Hi! [You want to install dual-boot FreeDOS/Debian on a laptop without CD]
My suggestion is to copy FreeDOS CD-ROM contents with help of Debian. Then boot FreeDOS from floppy and start TEXTINST to unzip the packages. You will have to make the C: drive bootable manually (SYS C:) and you will have to create config / autoexec manually. Alternative method would be to work together with me or Bernd Blaauw (e.g. contact the #freedos channel on irc.i7c.org or ICQ / mail us) and run the full installer manually. Problem with this is that the install process uses some helper apps which are not on the CD as file but only inside a floppy disk image on the CD, which is normally opened when you boot the CD (directly or indirectly). So you need some extra steps. > 1. Networking is provided via a PCMCIA adaptor. Will I be able to get > PCMCIA going under FreeDOS? Network drivers? I can't name the specific > card I'm afraid, but I'm sure it will be NE2000 compatible at some point. To use networked DOS programs, you will need a packet (network card) driver and a TCP/IP stack. The latter is often already compiled into the binary of the program (e.g. part of the LYNX exe file...), so you only need to load the former as a driver or resident program. Several free drivers are on: http://www.freedos.org/freedos/links/ -> http://www.crynwr.com/drivers/00index.html The Deskwork.de (GUI for DOS in StarTrek NG design, can use both ASCII arts and VGA mode, with file property databases instead of classic long file names, shareware) system is trying to write a generic PCMCIA NE2000 driver for DOS, so I assume there is no open source DOS driver for that yet. However, you can use SLIP/PLIP (serial / parallel link cable) with some packet drivers ;-). http://www.freedos.org/freedos/software/ should have COMM and network programs for you in the UTIL and NET categories. Among others, there is FileMaven (freeware filemanager with link cable file transfer), Lynx, Arachne (VGA http/ftp/pop3/smtp browser/mailer, now open source), SSHDOS (SSH1 and SSH2 versions of SSH, SCP, SFTP, 386/387 and even 8086 versions available), FTP clients, Ez-Nos (http/ftp server, 8086 version available)... If you want to use DHCP on a WatTCP/Watt32 TCP/IP stack based application like Arachne or SSHDOS, you can adjust wattcp.cfg - then the DHCP initialization is done whenever you start a networked program. For modem connection, dial tools like LSPPP or DOSPPP can do the DHCP stuff at once when you dial in. MS CHAP is only supported by DOSPPP/CHAT as far as I remember - might be important for some providers. For serial terminal, try my simple tiny terminal or one of the programs on the FreeDOS software list (which is based on LSM file format by the way ;-)). http://www.coli.uni-sb.de/~eric/stuff/soft/specials/freedos-config.txt has some config / autoexec inspiration and http://www.coli.uni-sb.de/~eric/stuff/soft/terminal-06nov02.zip is the tiny simple (4k) terminal with built-in partial VT100/ ANSI support (not to be confused with NANSI which offers this support to all DOS console apps). > 2. File system. I'd prefer this to be accessible and writeable from > Debian - any trouble here? As I recall, FreeDOS isn't -quite- the same > as the MS FAT... This should be no problem at all. FreeDOS cannot use long file names, so you might want to disable them in your mount options (unless you are used to hellow~1.c style file names ;-)). Actually, there even IS a driver for LFN for DOS, but only very few plain DOS programs know what LFN are at all. Win32 aware DOS programs and DJGPP compiled DOS programs like BASH (!) can use the driver to have full but possibly slow long file name support, though. When you create FAT filesystems with mkdosfs (dosfstools), DOS SYS will have to initialize some extra fields which are not used by Linux. When you connect FreeDOS to Win32 disks or the other way round, it might happen that Windoze is not perfectly happy with our FAT32 format - but that should only affect older FreeDOS kernel / FORMAT versions. In addition, VFAT allows Windoze to store three timestamps (creation, change, access date?) for each file, while FreeDOS often uses only one main "DOS timestamp" (there is some support for the 3 timestamp thing in the kernel but I think it is somewhat simplistic??? And is there a "do not update access time timestamp" "mount option" which could be configured in config sys? I guess not ;-)). > 4. Bootloaders. Any problems with Debian and FreeDOS co-existing? None that I would know... I myself have FreeDOS and (old version of) SuSE dual boot. My setup is: bootable partition is Linux one, LiLo is in boot sector or Linux partition, DOS partition has an entry in LiLo configuration. Linux boot loaders are often installed directly into the MBR, but I think it is a cleaner solution to install them in the Linux partition. In either case, just use SYS to make the C: drive bootable (preferrably a primary partition on hda1 ... hda4, but with a boot loader all kinds of partitions should be possible). The config files will always be searched on the drive which is called C: by DOS (not by WinXP or whatever...) if you boot DOS from harddisk, no matter on which partition the DOS kernel and other files really are. For FreeDOS-Win9x coexistence, FreeDOS uses fdconfig instead of config if both files are found on C:. An alternative solution is to mark the DOS partition as active / bootable and install a boot loader like MetaKern there. It will detect the Linux partition and offer you to boot that, assuming that you have a boot loader in the boot sector of the Linux partition. Not really useful, as LiLo/Grub already offer a menu system where you can add DOS without needing MetaKern. I even wrote a Perl script which allows you to SYS a DOS partition without having to boot DOS: The script compiles and installs a suitable boot sector, but you have to copy the kernel and other files manually (with mtools or simply after mounting the partition) AND you will have to initialize some fields like absolute partition position on disk ("hidden sector count") and geometry if you have formatted the partition with mkdosfs. If you have used Windoze or a DOS FORMAT command, the fields should be initialized already. Whatever. Just use Debian to create a primary DOS partition, copy the CD contents there, boot DOS from a floppy, use the TEXTINST from the CD, use SYS, add a boot menu entry for DOS to your Linux boot menu. This "quick method" assumes that you used Debian to format the DOS partition, but of course you can also use FreeDOS FORMAT (default method for unformatted partitions is "quick but complete filesystem initialization without a surface scan"). You may have to reboot after formatting. Maybe you can share your experiences when you are (mostly) done with this :-). Eric ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by: IT Product Guide on ITManagersJournal Use IT products in your business? Tell us what you think of them. Give us Your Opinions, Get Free ThinkGeek Gift Certificates! Click to find out more http://productguide.itmanagersjournal.com/guidepromo.tmpl _______________________________________________ Freedos-user mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
