Re: [Freedos-user] Post-install problem with GRUB2 bootloader

[Charles Hudson via Freedos-user]

My thanks to all who responded.  With your help I managed to
recover the installed Fedora 39 KDE Workstation OS and to install a
modified GRUB2 bootloader that gives me the option of booting Fedora
or FreeDOS.  I made a number of discoveries along the way and for
use by anyone who might find themselves in a similar situation I will
highlight some of them here.

The essence of the problem was that the FreeDOS Live installer
overwrote the MBR of the hard disk, sda1 as Linux names the
partition, to point to the FAT32 third partition, sda3, where FreeDOS
is installed.  Booting from the hard disk went straight to
FreeDOS, in other words.  Booting from other, removable media,
however, I found that most of the rest of the Fedora installation was
intact - my /home directory, with all of the work product, for
example. Thankfully I was able to copy this off before setting about
repair.

I used a number of different self-booting ISOs; the KDE Live
installer, a GPARTED utility, a MINT boot-recovery disk; but I found
that the SuperGRUB2 disk
(https://www.supergrubdisk.org/super-grub2-disk/) was especially
useful and could actually boot my previous installation by
examining the "core image" that remained in
/boot/grub2/i386-pc/core.img.  Although I was unable to restore the
boot track from this utility, I knew the system was recoverable.

The final piece of the puzzle was to rebuild the GRUB2 bootloader and
put it on the MBR.  I found in the Fedora Docs the following article:
https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/quick-docs/grub2-bootloader/.
I determined that I was using a BIOS so the procedure was somewhat
simplified, but there is one caveat:  GRUB2 can be configured to suit
a number of different situations, and different Linux "flavors", e.g.
Fedora, Mint, SuSe, Ubuntu etc., may have differing ideas about how
that should be accomplished.  In the case of my Fedora installation a
critically important tool was left out of the GRUB2 configuration.

It was necessary for me to edit the file /etc/default/grub to add the
following line, GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false, which allowed the GRUB2
configuration-builder to use the os-prober and list the FreeDOS
operating system along with Fedora.  I ran grub2-install and
grub2-mkconfig, and rebooted to find a menu of choices including
Fedora and FreeDOS.

I took on this task for the purpose of discovery, and I learned a lot
about both operating systems in the process. I understand that with
flexibility comes complexity, but if I might raise two small
objections they would be these:  In the installation process make
clear what choices are being made and how they may affect your
system; get confirmation before you overwrite the MBR.  If you can't
do that in coding, at least put it in documentation.   And speaking
of documentation, if you have a custom configuration of a tool such
as GRUB2, please document what you have left in and left out: it was
only on a third-party web site that I learned of the need for
specifying the os-prober.

That's my saga.  Thanks again for your help.
-CH-



___
Freedos-user mailing list
Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user

Re: [Freedos-user] Post-install problem with GRUB2 bootloader

[Charles Hudson via Freedos-user]

Thank you all for your responses.  Apparently my responses have been over
the 40k limit; I'm not familiar with the site so pardon my delay in
responding.

There is only one active partition; it is sda1.  it got moved to sda3 where
DOS was installed when I used the fdisk that was part of the FreeDOS
installation but I moved it back with KDE Partition Manager, the same tool
I used to shrink the Linux BTRFS partition on sda2. FD's fdisk would not
allow resetting sda1 as active.

I will attempt to attach the terminal output showing lsblk -f etc.  There
is no rescue mode (that I can find) on this release of Fedora; it used to
be an option in GRUB.

