Baslinux mailing list

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

On Thu, 10 Mar 2005, David Moberg wrote:

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "sindi keesan" <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>
>
> > How is a 'cable modem' connected to a computer?  I just discovered
> > the owner of the broadband computer has comcast.
>
> Same way as a DSL connection box, ethernet or USB. I put modem in scare
> quotes because it's not a modem, it's more like a network router + card.

Would this also most likely have IP number 192.168.1.254?

> > I looked at other 1 and 2 floppy distributions and a few of them
> > had diallers, or 'links,' but none had graphics.  How would the
> > ones without diallers be used, with dchp and ethernet?
>
> Yeah, same procedure. If you're going for really small, there's that
> 1diskxwin distribution. Xvesa and an X11 web browser on just one
> 1.44 mb floppy. You need an ethernet connection on a card that takes
> the ne or 3c59x module to get on the Internet, though.

No need for X just to get online to read email at a shell account.


> > HAL91 looked useful for parallel port zip drive - it boots from one
> > disk and the second disk has scsi modules and ppa, works in 8MB ram
> > on a 386, ftp, telnet, pppd.  It has an editable rc file that you
> > can make changes to but I did not understand how you would change
> > configuration files.
> >
> > Would it be possible to put BL2 or BL3 on 100MB parport zip drive
> > then set up 2-floppy BL2 with these modules (delete unneeded
> > modules and add scsi_mod and sd_mod and ppa), boot from floppy disk
> > and mount then chroot to zip drive? This would be smaller and
> > lighter than a laptop computer to take to friends' houses.  Add an
> > external modem.  This assumes friends will have serial ports and
> > floppy drives.
>
> Who needs chroot? If you can detail the procedure you use to load
> the modules and mount a zip drive, I can make a floppy that will load
> the kernel off the floppy, load modules, mount the zip drive, and boot
> the rest of BL from there.
>
> David
> --

The drive is going to be mailed to us some day but I think the procedure 
is to boot, insmod scsi_mod, insmod sd_mod, maybe also ide-scsi (? with 
parameters?), insmod ppa, mount /dev/sda4. I could probably put all this 
in rc but how would I boot from sda4? Using lilo and a /boot directory on 
the disk?

I have not yet used a parport zip drive, which is not really scsi.

I only know how to use loadlin (or stick in a 2-floppy BL3).