Baslinux mailing list

[Sindi Keesan <keesan AT iamjlamb.com>]

On Fri, 30 Jul 2004, Ron Clarke wrote:

> Hi Sindi,
> 
> On Thu, 29 Jul 2004 16:10:39 -0400 (EDT)
> Sindi Keesan <keesan AT iamjlamb.com> wrote:
> 
> > It appears that the file itself is corrupted somehow, two different ways. 
> >  
> 
>    and
> 
> > Has anyone else tried doing it with DOS?  You can't expect all linux 
> > Newbies to be downloading and unzipping with linux.  I will keep trying 
> > with DOS for a while.  I have not yet tried FTP, just kermit and lynx.
> 
> FWIW: I also had a few problems with corrupted downloads very early in my 
> introduction to BL, when I was downloading with DOS.
> 
>   Steven suggested that some of the files (in my case it was .tgz files)
> were being added to by the DOS downloader - I was using a version of Lynx 
> for DOS.
> He was right !  I changed my downloader, and all was fixed.
> 
>    Could it be your downloader adding a character or two ?

In my case, the time I watched, lynx truncated the download at 44K.

I am now having some new problems.

Downloaded to computer No. 3, made 2 floppies that worked on that 
computer.
Also made floppy no. 2 on computer No. 1 (the .tgz disk) since that file 
seemed to have arrived safely.

Tried to boot on No. 1 (2 would not download) with the two disks from No. 
3.  First disk:
Loading BL3_ramdisk
error 0x02
Loading BL3_ramdisk
error 0x02
Loading BL3_ramdisk
error 0x02
Loading BL3_ramdisk.   (note the '.')

Then it loaded and uncompressed linux and told me to insert Disk 2.

I inserted disk 2 made on Computer No. 3
I hit Enter.

mount:  Mouting /dev/fd0 on /fd failed.
Invalid argument
zcat:  /fd/disk2.tgz:
No such file or directory.

This computer tends not to like floppy disks formatted elsewhere, tho it 
did accept the first disk.  The second is one that Computer 2 did not 
format properly so we reformatted on Computer 4.  (We are very short on 
perfect 1.44MB floppy disks).


So I tried Disk2 formatted on Computer 1, to which I had copied disk2.tgz 
yesterday.  

end_request:  I/O error, dev 2:10 (floppy)
                        sector 19
Two more such error message for sector 20 and 21
Then clunk clunk clunk clunk and it loaded the file and I was able to 
boot into linux and I am online in BL3 on the computer that won't go 
online with a ppp dialler in DOS!

I understand that this computer is fussy about floppy disks, also my 
partner tried to boot from the two floppies made on Computer NO. 3 and the 
second disk did not work for him either but the one made on No. 1 worked.  
First he made a new disk1 with diskcopy, and that worked.  Now he is 
copying my working Disk2 from Cmoputer No. 1 since the copy of one from 
Cmoputer No 3 did not work for him.  He is checking working and nonworking 
disk 2's with fc.com (DOS utility).  file compare.  The copy and the 
original are the same.  

The original disk2 from Computer No. 2 tells him 'invalid drive A' - he 
can't even read it.  What did my laptop computer (No. 1) do to this disk 
while trying to read it?  It worked on COmputer No. 3 (where I did the 
fully successful download today).

(Anyone who can follow this deserves a prize).  


Why are floppy drives so fussy?????  Can I do something to make this one 
work better with foreign floppy disks?  

Now I know why we have both laptop computers.  

Anyway, we got the 2-floppy set working on three computers, or two halves 
of two sets anyway working on two of them.

Why does it take four tries to read each of these disks on this computer?

Now I need to go read about how to use cardmgr (in /etc?) instead of using 
this external modem.  It was in a recent list mail.  I think I can search 
somehow via the ibiblio site.


Sindi

 > > Regards,
>          Ron 
> 
>