or Kermit 
transfer.  Kermit has been reliable until now every time.  


> 
> > I could try unzipping the 2.8MB file at a shell account 
> > and then rezipping just the .img file for transfer via FTP, 
> > but that is one more step for things to go wrong.  
> 
> Do zipping and unzipping often produce errors for you?
> Over the years, I have found zip/unzip to be very reliable.

I have not had problems with it except in relation to BL3 image files.


> > only the *.img file was corrupted, the rest okay.  
> 
> How do you know the .img file was corrupted?

PKZIP said something about bad CRC count for that one file.  It did not 
complain about the other files.  This last time it unzipped everything 
without complaining.
 
> > Has anyone else tried doing it with DOS?  
> 
> Are you using pkzip for DOS?  If so, which version?
> Some versions were more reliable than others.  
This version worked now that I gave it a good zip file.  It is probably 
the latest free version.  The download was probably the problem.

> 
> As far as DOS PPP goes, I have no confidence in it.
> That's one of the reasons I switched to Linux.

But DOS kermit file transfer also did not work on this file.  That is when 
I got the bad CRC count.  I have also given up on dos epppd but miniterm 
generally works okay.  From Arachne.  Sometimes I need to dial twice to 
connect.  On the laptop miniterm won't connect nor will netdial, but 
kermit works.  I hope to use linux instead on there to go online.  That is 
why I tried to get BL3 via kermit direct-dial.  

> 
> > You can't expect all linux Newbies to be downloading and 
> > unzipping with linux.  
> 
> Actually I expect most of them will be downloading with some
> version of Windows.

That is one thing I did not try.  Seems inefficient.

> 
> > I don't see how DOS kermit epppd or lynx are any more weird 
> > than linux.
> 
> They are weird (1) because very few people use them, and 
> (2) because they are based on a primitive, half-baked operating system
> that relies on cludges to approximate the functionality  
> of a properly-designed multi-tasking operating system.
> 
> You say you run only one program at a time, so you don't need
> proper multi-tasking.  However, connecting to and browsing the
> internet requires several sub-tasks, and a real multi-tasking
> operating system handles this with fewer glitches than DOS.

That is why I am trying to download BL3 to use on the laptop computer.  
It has worked perfectly with all my modems (tho I did have to add to the
init string once).  And it is much much easier to set up than DOS with
diallers of any sort.  And lets you ftp and telnet at the same time, etc.  
If the floppy drive on the laptop were more reasonable I would be using
BL2 floppy disk to download BL3.  I might try llpro to transfer it there.  
  
> > Is 2.8MB a 'large' unzip?
> 
> I suppose that depends on which version of DOS and which
> version of unzip you are using.

I have unzipped bigger things than this before.  A 10MB download of 
Newdeal, for instance.

> 
> > so I suspect it is bad.
> 
> It is bad at my end?  Then why do you get two different 
> versions at your end?  Surely, if the original is bad,
> you should get two identical (bad) copies.  What are
> your md5sums?
 
No, my downloaded file is bad, not your original posted one.
I don't have a way to check md5sum in DOS - is there one?
I should look at the file size anyway, later today.  

> > I recall other people having trouble making BL2 floppy 
> > disks, identical to mine.
> 
> IIRC that was a problem with the floppy drives (head alignment and/or
> inability to handle the higher density format). It was 
> not an unzipping problem.

I thought that sort of problem is why you switched to using a disk image 
for BL3, or is there another reason?  The disk image is a lot simpler but 
for me it has been harder to download properly.  

> 
> > I will keep trying to download BL3 FD, maybe this time with 
> > BL2 on HD.
> 
> Have you tried downloading the file from the other site?
> I've just checked the md5sums, and they are identical.

tuwien site, every time.

> 
> Cheers,
> Steven


Time to see if the unzipped files actually work, assuming I can find at 
least one perfect 1.44MB floppy disk here.  

Would cleaning the fussy floppy drive make it more likely to accept disks 
formatted on other computers?