-CH-
liveuser@localhost-live:~$ su
root@localhost-live:/home/liveuser# [ -d /sys/firmware/efi ] && echo UEFI || 
echo BIOS
BIOS
root@localhost-live:/home/liveuser# dnf list installed | grep grub
grub2-common.noarch  1:2.06-100.fc39
 @anaconda
grub2-efi-ia32.x86_641:2.06-100.fc39
 @anaconda
grub2-efi-ia32-cdboot.x86_64 1:2.06-100.fc39
 @anaconda
grub2-efi-x64.x86_64 1:2.06-100.fc39
 @anaconda
grub2-efi-x64-cdboot.x86_64  1:2.06-100.fc39
 @anaconda
grub2-pc.x86_64  1:2.06-100.fc39
 @anaconda
grub2-pc-modules.noarch  1:2.06-100.fc39
 @anaconda
grub2-tools.x86_64   1:2.06-100.fc39
 @anaconda
grub2-tools-efi.x86_64   1:2.06-100.fc39
 @anaconda
grub2-tools-extra.x86_64 1:2.06-100.fc39
 @anaconda
grub2-tools-minimal.x86_64   1:2.06-100.fc39
 @anaconda
grubby.x86_648.40-72.fc39   
 @anaconda
root@localhost-live:/home/liveuser# lsblk
NAMEMAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
loop0 7:00   2.2G  1 loop 
loop1 7:10   8.8G  1 loop 
├─live-rw   253:00   8.8G  0 dm   /
└─live-base 253:10   8.8G  1 dm   
loop2 7:2032G  0 loop 
└─live-rw   253:00   8.8G  0 dm   /
sda   8:00 223.6G  0 disk 
├─sda18:10 1G  0 part 
├─sda28:20 219.6G  0 part 
└─sda38:30 3G  0 part 
sdb   8:16   1  14.4G  0 disk 
├─sdb18:17   1   2.3G  0 part /run/initramfs/live
├─sdb28:18   1  11.6M  0 part 
└─sdb38:19   1   300K  0 part 
sr0  11:01  1024M  0 rom  
zram0   252:00   7.6G  0 disk [SWAP]
root@localhost-live:/home/liveuser# lsblk -f
NAMEFSTYPE  FSVER   LABEL  UUID 
FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
loop0   squashf 4.0 
   
loop1   ext41.0 Anaconda   
f9515758-5765-4fca-b24e-633f7fdea3fb
├─live-rw
│   ext41.0 Anaconda   
f9515758-5765-4fca-b24e-633f7fdea3fb  2G77% /
└─live-base
ext41.0 Anaconda   
f9515758-5765-4fca-b24e-633f7fdea3fb
loop2   DM_snap 
   
└─live-rw
ext41.0 Anaconda   
f9515758-5765-4fca-b24e-633f7fdea3fb  2G77% /
sda 
   
├─sda1  ext41.0
c9c2f8e9-f99f-4dba-934b-96904da5b63a
├─sda2  btrfs   fedora_localhost-live  
a9a3c9e0-18e3-4fec-9678-529faf02a1b3
└─sda3  vfatFAT32   DOS1960-1C23
   
sdb iso9660 Joliet  Fedora-KDE-Live-39-1-5 2023-11-01-01-34-53-00   
   
├─sdb1  iso9660 Joliet  Fedora-KDE-Live-39-1-5 2023-11-01-01-34-53-00   
  0   100% /run/initramfs/live
├─sdb2  vfatFAT16   ANACONDA   B3C2-9928
   
└─sdb3  
   
sdc 
   
└─sdc1  vfatFAT32  1C2E-2966
  28.8G 0% /run/media/liveuser/1C2E-2966
sr0 
   
zram0   
   [SWAP]
root@localhost-live:/home/liveuser# fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sda: 223.57 GiB, 240057409536 bytes, 468862128 sectors
Disk model: CT240BX500SSD1  
Units: 

[Freedos-user] Post-install problem with GRUB2 bootloader

[Charles Hudson via Freedos-user]

On a Lenovo R400 laptop with an existing Fedora 39 KDE system, booted by
GRUB2, I decided to add a new partition and install FreeDOS 1.3.
The Intel Core2 DUO processor lacks VM extensions so I decided to install
on the SSD.  I resized the BRTFS partition to create a new 3 GiB FAT32
partition, labeled "DOS", on which to install.

