Baslinux mailing list

[sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>]

I booted with MS DOS 6.22 and then booted BL3 from C:\baslin and did an 
install-to-hd and discovered this was actually the BL3.30 in d:\baslin 
because the first partition on this drive is formatted 32-bit and not 
found by 6.22.

mde2fs removed this old version from /dev/hdb1.

I rebooted with a copy of BL3.32 in e: which with MS-DOS was read as 
d:\baslin and installed that instead, then copied over the changes.tgz 
file (which I first had to copy from c: to e: when I rebooted without 
MS-DOS) and pkg'ed it and once I remarked out the mdacon.o line (no TTL 
monitor on this computer, too few ISA slots) it all works fine and here I 
am.

So the computer that will not boot the loop BL3 boots the hd BL3 and the 
loop part is the problem.  I don't need the loop version any more here.

I am told the latest FreeDOS would have let me access the first partition 
as well as letting me boot with loop BL3.

On Fri, 29 Oct 2004, sindi keesan wrote:

> Summary of problems to date:
>
> I have BL3.32 in loop running on several computers, including a Gateway with 
> Win98 and one hard drive.  It will NOT work on another Gateway, same board 
> (but slightly faster cpu) with Win98, both SE, but this other one has two 
> hard drives.  Different brands of hard drive, no other differences that I 
> know of, PII Slot1, MMX Intel cpus. 233 and 300MHz.
>
> BL2 works from RAMdisk or ext2 partition with loadlin.
> BL3 works (3.21 and 3.32) from floppy disks (lilo).
>
> I tried F5 to bypass system files - did not help.
> I booted from a Win98 rescue disk (without CD-ROM support) - no help.
>
> This hard drive was probably formatted with PQ-MAGIC, not with DR-DOS because 
> it has hda2 and hda3 as D and E not backwards.
> The one that came out backwards was formatted wtih DR-DOS and has Win98FE on 
> it.
>
> I tried booting from floppy disk with DR-DOS 7.03, FreeDOS, and MSDOS-6.22, 
> and in all three cases the loop version works.  If I boot with Win98SE DOS it 
> gives me a kernel panic, 100% of the time.
>
> So now I have one computer that will not work with BL3 loop unless I use some 
> DOS (booting from floppy disk) other than Win98SE DOS (have not tried FE or 
> 95), and the other computer that half of the time will not work with any 
> linux ('Not an image file' it says - for RAM, HD or loop linuxes) unless I DO 
> boot (from floppy disk) using Win9X DOS (DR MS6.22 and PC don't work nor does 
> FreeDOS according to Hal on his similar board).
>
> If I use Win98X DOS to boot I need to boot without system files to do Xvesa. 
> I would not bother with Win98 on this computer except I cannot
> get Realaudio to work with linux and have yet compiled gs for pdf 1.5.
>
> Perhaps I should move the Windows hard drive to the other computer which 
> needs Win98 to boot linux, which would give me DR-DOS on this computer to let 
> me use the loop BL3.  Perhaps if I promise never to move this furniture again 
> my partner will open up the two computers and switch drives, except Windows 
> tends to go crazy when you move it.  Perhaps if I
> move the sound card and video card?  One is a PI and one a PII - any 
> suggestions as to whether this would destroy Windows?  No ISA slot for my TTL 
> card in the Gateway but we have one external modem.......
>
> Phooey on Windows.
>
> Right now I need to keep a spare boot disk in A: to (1) use BL3 loop or Xvesa 
> with the Win98SE computer or (2) to be sure I can boot into any linux with 
> the other DR-DOS computer.  This is no worse than taking off my glasses to 
> read and losing them all the time.   I could tie the boot disks to a string 
> and hang them on the wall.
>
>
> Final summary:
>
> People should be warned that the loop BL3 may not work on certain computers 
> with Win9X DOS and to try a different DOS.
>
> I have not yet installed to HD but I expect that to work okay.
>
> I will see if linux unzip works any better on this Win98SE computer.
>
> keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org
> SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.lonestar.org
> _______________________________________________
> BasLinux mailing list
> BasLinux AT lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/baslinux

keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org
SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.lonestar.org