Douglas Mayne wrote:
> On Sat, 22 Jul 2006 14:02:26 -0700, lowrider wrote:
> <CUT>
> > Douglas Mayne wrote:
> >> On Sat, 22 Jul 2006 04:17:36 -0700, lowrider wrote:
> >>
> >> > Thanx for the speedy reply. Slackware has a zipslack and a floppy
> >> > boodisk.img that they say should do the trick. When I boot from floppy
> >> > and specify mount root=/dev/sda1, it does not find the file system.
> >> > Could it be that my initrd is not waiting for the pendrive to
> >> > initialize as mentioned in your usb setup documentation. How can I try
> >> > to include a sleep functionality on this bootdisk image?
> >> > There may be instructions on the panasonic.jp site to boot msdos and
> >> > make the pendrive look like a cdrom drive, but I havent gotten the
> >> > nerve yet to run yahoo translator on the site.
> >> >
> >> I am a bit confused about exactly what you are trying to do using
> >> zipslack. Can you point me to some resource you are relying on to load
> >> slax?
> >>
> >> Back up a minute...
> >> First, can you boot Slax using the cdrom? That would be the standard way
> >> to start Slax.
> >>
> >> BTW, your response removed all previous context. That's ok, if that is
> >> what you intended to do. If not, you might want to consult this for some
> >> tips using google to post to Usenet, courtesy CBFalconer's sig:
> >>
> >> "If you want to post a followup via groups.google.com, don't use
> >> the broken "Reply" link at the bottom of the article. Click on
> >> "show options" at the top of the article, then click on the
> >> "Reply" at the bottom of the article headers." - Keith Thompson
> >> More details at: <http://cfaj.freeshell.org/google/>
> >> Also see <http://www.safalra.com/special/googlegroupsreply/>
> >>
> <PASTE>
> > Yes this laptop does have a cdrom. I can run slax live from the cd. I
> > dont want to keep downloading my modules and running the cdrom motor.
> > I have 160mb not enough to do copy2ram. I was able to boot from from
> > floppy to zipslack(no apps) on pendrive with some boot image I found
> > while googling around. As I said I ran the make_disk script from the
> > slax cd to pendrive. That's the filesystem i want to use (rw). I
> > don't how to get the boot disk to read the bigger kernel/initrd on the
> > slax distro.
> > Thanx
> >
> Notice: I have cut/pasted your response to follow the format adopted by
> this newsgroup. In the future, please don't top post.
>
> I am not an expert with Slax, but I did download version 5.1.7, a new
> version which is "hot of the presses." I performed some more tests with
> it today. I tried to match your working environment- I have an old laptop
> which won't boot from USB either. I used the script make_disk.sh to copy
> the files from the CD to a USB flash drive. I thought there was a chance
> it could work when booting from the CD-ROM (kernel and initdrd). I booted
> with the CD and specified the slax startup command line parameter,
> "slax from=/dev/sda1." In short I couldn't get it to work because flash is
> not recognized early enough in the startup sequence. (Flash becomes
> available only after it is recognized during the rc.hotplug startup
> script.) I think Slax must see its files on CD and not worry about the
> "from" directive. The Slax documentation says that booting from USB will
> require BIOS support, and without hacking the Slax startup scripts, that
> appears to be the truth. You could attempt to hack the script, but I don't
> think I will. There is also a Slax Q and A board here:
>
> http://www.slax.org/forum/
>
> Someone there may be able to help you there. Good luck.
>
> --
> Douglas Mayne

I tried to make a boot floppy from the slax 5 livecd but it calls for a
1.68mb floppy. Where can I get one of those? Back to zipslack, I was
trying to start from scratch with umsdos but I keep booting to the
2.4.26 kernel even after installing the 2.4.31 kernel. How is this
possible and how do I get around that? does anybody knows?

