Hi! I've read a topic about installation via USB Floppy Drive in the recent DWN. (This mail is copied to debian-laptop ML, but I haven't subscribed yet. Please be carefull when you reply to me.)
I've locally created woody boot-floppies 3.0.18 with the modification to enable the install via USB FDD, and put it at http://www.debian.or.jp/~sano/usbfdboot/woody-3.0.18-cvs-boot-floppies/ And there are: usbfdboot/woody-3.0.18-cvs-boot-floppies: total 5788 2172 Jan 21 04:02 diff-usbfdboot-boot-floppies.txt 1474560 Dec 30 02:50 drv14-1.bin 1300 Jan 21 03:44 readme-usbfdboot.txt 1474560 Jan 21 03:53 resc1440-s.bin 1474560 Jan 21 04:01 resc1440.bin 1474560 Dec 30 03:19 root1440.bin usbfdboot/woody-3.0.18-cvs-boot-floppies/kernel-patches: total 12 383 Dec 30 02:40 diff-2.2.20-drivers-block-rd-c-usbfdboot.txt 372 Dec 30 02:40 diff-2.2.20-fs-super-c-usbfdboot.txt 588 Dec 30 02:40 diff-2.2.20-init-main-c-usbfdboot.txt It uses USB FDD as /dev/sda via Kernel usb code. So the root disk (root1440.bin) has /dev/fd0 as simlink to /dev/sda. The used kernel is based on the compact flavor one, and it is also patched by me. The patch used is in kernel-patches subdirectory. Please read the file readme-usbfdboot.txt, it explains how to use them. on "Wed, 15 May 2002 22:13:45 +0200", with "Debian Weekly News - May 15th, 2002", Martin Schulze <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: joey> Installation of Debian through an USB Floppy Drive. Gernot Weber joey> [13]wondered how he could manage to install Debian with an USB-Floppy. joey> The rescue disk booted but the installer couldn't find the root-disk joey> after changing. Werner Heuser [14]pointed out that a special boot joey> option may be required in order to make Linux recognize the floppy joey> drive. If this doesn't work one could still try another installation joey> method as described in the [15]Linux-Mobile-Guide. joey> joey> 13. http://lists.debian.org/debian-laptop-0205/msg00157.html joey> 14. http://lists.debian.org/debian-laptop-0205/msg00158.html joey> 15. http://mobilix.org/Mobile-Guide.db/Mobile-Guide.html Linux kernel checks if the specified device if floppy or not before doing ram disk load (drivers/block/rd.c), and before output the prompt for disk change (fs/super.c). So the patch for them are requied to use USB FDD as /dev/sda and load the root disk into ram disk via USB FDD. The patch for init/main.c is not required for 2.4 kernel, but 2.2 kernel can't detect the USB devices after the first prompt of disk change is passed, so the second prompt is required. Patches for 2.4.16 kernel is at http://www.debian.or.jp/~sano/usbfdboot/lilofloppy-2.4.16-usbfdboot/usbfdboot-patch-2.4.16/ and 2.4.16 requires another patch for fs/exec.c. I don't know why, but it can't work without it. Currently I don't have enough time, so I plan to update them after the woody release, but hopely they can work even now. Thank you. -- Taketoshi Sano: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
