> is there a URL for Slackware's" ZipSlack?
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ftp://ftp3.sourceforge.net/pub/slackware/slackware-3.9/zipslack/
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> and do I *purchase* it from this URL?
It's a free download. 37meg. Be sure to read the
fourmeg.README.
> how would I put more swap on my HD??
Use fdisk to create a larger swap partition.
> but if I have ZipSlack on my zip drive why would I
> want to put BasicLinux on the HD? why would I want
> 2 Linuxes on my machine??
ZipSlack is a good CLI distro. You have no need to
install BasicLinuxHD (although it is smaller and
faster).
> I mean is ZipSlack merely *a vehicle* to put *any*
> Linux on the HD??
No, ZipSlack is a self-contained Linux suitable for
regular use. The main disadvantages are that it uses
a DOS filesystem (slower and less reliable than a
Linux native filesystem) and a zipdisk (which is
not as good as a HD).
> what does this mean: /dev/*** ???
- DOS LINUX
- ^^^ ^^^^^
1st floppy a: /dev/fd0
2nd floppy b: /dev/fd1
master HD, 1st partition c: /dev/hda1
master HD, 2nd partition d: /dev/hda2
slave CDrom drive e: /dev/hdb
> is the same "code" (once we find it out) for a zip
> drive universal/the same on all versions of Linux?
Yes. I think ZipSlack is already pre-configured for
a zipdrive, so this shouldn't be a issue.
> this would mean I would get Linux running with ZipSlack
> unzipped on the 100MB zip cartridge
Yes, you unzip the 37meg file (with a 32bit unzipper)
onto the zip cartridge. You then have a portable
Linux which (theoretically) will boot on any computer.
> then installing *any* Linux (meaning BasicLinux)
> onto the same 100MB zip cartridge instead of the HD
I think ZipSlack takes up the entire cartridge, so if
you wanted to install BasicLinux it would have to go
on the HD.
> however I don't know how I would then be able to "access"
> other devices such as the external modem if I was using
> my parallel port zip drive as home to Linux
Linux doesn't care where its root filesystem resides
-- HD, zip drive, ramdisk, whatever. In fact, just
this morning I managed to strip the BasicLinux
filesystem from 3.2meg (running on a ramdisk) to
1.4meg (running on a floppy). Even with its filesystem
on a floppy, Linux chugs along quite happily (although
*very* slowly).
> worrying about obtaining and using a partition re-sizer
A re-sizer is only required if you have an existing
partition which you must keep. Things are simpler
if you can partition the HD from scratch. Then all
you need is fdisk.
> what would happen if I tried to access my/a non-Linux
> HD from my Linux zip drive??
Linux will happily mount a DOS drive and copy files
back and forth. It can even execute programs on
a DOS drive (as long as they are Linux executables).
Cheers,
Steven
