This is very easy if you are using DOS 6.x. It is a feature included with MS-DOS operating system above 6. If I have time I will try to find a DOS reference book tonight and show you how to do it.
Inigo --- James Miller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I reappropriated a CF (compact flash) disk yesterday > for use as a hard > drive. This is for a little router project I'm > setting up. I had a hell > of a time formatting that disk and making it > bootable. I was trying this > under vague recollections of things I'd read and > commonsensical impulse. > I spent way more time on it than I should have, but > finally did resolve > the problems, got the disk bootable, formatted and > installed the OS (DOS: > the project I'm using is a Linux router, but it runs > from a DOS/UMSDOS > file system). In case anyone else plans on using CF > as bootable medium > for a computer, let me pass along some things I > learned: 1) CF disks do > have c/h/s settings that must be discovered and, > often, manually entered > into BIOS; 2) One should not use LBA on CF disks; 3) > Once your BIOS has > the right settings, you'll be able to format the > disk and install the > OS/make it bootable. I did this by installing DOS > on it. One can also > make it Linux bootable, apparently most readily by > using syslinux. Here > is the address of a page that finally got me over > the hurdle: > http://chinese-watercolor.com/LRP/hd/ . The page > gives instructions for > making a CF disk bootable with syslinux, and also > has other helpful hints > and a number of utils (all M$Win-realiant, for > whatever reason). It also > has a table that gives c/h/s info for various sizes > of CF - very > helpful. You will most likely want to consult this > page if you plan on > using CF as bootable media. Though its main goal is > to explain how to > install an LRP (Linux Router Project) distribution > to CF, it has broader > interest. > > Now, for my inquiry. Having gotten DOS installed > and made the CF disk > bootable, I'd like to make myself a little menu that > times out after, say, > 5 seconds, after which it boots the router > (router.bat). That will give > me a few seconds to get to a DOS prompt, should I > need to. I made myself > a timeout menu like that for a DOS/Basiclinux > machine that I have which > has various Linux partitions I can boot to, but > defaults to one after a > certain amount of time. I could probably just > cannibalize that menu for > the new project. But one feature I'd like to have > that I couldn't > implement on that timeout menu was a countdown > timer. In other words, > what I'd like to do is have a message appear > onscreen something like: > > The machine will boot to Freesco in 5 seconds X > > In the place of the "X", there should be first a 5, > then after 1 second a > 4, then after another second a 3 - I think you get > the idea. When it > gets to zero it should invoke router.bat . How is > this countdown timer > done? Thanks for any input on that. Hope the above > info may be helpful > to someone and save them the alnight vigil I just > had trying to get CF > booting. > > James > > To unsubscribe from SURVPC send a message to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] with > unsubscribe SURVPC in the body of the message. > Also, trim this footer from any quoted replies. > More info can be found at; > http://www.softcon.com/archives/SURVPC.html > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com To unsubscribe from SURVPC send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe SURVPC in the body of the message. Also, trim this footer from any quoted replies. More info can be found at; http://www.softcon.com/archives/SURVPC.html