Using the FD 1.3 Live CD I proceeded with installation:  If there was a
choice offered of where to install I missed it, but I was relieved to see
installation picked the DOS partition.  Using fdisk I verified the
existence of two Linux partitions and one FAT32 partition, which I made
active.  Installation failed, however, as I found I needed to format the
partition first.  I issued the command "format /s".  After doing so
installation carried to completion.

After reboot the machine booted into a menu of FreeDOS options and after
selecting one processed the initialization files and left me at a C:\
prompt.  However, I seem to have blitzed my Linux installation as the GRUB2
bootloader no longer appears nor loads Fedora 39.

My investigations into the repair of the MBR and attempts at restoration of
GRUB2 have been unsuccessful:  At this point neither Linux nor FD boot and
the machine BIOS complains about the parameters.  I am able to verify that
the Linux file system is intact by means of a Fedora 39 KDE Live .iso image
loaded onto a USB disk, and I have offloaded the contents of my Home
directory.

I could in other words reinstall the Linux system but as a learning
exercise I though I would see if GRUB could be rebuilt.  Supposing that
this may have happened to some other user, I am posting a question here,
asking for advice on how to handle this situation.

Thank you for your suggestions.


Virus-free.www.avg.com

<#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
___
Freedos-user mailing list
Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user

[Freedos-user] 387 emulator

[charles]

I have recently installed freedos 1.0 on my 486sx laptop.  I am now 
looking for a math coprocessor emulator that won't kill emm386. Any 
suggestions?


--
Increase Visibility of Your 3D Game App  Earn a Chance To Win $500!
Tap into the largest installed PC base  get more eyes on your game by
optimizing for Intel(R) Graphics Technology. Get started today with the
Intel(R) Software Partner Program. Five $500 cash prizes are up for grabs.
http://p.sf.net/sfu/intelisp-dev2dev
___
Freedos-user mailing list
Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user

Re: [Freedos-user] 387 emulator

[charles]

On 11/24/2010 4:32 PM, userbeit...@abwesend.de wrote:
 charles wrote on Wednesday 24th of November 2010:
 I have recently installed freedos 1.0 on my 486sx laptop.  I am now
 looking for a math coprocessor emulator that won't kill emm386. Any
 suggestions?

 No. I do know there was one in the old days (late 80's), and as far as I
 remember it was freeware. But I don't recall its name. It was used in my
 school for running AutoCAD (acad) on their 386SX PCs.

 If I should find out, I'll come back to tell you.

 I guess, searching the world wide web is no luck, since this TSR program is
 about as old as the WWW.

 There is also the possibility that it wouldn't be compatible with FreeDOS.

 For what it's worth,
 Andreas.

 --
 Increase Visibility of Your 3D Game App  Earn a Chance To Win $500!
 Tap into the largest installed PC base  get more eyes on your game by
 optimizing for Intel(R) Graphics Technology. Get started today with the
 Intel(R) Software Partner Program. Five $500 cash prizes are up for grabs.
 http://p.sf.net/sfu/intelisp-dev2dev
 ___
 Freedos-user mailing list
 Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
 https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user


I was afraid of that. Most of the ones that I have tried made emm386 
puke. One of them was made to run in the protected mode memory but 
couldn't understand emm386 (if it was the ms version that would have 
been different). Franke 387 loaded without any problems, but 7zip didn't 
detect a math coprocessor.

So where would I need to look for the information needed to write one.


--
Increase Visibility of Your 3D Game App  Earn a Chance To Win $500!
Tap into the largest installed PC base  get more eyes on your game by
optimizing for Intel(R) Graphics Technology. Get started today with the
Intel(R) Software Partner Program. Five $500 cash prizes are up for grabs.
http://p.sf.net/sfu/intelisp-dev2dev
___
Freedos-user mailing list
Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user

Re: [Freedos-user] ASPI driver

[charles]

basudeb gupta wrote:
 Hi All,
 
 Is there an ASPI driver for FreeDOS? Where can I get it?
 
