[K12OSN] HD boot-Format 1722kb floppy on Fedora Core 2

[Mark Cockrell]

> OK! This is where I was going wrong (for any newbies out there trying 
> to do the same thing)
>
> I was following the method describe in
> http://www.k12ltsp.org/phpwiki/index.php/Technical:Booting:Client:LiLo
>
> *excellent* instructions, step-by-step.
> Except when they say "5...copy [the rom] to a floppy..." THEY MEAN 
> WHAT THEY SAY - COPY!! 'CP' NOT 'CAT' - DUH!! Takes me a while to 
> figure these things out, but I seem to get there in the end.
>
> So my old Digital PCs can now boot, without a floppy, straight to my 
> server - another milestone for me!


Hello all,
    I've seen this thread bounced around a few times since I signed on 
to this list and, being a Windows guy from way back, most of it has been 
Greek to me.  So, for others who might be in my shoes, I thought I'd 
share my solution to this issue.  I snagged a copy of FreeDOS from 
www.freedos.org and made a boot floppy.  From there I can use the 
familiar, old DOS commands like FDISK, FORMAT, and SYS.  Then I 
downloaded the "DOS Executable ROM Image" appropriate for my NICs 
(RTL8139.com, for example) from Rom-O-Matic and then created an 
"Autoexec.bat" file with "Copy CON" that runs the file. 
    In fact, with a little bit of DOS batch scripting I've created a 
single disk that will wipe out any existing partitions, create a new 
partition, format the new C: drive and make it bootable.  Then the user 
gets a choice of the most common NIC ROMs and by pressing 1,2 or 3, can 
instruct the system to copy all the necessary files to the newly erased 
drive.  It's perfect for me since I can hand the disk to a student (or a 
loosely trained monkey, for that matter) and have them roll out new thin 
clients with minimal effort. 
    I'm sure the Tom's Root Boot/LILO method is just as good, but I've 
got too many Linux learning curve issues right now to try to figure out 
a new way to do something I've been doing for 15 years.  Still Free and 
Open Source with no curtsy to Redmond necessary. 

-- 

C-ya,
Mark
____
"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." -- P. J. O'Rourke