Baslinux mailing list

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

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005, David Moberg wrote:

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "sindi keesan" <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>
>
> > More progress.  I discovered my zip disk was defective (would not
> > even format) and got another one.  I also realized that you need to
> > edit the new fstab if you copy the file system from ext2 hd
> > partition to a loop file (change /dev/hdb1 or whatever your
> > partition is to /dev/loop0).  I now have something that will boot
> > properly from e:\baslin but is 50MB instead of 20MB and contains
> > changes I made to the hd version.
> >
> > When this file boots there are some error messages - why?
> >
> > change_root: old root has d_count=2
> > Trying to unmount old root in <3> error -16
> > Change root to initrd:  error -2
>
> How are you booting this?

> From e:\baslin on my DOS partition, using the same boot.bat as came with 
the download of BL3-loop.  But fs.img is copied from ext2 linux partition 
with that one change to fstab (mount /dev/loop0 on / not /dev/hdb1 on /)
Perhaps I need to change something else too?


> > It boots anyway.
> >
> > My next problem is that this parallel port zip drive appears not to
> > work. It lights up, and I have it plugged into parport0 or into the
> > printer switch box which is switched properly, but 'no ppa
> > compatible devices found'.  This might be why it was in a dumpster.
> >   I have one other that someone donated to the Reuse Center.  Might
> > I be doing anything wrong? Iomega Z100P2 with the cable it came
> > with, which looks just like the scsi cable on the scsi zip drive.
> > 25-pin D-shell type.  Are the two types of cable wired differently?
> >   Should I try a different cable?  This is an Iomega blue cable,
> > labelled 'zip' but not scsi or parallel.
>
> Have you gotten other ZIP drives to work with ppa? Is this a ZIP
> Plus drive? ZIP Plus needs the imm driver. You can get it from
> Slackware 7.1. I'll have to remake the bootdisk if that's the case.

I have never used a parport zip drive before.  I thought the 100MB drives 
were all ppa and im was only for larger (later) ones.  I will look up 
Z100P2 to make sure.  I was also going to try this with the iomega DOS 
'guest' program as soon as I get offline.  Streaming mp3 can waste a lot 
of time.

I can have the drive checked out by the person who diagnosed my bad disk 
tomorrow.  He has working drives to compare it with ($10 with disk and 
cable and power supply).

> > David's blppaz.gz image for booting from floppy disk seems to be
> > working - it just cannot insmod ppa.o.  It is based on grub rather
> > than lilo.
>
> > Is grub bigger or more confusing to use than lilo?

> A little bigger. The size is not bad. I find lilo much more confusing.
> Grub is also more flexible. Unlike lilo, you can replace Linux with a
> newer version and the floppy will still work with the new kernel. lilo
> must be reinstalled.

Would grub fit on the 2-floppy bl3 instead of lilo?

> > While the fs.img file is still mounted, you need to edit fstab to
> > change from the ext2 hd partition to loop0.  It booted anyway but
> > mtab looked a bit odd - I was seeing /dev/hdb1 also mounted to /
> > along with /dev/loop0.
>
> I can't understand why the above is necessary. Maybe after you tell
> me how you're booting from fs.img things will clear up.


I made fs.img and copied the filesystem from /dev/hdb1 to it, which of 
course had an fstab which mounted /dev/hdb1.  But fs.img was copied to 
e:\baslin, from where I need to mount /dev/loop0 to /.  If I had simply 
enlarged the 20 MB fs.img in e:\baslin (by copying files from it to a new 
50 MB fs.img) this would not have been necessary but I instead copied 
files from my linux partition to a 50MB fs.img, and fstab had to be 
changed.  Steven's installation program appears to edit fstab for you.

I will know more about the zip drive tomorrow.  Or maybe it will work in 
DOS somehow.

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