On Sun, 23 Jul 2006 17:38:21 -0700, lowrider wrote:

>
> Douglas Mayne wrote:
>> On Sat, 22 Jul 2006 14:02:26 -0700, lowrider wrote:
<snip>
>>
>> I am not an expert with Slax, but I did download version 5.1.7, a new
>> version which is "hot of the presses." I performed some more tests with
>> it today. I tried to match your working environment- I have an old laptop
>> which won't boot from USB either. I used the script make_disk.sh to copy
>> the files from the CD to a USB flash drive. I thought there was a chance
>> it could work when booting from the CD-ROM (kernel and initdrd). I booted
>> with the CD and specified the slax startup command line parameter,
>> "slax from=/dev/sda1." In short I couldn't get it to work because flash is
>> not recognized early enough in the startup sequence. (Flash becomes
>> available only after it is recognized during the rc.hotplug startup
>> script.) I think Slax must see its files on CD and not worry about the
>> "from" directive. The Slax documentation says that booting from USB will
>> require BIOS support, and without hacking the Slax startup scripts, that
>> appears to be the truth. You could attempt to hack the script, but I don't
>> think I will. There is also a Slax Q and A board here:
>>
>> http://www.slax.org/forum/
>>
>> Someone there may be able to help you there. Good luck.
>>
>> --
>> Douglas Mayne
>
> I tried to make a boot floppy from the slax 5 livecd but it calls for a
> 1.68mb floppy. Where can I get one of those?
It's a 1.44MB written in a special mode. Other than that, I know nothing
about making one.

> Back to zipslack, I was
> trying to start from scratch with umsdos but I keep booting to the
> 2.4.26 kernel even after installing the 2.4.31 kernel. How is this
> possible and how do I get around that?

Are you using lilo as your loader? That is slackware's default. If so,
you need to run lilo after installing the kernel package.

man lilo

The new kernel should also be referenced in the file /etc/lilo.conf

does anybody knows?
I don't remember lilo that well. I use grub as the loader.

Test first before committing:
# lilo -tv
Watch for errors, if none reported proceed.
# lilo -v

This has the information in detail:
http://www.slackbasics.org/html/kern...kernel-install

This book is also an excellent starting point for learning about slackware
in general:
http://www.slackbasics.org/html/slackware-basics.html

--
Douglas Mayne

On Sun, 23 Jul 2006 15:59:03 -0600
Douglas Mayne <doug@localhost.localnet> wrote:

> On Sun, 23 Jul 2006 23:35:06 +0400, Mikhail Zotov wrote:
....
> > Error 23: Error while parsing number
....
> > The grub manual
> > <http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/html_node/Stage2-errors.html>
> > reveals that "This error (23) is returned if GRUB was expecting to read
> > a number and encountered bad data."
>
> Not exactly a helpful error message, is it?

No, it isn't :-(

> This sounds like either a bug in grub or a BIOS/hardware
> incompatibility. Unfortunately, I don't see a quick fix. I probably should
> have used isolinux as the loader, but I like the flexibility of grub. What
> device are you using to boot the CD (example: IDE, primary master (hdc))

This a CD-RW drive attached as a secondary master (hdc) to an old
Celeron-500 box (a supermicro motherboard, 128Mb RAM) that I'm using
to try new tools. It boots flawlessly Slackware's CDs, sysrescue CD,
PLD, trustix installation CD, etc. but it failed to boot EASYS
(http://easys.gnulinux.de/en/index.php).

> Based on the fact you can get it to boot manually, makes me think it
> must be a BIOS bug or another subtle mismatch with devices.

I've tried 10.2-live on a newer machine (again, a CD-RW drive as
a secondary master but a Celeron-1.7 GHz box with an Intel mobo).
It booted flawlessly. Shame on me I didn't do this earlier. :-)
(I usually avoid using my "working horse" for testing purposes.)

