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baslinux - Re: [BL] How to boot from a non-booting bootable CD-ROM?

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  • From: sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>
  • To: baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [BL] How to boot from a non-booting bootable CD-ROM?
  • Date: Wed, 9 Mar 2005 03:10:41 +0000 (UTC)

I tried the DSL boot CD-ROM that would not boot in my one computer (which also would not boot with FreeDOS) to another computer and it DOES boot there. (I could not find any way to get back out of X but you can avoid going into it by default if you tell DSL you have framebuffer when you don't - of course there is no second vt either, and I could not find any way to be root or set up to dial without being root, but it was interesting to look at the programs in there. The earlier version let me exit X and I was also able to set up wvdial). I noticed there were four 720K fd0s and five 360K fd0s but no way to mount a fd with mount /dev/fd0 /fd since I was not root. There was something about automounting fds but I have no idea how to use this.

We have one 1.44 floppy drive that won't read 720K floppies with BL2 (did not check BL3) on one computer, tho the disk worked fine elsewhere in BL2 and I had made the 720K fd0 device the same way. I don't know if the drive or the computer are the problem. The drive reads 1.44's fine. Did not check 720s in DOS yet.

Then I remembered the reason for trying DSL was to test the keyboard which would not work with BL2 in that computer where the CD-ROM would not boot, and it DID work with DSL in this other computer. So I tried it with loop BL3 and HD BL3 and it worked. With ramdisk BL2 and HD BL2 it does not work at all (nothing happens when you type, can't even reboot).

This is very odd. What difference between BL3 and BL2 might be responsible for the keyboard not working in BL2? I have them both set up to boot with mdacon in rc.S. BL3 and BL2 have similar kernels (2.2.16) - but would it help to try the BL3 kernel in BL2? (I was using plain zimage that came with BL2 on this computer, don't recall what I used on the other, possibly one I compiled myself).

This is an 84-key Z-NIX (XT style keys but designed to work only with an AT, not switchable). Better built than most newer keyboards and it even clicks. The lights are behaving properly in DOS.

On Tue, 8 Mar 2005, David Moberg wrote:

----- Original Message -----
From: "sindi keesan" <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>

I have one keyboard that works in DOS but on at least one computer
it works in DOS but in BL2 nothing happens when you press any key.
So I was going to try it with another linux, in this case
DamnSmallLinux on bootable CD-ROM. Even with CMOS set to boot from
CD-ROM, A, C it goes into DOS on the hard drive instead of booting.
I can look at files on the CD. Maybe the list member who gave us
this CD-ROM did not make it bootable as promised.

Or maybe your BIOS doesn't think it's a CDROM drive? You may need to
adjust settings to autodetect or hardcode in the fact that it's a CD
drive.

In the Knoppix directory of it is a boot.img file. How would I use
BL2 or BL3 to write this to a floppy disk and then what to I do
with it, assuming it is possible to boot from this boot disk to DSL
afterwards? The batch file to make floppy boot disk uses rawrite
so I could get that for DOS but I would like to learn to do this in
linux. Do I use dd somehow?

Assuming a low-level formatted floppy is in a drive at /dev/fd0, and
it's formatted to the proper size (e.g. 1440K) you just do dd if=file
of=/dev/fd0. If it's not formatted right you need to use fdformat. All
the rest should be handled automatically if the CD is in a standard
drive.

I could not find any mention of my keyboard problem - other people
only had problems after running certain software, or in X. There
was mention of 'faulty hardware' and someone lost their USB
keyboard and mouse at the same time. I cannot 'check if mouse
works' because I don't have gpm mouse. I suppose I could put
something in rc.S to load links -g to test the svga mouse. (Using
a different keyboard to type the change).
Other suggestions were to type stty echo or reset - don't know if
this would accomplish anything if the keyboard is not sending
characters.

All three green keyboard lights go on when I boot linux.

I don't need this keyboard, just curious what is happening. Also,
this computer is our only one so far that won't boot with FreeDOS.
Might it have a problem of some sort in the BIOS?

The BL2 FAQ appears have a similar problem listed--apparently you
need some extra kernel parameter(s)?

I am used to linux not working quite right on all hardware: so far
three computers won't work with loadlin except from MS DOS 7.1
(kernel on MS-DOS 7.1 formatted HD or FD), two won't play stereo
wav files, two won't boot loop linux, and now this odd keyboard
problem, and one 386 laptop won't boot linux of any sort. I am
certain nobody tested this keyboard with linux when it was made (in
the mid 80s).

Does anyone else on the list besides vijay (modem) have hardware
that won't work with BL but will work with other linuxes? I have
found the opposite to be true.

None of my new hardware works (duh) but my ISA PnP modem doesn't like
2.2.x kernels so I compiled a new one.

David
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