 Also, where can I get the specs of that driver so that I can write a 
 program and access a SCSI hard disk?
 
 Thanks
 Basudeb
 
 

I've had the same problem with FreeDOS not accessing hard drives.  From 
what I can tell by testing various programs under FreeDOS and MS-DOS is 
that the FD fdisk program does it's own thing and fails to recognize a 
SCSI drive unless you issue set FFD_VERSION=6 at the command prompt 
(without quotas).  This won't help you however.  This basically puts 
fdisk in a type of 16-bit mode and the limitations of FAT 16 partitions 
only.  In other words no larger than 2GB FAT 16 partitions.  But it gets 
even worse.  The FreeDOS kernel doesn't seem to want anything to do with 
the SCSI int 13h extensions and completely ignores them.  This also 
includes loading an ASPI driver.  So until this gets addressed us SCSI 
users are SOL when it comes to FreeDOS.  Correct me if I'm wrong.

BTW what is your system specs including SCSI card.

-
Take Surveys. Earn Cash. Influence the Future of IT
Join SourceForge.net's Techsay panel and you'll get the chance to share your
opinions on IT  business topics through brief surveys-and earn cash
http://www.techsay.com/default.php?page=join.phpp=sourceforgeCID=DEVDEV
___
Freedos-user mailing list
Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user

Re: [Freedos-user] scsi hard drive install issues]

[charles]

 ---BeginMessage---

Kenneth J. Davis wrote:

charles wrote:
Been trying to install freedos V1.0 onto a SCSI HD.  The fdisk program 
is giving me Invalid Drive Designation but will see the SCSI drives 
when I issue set FFD_VERSION=6 at the command prompt.  That doesn't 
do me any good though with xfdisk or format. System specs and SCSI 
specs and settings follows:


hmmm, this may invalidate what I said below, need to look into it more, 
but I still think your best bet is to ensure the SCSI controller's BIOS 
is set to enabled and not just Boot Only.


...


Support Removable Disks under BIOS as Fixed Disks = Boot Only


You need to change this setting

...
 From these settings FreeDOS should see the drives a ordinary fixed 
disks. But it doesn't. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. 


I could be mistaken, but it is my impression this option as set only 
enables the SCSI BIOS if you are booting from the HD connected to the 
SCSI controller, otherwise it will be disabled.  This is the key to 
getting FDISK to work, as it requires BIOS int13h support to see the 
drive.  If the SCSI BIOS is disabled you would need to load an ASPI 
driver in combination with a DOS device driver to access the fixed disk, 
which even if loaded I am not certain that standard fdisk/format 
utilities will work with (depends on if they use DOS calls or BIOS calls).




Charles

P.S. Linux can access these drives just fine.


The drives are mostly likely there, just the Linux includes the needed 
drivers, whereas DOS does not, so you either need to load them or ensure 
BIOS support is available.


Jeremy
(ps my messages don't make it to the list, hence the CC)




Ok,

I did what was suggested here but still no go.

I think that you have this line:

Support Removable Disks under BIOS as Fixed Disks = Boot Only

confused with this line:

Host Adapter BIOS = Enabled

However I did change the previous option to see what happened.

I think that this option:

Extended BIOS Translation For DOS Drives  1GByte = Enabled

switches between LBA and CHS modes.  That would make sense anyway since 
CHS wasn't a problem before drives became larger than 1G.


This option:

BIOS Support For More Than 2 Drives (MS-DOS 5.0 and above) = Enabled

I think was to eliminate the need for DOS drivers when using more than 2 
hard drives.


All permutations of these options gave the same result.  So I tried 
loading the ASPI driver for it.


devload aspi8dos.sys /D

It identified the drives and designated them C: and D:\

Int 13H active for Drives: C: D:

Int 13H routed through ASPI manager.
ASPI8DOS.SYS installation successful.
1 character device installed.
Driver staying resident.

FreeDOS completely blows this off and refuses to access the drives 
installed using fdisk (Unless using the before mentioned set option) or 
xfdisk or format.  Since aspi8dos.sys should have taken the BIOS out of 
the loop here.