> Here is another method which also might work. This method is applicable
> to older hardware which has trouble booting from optical. This method uses
> a boot floppy to "chainload" over to the CD boot. I worked on this
> yesterday, and if you have had trouble booting CDs, then this might be a
> work-around:
> http://groups.google.com/group/comp....6c561db0f77fa9

Thank you!

>
> Otherwise, I'm scratching my head. Sorry that I don't know more.
>

Thank you for the replies, Douglas. Now I can study the project of
yours closer. :-)

--
Mikhail

On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 12:25:06 +0400, Mikhail Zotov wrote:

> On Sun, 23 Jul 2006 15:59:03 -0600
> Douglas Mayne <doug@localhost.localnet> wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 23 Jul 2006 23:35:06 +0400, Mikhail Zotov wrote:
> ...
>> > Error 23: Error while parsing number
> ...
>> > The grub manual
>> > <http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/html_node/Stage2-errors.html>
>> > reveals that "This error (23) is returned if GRUB was expecting to read
>> > a number and encountered bad data."
>>
>> Not exactly a helpful error message, is it?
>
> No, it isn't :-(
>
<snip>
>
> I've tried 10.2-live on a newer machine (again, a CD-RW drive as
> a secondary master but a Celeron-1.7 GHz box with an Intel mobo).
> It booted flawlessly.
<snip>
>
> Thank you for the replies, Douglas. Now I can study the project of
> yours closer. :-)
>
Thanks. I'm glad you were able to get past that road block.

--
Douglas Mayne

lowrider wrote :

> I tried to make a boot floppy from the slax 5 livecd but it calls for a
> 1.68mb floppy. Where can I get one of those?

You can create one yourself out of a normal floppy.

First make sure that the right device (/dev/fd0u1680) exist and if not
create it yourself as root:
'mknod /dev/fd0u1680 b 2 44'

Now format the floppy:
'mkdosfs -F 12 /dev/fd0u1680'

Last you can make the floppy bootable this way:
'syslinux -s /dev/fd0u1680'

From my DOS days I recall a utility named NFORMAT that could do
something like this from DOS.
--
Thomas O.

This area is designed to become quite warm during normal operation.

Douglas Mayne wrote:
> On Sun, 23 Jul 2006 17:38:21 -0700, lowrider wrote:
>
> >
> > Douglas Mayne wrote:
> >> On Sat, 22 Jul 2006 14:02:26 -0700, lowrider wrote:
> <snip>
> >>
> >> I am not an expert with Slax, but I did download version 5.1.7, a new
> >> version which is "hot of the presses." I performed some more tests with
> >> it today. I tried to match your working environment- I have an old laptop
> >> which won't boot from USB either. I used the script make_disk.sh to copy
> >> the files from the CD to a USB flash drive. I thought there was a chance
> >> it could work when booting from the CD-ROM (kernel and initdrd). I booted
> >> with the CD and specified the slax startup command line parameter,
> >> "slax from=/dev/sda1." In short I couldn't get it to work because flash is
> >> not recognized early enough in the startup sequence. (Flash becomes
> >> available only after it is recognized during the rc.hotplug startup
> >> script.) I think Slax must see its files on CD and not worry about the
> >> "from" directive. The Slax documentation says that booting from USB will
> >> require BIOS support, and without hacking the Slax startup scripts, that
> >> appears to be the truth. You could attempt to hack the script, but I don't
> >> think I will. There is also a Slax Q and A board here:
> >>
> >> http://www.slax.org/forum/
> >>
> >> Someone there may be able to help you there. Good luck.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Douglas Mayne
> >
> > I tried to make a boot floppy from the slax 5 livecd but it calls for a
> > 1.68mb floppy. Where can I get one of those?
> It's a 1.44MB written in a special mode. Other than that, I know nothing
> about making one.
>
> > Back to zipslack, I was
> > trying to start from scratch with umsdos but I keep booting to the
> > 2.4.26 kernel even after installing the 2.4.31 kernel. How is this
> > possible and how do I get around that?
>
> Are you using lilo as your loader? That is slackware's default. If so,
> you need to run lilo after installing the kernel package.
>
> man lilo
>
> The new kernel should also be referenced in the file /etc/lilo.conf
>
> does anybody knows?
> I don't remember lilo that well. I use grub as the loader.
>
> Test first before committing:
> # lilo -tv
> Watch for errors, if none reported proceed.
> # lilo -v
>
> This has the information in detail:
> http://www.slackbasics.org/html/kern...kernel-install
>
> This book is also an excellent starting point for learning about slackware
> in general:
> http://www.slackbasics.org/html/slackware-basics.html
>
> --
> Douglas Mayne
No! I am booting from floppy to usb. I need a good match of vmlinuz
and initrd. How can I build those files to suit my specific need?

