Baslinux mailing list

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

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 3aoo-cvfd AT dea.spamcon.org wrote:

> sindi keesan wrote:
> > Is there some way, after booting, to make a third
> > RAMdisk and install extra programs to it, by mounting
> > the ramdisk on /usr/local/bin on a computer with lots
> > of RAM?
>
> Yes.  Just imitate the method used in /etc/rc.
> Keep in mind that the maximum ramdisk size for
> the default kernel is 4mb.

I suppose you could make 10 extra ramdisks and run programs in each of 
them and if you cannot mount them somewhere on the path, just run them 
from ./.  The dependencies would have to fit in the proper directories on 
the first ramdisk.  This might be a good use for dietlibc binaries 
(statically compiled).

> > Or at least run things from floppy disk if they
> > fit on floppy disk?
>
> Yes.  A floppy filesystem is slow, but it works
> just like any other filesystem (just be sure to
> umount the floppy before removing it).

With a broadband connection you could also just download the needed 
packages (if they are small enough) or store binaries you expect to use at 
your own website and download them to a ramdisk, faster than using floppy 
disk.

> > Kermit is 2MB, kermit.gz about 700K - is there
> > some way to run a zipped binary without first
> > copying to ramdisk?
>
> No, not with zip or gzip.
>
> > Could I put upx'ed kermit on a floppy disk and
> > run it if I had lots of RAM?
>
> Perhaps.  I'm not very familiar with upx.
With broadband, kermit could be downloaded directly to a ramdisk and I 
think run as ./kermit.

This is all for use on someone's Windows computer if you are visiting.

> > These two computers did not even have winmodems, just
> > some box with flashing lights that was probably cable
> > or DSL.  Would it be feasible to set up a 2-floppy BL3
> > that could handle cable and DSL,
>
> I've always used a dial-up modem, so I don't know a lot
> about cable/DSL.  However, I think you usually use
> ethernet for them.
>
> > or are the drivers for each model different?
>
> It depends on which network card you are using.  If it's
> NE2000 compatible, BL3 has the driver.  Otherwise, you
> will probably find the driver you need in Slackware 7.1
> (/modules/2.2.16/net).

I had no idea you only needed ethernet modules to use broadband, never 
having set it up.  YOu could probably fit the module onto disk2 either as 
part of the .tgz or separately.

> > A BL3 boot CD image was mentioned by some list member
> > - where do we find it now
> The only CD image I am aware of is for BL2.  It is at
> the BL2 download site.

This should work for going online on a desktop computer wtih no floppy 
drive, but with my luck I would run into a laptop with no floppy drive (my 
brother says he has a choice of CD-ROM drive or floppy drive and has to 
switch them) and need pcmcia support.   Meaning the CD-image would need to 
be modified to work on a laptop, which I have no idea how to do (since I 
don't even know how to burn the image to a boot CD).

I will try DamnSmallLinux some time with a pcmcia modem and also on a 
desktop with ethernet to see how it works.




> Cheers,
> Steven
>
> ____________________________
> http://www.basiclinux.com.ru
> _______________________________________________
> 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