I did check using a Windows 98 boot disk to see if the problem existed 
there after loading the ASPI driver but there wasn't any problem.  So it 
sounds like a problem in FreeDOS regarding Int 13H.


Please tell me if I'm mistaken.


Charles

---End Message---
-
Take Surveys. Earn Cash. Influence the Future of IT
Join SourceForge.net's Techsay panel and you'll get the chance to share your
opinions on IT  business topics through brief surveys - and earn cash
http://www.techsay.com/default.php?page=join.phpp=sourceforgeCID=DEVDEV___
Freedos-user mailing list
Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user

Re: [Freedos-user] scsi hard drive install issues]

[charles]

Kenneth J. Davis wrote:
 charles wrote:
 ...
 FreeDOS completely blows this off and refuses to access the drives 
 installed using fdisk (Unless using the before mentioned set option) 
 or xfdisk or format.  Since aspi8dos.sys should have taken the BIOS 
 out of the loop here.

 I did check using a Windows 98 boot disk to see if the problem existed 
 there after loading the ASPI driver but there wasn't any problem.  So 
 it sounds like a problem in FreeDOS regarding Int 13H.

 Please tell me if I'm mistaken.


 Charles

 
 Sounds like you definitely found an incompatibility; if you would not 
 mind, please try the FreeDOS kernel [boot disk] (using appropriate 
 version setting in config.sys if needed) and MS fdisk and MS kernel 
 [boot disk] with FD fdisk.  I would like to track down if this is 
 missing kernel functionality and/or how fdisk is accessing the disks 
 causing the issues.
 
 Thank you,
 Jeremy
 
 
 
 

This may be a complete application failure. MS-DOS fdisk works in 
FreeDOS before and after the ASPI driver is loaded. FreeDOS fdisk and 
xfdisk fail when running from MS-DOS.  However I can't mount the scsi 
drives in FreeDOS (I had formatted them in MS-DOS) is this still 
application or kernel or both?

Charles

-
Take Surveys. Earn Cash. Influence the Future of IT
Join SourceForge.net's Techsay panel and you'll get the chance to share your
opinions on IT  business topics through brief surveys - and earn cash
http://www.techsay.com/default.php?page=join.phpp=sourceforgeCID=DEVDEV
___
Freedos-user mailing list
Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user

[Freedos-user] scsi hard drive install issues

[charles]

Been trying to install freedos V1.0 onto a SCSI HD.  The fdisk program 
is giving me Invalid Drive Designation but will see the SCSI drives when 
I issue set FFD_VERSION=6 at the command prompt.  That doesn't do me 
any good though with xfdisk or format. System specs and SCSI specs and 
settings follows:

Motherboard:  ASRock K7VM2
BIOS: AMI BIOS version P1.90
CPU:  AMD Duron 950MHz
Memory:   512MB

SCSI Controller:   Adaptec AHA-2940/AHA-2940W Firmware version 1.16
Settings:
Host Adapter SCSI ID = 7
SCSI Parity Checking = Enabled
Host Adapter SCSI Termination = Enabled

Advanced Options:
Reset SCSI Bus at IC Initialization = Enabled
Host Adapter BIOS = Enabled
Support Removable Disks under BIOS as Fixed Disks = Boot Only
Extended BIOS Translation For DOS Drives  1GByte = Enabled
BIOS Support For More Than 2 Drives (MS-DOS 5.0 and above) = Enabled

SCSI Devices:
SCSI ID 0 = Quantum QM318200TD (18GB)
SCSI ID 1 = Quantum QM318200TD (18GB)

 From these settings FreeDOS should see the drives a ordinary fixed 
disks. But it doesn't. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. 

Charles

P.S. Linux can access these drives just fine.