Thomas Overgaard wrote:
> lowrider wrote :
>
> > I tried to make a boot floppy from the slax 5 livecd but it calls for a
> > 1.68mb floppy. Where can I get one of those?
>
> You can create one yourself out of a normal floppy.
>
> First make sure that the right device (/dev/fd0u1680) exist and if not
> create it yourself as root:
> 'mknod /dev/fd0u1680 b 2 44'
>
> Now format the floppy:
> 'mkdosfs -F 12 /dev/fd0u1680'
>
> Last you can make the floppy bootable this way:
> 'syslinux -s /dev/fd0u1680'
>
> From my DOS days I recall a utility named NFORMAT that could do
> something like this from DOS.
> --
> Thomas O.
>
> This area is designed to become quite warm during normal operation.

I havnt tried looking for the dos nformat yet, but how do I mount the
floppy to the fd0u1680 device? I cant run mkdosfs.

On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 06:17:44 -0700, lowrider wrote:

>
> Douglas Mayne wrote:
>> On Sun, 23 Jul 2006 17:38:21 -0700, lowrider wrote:
>>
>> >
>> > Douglas Mayne wrote:
>> >> On Sat, 22 Jul 2006 14:02:26 -0700, lowrider wrote:
>> <snip>
>> >>
>> >> I am not an expert with Slax, but I did download version 5.1.7, a new
>> >> version which is "hot of the presses." I performed some more tests with
>> >> it today. I tried to match your working environment- I have an old laptop
>> >> which won't boot from USB either. I used the script make_disk.sh to copy
>> >> the files from the CD to a USB flash drive. I thought there was a chance
>> >> it could work when booting from the CD-ROM (kernel and initdrd). I booted
>> >> with the CD and specified the slax startup command line parameter,
>> >> "slax from=/dev/sda1." In short I couldn't get it to work because flash is
>> >> not recognized early enough in the startup sequence. (Flash becomes
>> >> available only after it is recognized during the rc.hotplug startup
>> >> script.) I think Slax must see its files on CD and not worry about the
>> >> "from" directive. The Slax documentation says that booting from USB will
>> >> require BIOS support, and without hacking the Slax startup scripts, that
>> >> appears to be the truth. You could attempt to hack the script, but I don't
>> >> think I will. There is also a Slax Q and A board here:
>> >>
>> >> http://www.slax.org/forum/
>> >>
>> >> Someone there may be able to help you there. Good luck.
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >> Douglas Mayne
>> >
>> > I tried to make a boot floppy from the slax 5 livecd but it calls for a
>> > 1.68mb floppy. Where can I get one of those?
>> It's a 1.44MB written in a special mode. Other than that, I know nothing
>> about making one.
>>
>> > Back to zipslack, I was
>> > trying to start from scratch with umsdos but I keep booting to the
>> > 2.4.26 kernel even after installing the 2.4.31 kernel. How is this
>> > possible and how do I get around that?
>>
>> Are you using lilo as your loader? That is slackware's default. If so,
>> you need to run lilo after installing the kernel package.
>>
>> man lilo
>>
>> The new kernel should also be referenced in the file /etc/lilo.conf
>>
>> does anybody knows?
>> I don't remember lilo that well. I use grub as the loader.
>>
>> Test first before committing:
>> # lilo -tv
>> Watch for errors, if none reported proceed.
>> # lilo -v
>>
>> This has the information in detail:
>> http://www.slackbasics.org/html/kern...kernel-install
>>
>> This book is also an excellent starting point for learning about slackware
>> in general:
>> http://www.slackbasics.org/html/slackware-basics.html
>>
>> --
>> Douglas Mayne
> No! I am booting from floppy to usb. I need a good match of vmlinuz
> and initrd. How can I build those files to suit my specific need?
>
Oops, I forgot you had no hard disk for a second. But if you had a lilo
floppy with kernel 2.4.31, then you would need to run lilo.

