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Message from Steven
===================

> I did a hard drive install (which took a lot of 
> Googling because BL3 is pretty undocumented).

Undocumented?  The README.TXT says:
------------------------------------
 Installing BasicLinux to harddisk
------------------------------------  
>From inside BL3 use fdisk and mke2fs 
to create a Linux partition on your 
harddisk.  Mount that partition at 
/hd and execute install-to-hd.
------------------------------------

You were expecting a tutorial on fdisk?
A tutorial on mke2fs?  A tutorial on
mounting?  These are all standard Linux
tools and require no special documentation.

Perhaps there is some confusion about the
word *basic* in *BasicLinux*.  BasicLinux 
is not designed to be easy, it is not 
*Linux for Dummies*.  Rather it is Linux
stripped down to the bare essentials, a
mini-distribution providing a basic set 
of tools and applications.

As for the special parameters you used for
fdisk (C 7944 H 16 S 63), not only I have 
never used such parameters with any of my
eight computers, I have never heard of
anyone using them until now.

> I believe these are the steps(?)
> 
> -fdisk -C 7944 -H 16 -S 63 /dev/hda1
> -n
> -w

It appears you used fdisk to create a new
partition.  I assume this was primary
partition 1 (/dev/hda1).  Hopefully you
left space for other partitions.

> -mke2fs /dev/hda1
> -mount /dev/hda1 /hd
> -install-to-hd

It appears the BL3 filesystem was copied
to your Linux partition (/dev/hda1).  Did
you get any error messages?

> -reboot with floppy 1 still in the drive
> -hit ctrl when you see LILO
> -hd root=/dev/hda1

You were able to do this without problem?
You were able to run BL3 from your HD?

> -lilo -v
> -fdisk -C 7944 -H 16 -S 63 /dev/hda1
> -a

You are running lilo to make your HD partition
bootable.  It is essential that this be done
from BL3 running on your HD (not from the BL3
loaded from floppies).  

> Correct me if I may be wrong, but if I do 
> those steps, shouldn't I be able to boot 
> BL3 without a floppy?

Assuming you ran lilo from the HD and not from
the floppy BL3, and assuming you correctly made
/dev/hda1 bootable, and assuming there is a 
suitable bootloader in your MBR (from DOS or
whatever operating system was last installed
on that harddisk), then BL3 (on /dev/hda1) 
should boot.

If it doesn't boot, and you have correctly done
all the things above, I suggest you boot the HD
BL3 (using the 1st floppy, pressing CTRL when 
you see LILO, and entering: hd root=/dev/hda1).  
Then do the following steps
------------------------------------------
(1) edit /etc/lilo.conf
(2) delete the # in front of boot=/dev/hda
(3) CTRL-x (to exit the editor)
(4) y (to save your editing)
(5) lilo -v
------------------------------------------
Any error messages?  If not, reboot the system.
Hopefully BL3 will now boot.

Cheers,
Steven