-
Take Surveys. Earn Cash. Influence the Future of IT
Join SourceForge.net's Techsay panel and you'll get the chance to share your
opinions on IT  business topics through brief surveys - and earn cash
http://www.techsay.com/default.php?page=join.phpp=sourceforgeCID=DEVDEV
___
Freedos-user mailing list
Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user

[Freedos-user] cdrom trouble

[charles]

Hello to everyone ,and thank you to all developers.
I have a problem with my cdrom .
My install went fine but now it doesn't work.
Problem is I don't have a floppy drive or network attached ,just a
cdrom.
I just installed freedos and I cant get the drivers working.
Here is the line in my config sys,it was commented out but i uncommented
it.
1?DEVICEHIGH=C:\\BIN\ATAPICDD.SYS /D:CDROM1

And this is from my autoexec.bat.

LH ShsuCDhd /QQ /F:C\\FDBOOTCD.ISO
ShsuCDX /C /Q+ /D:?CDROM1

I edited the install version a little.
the cdrom is atapi ,not sure which model .it is a compaq laptop and
atapi cdrom.

I am a linux user ,but I like the fact that dos doesn't have to mount
drives ,starts fast can be shut off quickly and is small .The only thing
I need now is an autoplay feature like windows .So when you put a cd in
the drive it starts playing. 
 
Thanks :-)



---
Using Tomcat but need to do more? Need to support web services, security?
Get stuff done quickly with pre-integrated technology to make your job easier
Download IBM WebSphere Application Server v.1.0.1 based on Apache Geronimo
http://sel.as-us.falkag.net/sel?cmd=lnkkid=120709bid=263057dat=121642
___
Freedos-user mailing list
Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user

[Freedos-user] Devload.com and Network Drivers

[Charles Peck]

I'm working on a network boot disk for multiple computers (Ghost), and
am trying to have the boot disk auto detect and install the  network
drivers automatically, to save time since I image dozens of computers
at once.  Right now, I can properly load up the drivers through
config.sys, but I have to select them from a menu.  For the auto
select mode, I have to load them in autoexec.bat, using devload.com. 
The first two drivers, generic ones-- protman.dos and dis_pkt.dos load
up fine, but when I try to load each individual network driver, the
entire process outputs an error, some hex, and hangs.  I'm not sure
whether I have himem.sys and emm386.exe configured wrong, or if it is
something else, so I have included my himem and emm386 lines below.

My Himem.sys line:
device=\bin\himem.exe /testmem:off

My emm386.exe line:
device=\bin\emm386.exe noems X=TEST

Thanks,
Charles

--
A wise man knows everything.
A shrewd man knows everyone.


---
This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. Do you grep through log files
for problems?  Stop!  Download the new AJAX search engine that makes
searching your log files as easy as surfing the  web.  DOWNLOAD SPLUNK!
http://sel.as-us.falkag.net/sel?cmd=lnkkid3432bid#0486dat1642
___
Freedos-user mailing list
Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user

Re: [Freedos-user] Did anyone succeed to install MSWGC?

[Charles Peck]

 I can't confirm nor deny, but I think I saw a sentence or two in one of
 my many readings describing PROTMAN (no version mentioned if I recall
 correctly) makes some very specific assumptions about kernel/memory
 layout, which I do not believe the FD kernel attempts to mimic.
 Unfortunately not having (at least readily as I'm still not 100% sure
 which components this is) program available for testing I can not
 provide you with more details.


I don't have any source, but if you need, I have protman.dos,
dis_pkt.dos, netbind, and I think several other DOS networking files,
that I am currently using, if you want to look over them.


--
A wise man knows everything.
A shrewd man knows everyone.


---
SF.Net email is sponsored by:
Tame your development challenges with Apache's Geronimo App Server. Download
it for free - -and be entered to win a 42 plasma tv or your very own
Sony(tm)PSP.  Click here to play: http://sourceforge.net/geronimo.php
___
Freedos-user mailing list
Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user

[Freedos-user] INT19h BIOS Interrupt: Hot Boot

[Gaitz, Charles]

INT19h Has anyone else had any problems with the
Int19h bios interrupt?