Because your target platform lacks a hard disk, you may need to use
"development platform" with more resources just to get started. It's been
a while since I used floppies, but you should be able to create a
boot/root set which will load the kernel and proper usb modules to mount
your flash as the real root filesystem. You would proceed as I outlined in
my initial response to you, with the complication of writing your kernel
and initrd to a floppy.

I also tested booting Slackware (proper), when installed on a USB stick
and posted the method here:
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.o...5fd1173b080c3a

and I corrected and expanded on a few things here:
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.o...0ebe8bbc58ad3b


You must have a reason for wanting to try zipslack, but if I were you I
would do this:

1. Boot a Slackware rescue CD. Slax will probably work for this.
2. Format a spare flash drive ext2 and install the "a" series using the
method in the links above.
3. Create your two floppy set: kernel and initrd.

This doesn't achieve your goal of getting Slax on the pen drive, but it
will show you the procedure in general. In the end, you be very
familiar with the process and your hardware.

I have been thinking more about the problem of getting Slax on pen
drive without USB support and without hacking the Slax startup script. I
have an idea which I may test later today.

--
Douglas Mayne

Douglas Mayne wrote:
> On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 06:17:44 -0700, lowrider wrote:
>
> >
> > Douglas Mayne wrote:
> >> On Sun, 23 Jul 2006 17:38:21 -0700, lowrider wrote:
> >>
> >> >
> >> > Douglas Mayne wrote:
> >> >> On Sat, 22 Jul 2006 14:02:26 -0700, lowrider wrote:
> >> <snip>
> >> >>
> >> >> I am not an expert with Slax, but I did download version 5.1.7, a new
> >> >> version which is "hot of the presses." I performed some more tests with
> >> >> it today. I tried to match your working environment- I have an old laptop
> >> >> which won't boot from USB either. I used the script make_disk.sh to copy
> >> >> the files from the CD to a USB flash drive. I thought there was a chance
> >> >> it could work when booting from the CD-ROM (kernel and initdrd). I booted
> >> >> with the CD and specified the slax startup command line parameter,
> >> >> "slax from=/dev/sda1." In short I couldn't get it to work because flash is
> >> >> not recognized early enough in the startup sequence. (Flash becomes
> >> >> available only after it is recognized during the rc.hotplug startup
> >> >> script.) I think Slax must see its files on CD and not worry about the
> >> >> "from" directive. The Slax documentation says that booting from USB will
> >> >> require BIOS support, and without hacking the Slax startup scripts, that
> >> >> appears to be the truth. You could attempt to hack the script, but I don't
> >> >> think I will. There is also a Slax Q and A board here:
> >> >>
> >> >> http://www.slax.org/forum/
> >> >>
> >> >> Someone there may be able to help you there. Good luck.
> >> >>
> >> >> --
> >> >> Douglas Mayne
> >> >
> >> > I tried to make a boot floppy from the slax 5 livecd but it calls for a
> >> > 1.68mb floppy. Where can I get one of those?
> >> It's a 1.44MB written in a special mode. Other than that, I know nothing
> >> about making one.
> >>
> >> > Back to zipslack, I was
> >> > trying to start from scratch with umsdos but I keep booting to the
> >> > 2.4.26 kernel even after installing the 2.4.31 kernel. How is this
> >> > possible and how do I get around that?
> >>
> >> Are you using lilo as your loader? That is slackware's default. If so,
> >> you need to run lilo after installing the kernel package.
> >>
> >> man lilo
> >>
> >> The new kernel should also be referenced in the file /etc/lilo.conf
