[TAG] Running isoLINUX from a REALLY old machine

[Benjamin A. Okopnik]

[ forwarded back to TAG ]

On Sun, Nov 20, 2005 at 07:47:59PM +0100, R.M.Deal wrote:
> Hi, Benjamin A. Okopnik,
> 
> Thanks for the rapid reply.  I cut off the cc to tag recipients since I 
> didn't know what you wanted.

Actually, that would be the opposite of what I wanted. :)

All the Linux-relevant discussions happen in TAG; several of us are
consultants and do one-on-one advice, programming, etc., but we charge
large amounts of money for it. TAG is our contribution to the community,
and the discussion has to be public for just that reason.

> Well, I've tried one of your suggestions with no joy so far.
> 
> >Have you looked for a BIOS update? I'm not saying that one is definitely
> >available, but if it is, then that would be the simplest solution. Take
> >a look at Toshiba's site and see if there's a download available.
> >
> Great suggestion.  I shall do that.
> 
> >The problem is that, shortly after I wrote the article, the information
> >in it became outdated: the next release of Knoppix had a minimum size
> >for the kernel/modules/etc. that was much too large to fit on a floppy.
> >However, for your application, there's an easy answer - or at least used
> >to be (I don't have a Knoppix CD handy to check): just fire up your
> >Wind0ws, look at the Knoppix CD, and there should be a batch file there
> >called "mkfloppy.bat". 
> >
> Well, almost.  I could not get anything under my Windows boot on the 
> portable (a laptop only if you have strong
> quadriceps) so I booted my LINUX system (suse 9.3) with KNOPPIX and 
> couldn't find a mkfloppy.bat there.

That wouldn't have helped anyway, since all the commands in the batch
file are DOS programs.

> However,
> in a file knoppix-cheatcodes.txt, the procedure to handle floppy boot 
> only is described, using a LINUX command in KNOPPIX named
> mkbootfloppy.  However, when I boot with KNOPPIX, I can find no such 
> file, only a mkboot.  That mkboot command looks
> right but when I run it with an installed blank floppy, after writing on 
> the floppy drive, I get an error message, in German.  Now
> I am living now in Germany (Weimar) and am taking a course in German but 
> I do not have the resources to fully translate
> technical German.

Whoops... Perhaps you could post that error? My technical German has
risen above zero (in part, due to Knoppix :), and there are several
German-speaking folks here who could help.

> I plan on working on deciphering that error message 
> but meanwhile I took the floppy that resulted from that action and tried 
> to boot my portable with it.  Unfortunately, it only booted into W95;  
> it seems the boot floppy is faulty.  You referred to two floppy disks 
> and so did the cheatcodes.txt file but there was no prompt to put in a 
> second floppy.   It may be time for me to contact the programmer
> of KNOPPIX directly to see what the problem is.  I'm guessing that the 
> cheatcodes.txt file was written for an earlier version of KNOPPIX and 
> doesn't describe the procedure correctly for the new version.  Did I say 
> LINUX was fun??

Sure. Part of the fun is the ability to make things happen that aren't
the norm. :)


* Ben Okopnik * Editor-in-Chief, Linux Gazette * http://linuxgazette.net *