> >>
> >> does anybody knows?
> >> I don't remember lilo that well. I use grub as the loader.
> >>
> >> Test first before committing:
> >> # lilo -tv
> >> Watch for errors, if none reported proceed.
> >> # lilo -v
> >>
> >> This has the information in detail:
> >> http://www.slackbasics.org/html/kern...kernel-install
> >>
> >> This book is also an excellent starting point for learning about slackware
> >> in general:
> >> http://www.slackbasics.org/html/slackware-basics.html
> >>
> >> --
> >> Douglas Mayne
> > No! I am booting from floppy to usb. I need a good match of vmlinuz
> > and initrd. How can I build those files to suit my specific need?
> >
> Oops, I forgot you had no hard disk for a second. But if you had a lilo
> floppy with kernel 2.4.31, then you would need to run lilo.
>
> Because your target platform lacks a hard disk, you may need to use
> "development platform" with more resources just to get started. It's been
> a while since I used floppies, but you should be able to create a
> boot/root set which will load the kernel and proper usb modules to mount
> your flash as the real root filesystem. You would proceed as I outlined in
> my initial response to you, with the complication of writing your kernel
> and initrd to a floppy.
>
> I also tested booting Slackware (proper), when installed on a USB stick
> and posted the method here:
> http://groups.google.com/group/alt.o...5fd1173b080c3a
>
> and I corrected and expanded on a few things here:
> http://groups.google.com/group/alt.o...0ebe8bbc58ad3b
>
>
> You must have a reason for wanting to try zipslack, but if I were you I
> would do this:
>
> 1. Boot a Slackware rescue CD. Slax will probably work for this.
> 2. Format a spare flash drive ext2 and install the "a" series using the
> method in the links above.
> 3. Create your two floppy set: kernel and initrd.
>
> This doesn't achieve your goal of getting Slax on the pen drive, but it
> will show you the procedure in general. In the end, you be very
> familiar with the process and your hardware.
>
> I have been thinking more about the problem of getting Slax on pen
> drive without USB support and without hacking the Slax startup script. I
> have an idea which I may test later today.
>
> --
> Douglas Mayne

Good news! I finally had the nerve to look at the cheatcodes on the
slax 5.1.6 livecd. I tried booting with 'nocd' option. It somehow
forced the initrd to look elsewhere for root and it found my usb
install and automatically loaded all the modules I downloaded /modules.
I no longer hear the whirring of the cdrom drive, I can now open it
and play cdda/avi/mpg. I am still interested in learning more about
linux and be able to switch kernels on the fly to perhaps build on the
umsdos zipslack and install only the stuff I need/want.
Thanx

On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 08:54:02 -0700, lowrider wrote:
<snip>
>
> Good news! I finally had the nerve to look at the cheatcodes on the
> slax 5.1.6 livecd. I tried booting with 'nocd' option. It somehow
> forced the initrd to look elsewhere for root and it found my usb
> install and automatically loaded all the modules I downloaded /modules.
> I no longer hear the whirring of the cdrom drive, I can now open it
> and play cdda/avi/mpg. I am still interested in learning more about
> linux and be able to switch kernels on the fly to perhaps build on the
> umsdos zipslack and install only the stuff I need/want.
> Thanx
>
Good job! That worked with my test system, too. No other tricks
required. I booted the cd and entered this line at the prompt:

slax load=uhci_hcd,usb_storage nocd

Besides not spinning the CD, it frees the device to use for other purposes
during your slax session.

--
Douglas Mayne