Return to BSD News archive
Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.mira.net.au!news.vbc.net!garlic.com!news.scruz.net!noos.hooked.net!www.nntp.primenet.com!nntp.primenet.com!arclight.uoregon.edu!dispatch.news.demon.net!demon!awfulhak.demon.co.uk!awfulhak.demon.co.uk!awfulhak.demon.co.uk!not-for-mail
From: brian@awfulhak.demon.co.uk (Brian Somers)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: Copying to a floppy drive
Date: 10 Sep 1996 11:31:27 +0100
Organization: Coverform Ltd.
Lines: 55
Message-ID: <513g1v$ar@anorak.coverform.lan>
References: <3232CD39.7470@sympatico.ca>
NNTP-Posting-Host: localhost.coverform.lan
X-NNTP-Posting-Host: awfulhak.demon.co.uk
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2]
Ray Stamp (ray.stamp@sympatico.ca) wrote:
: First of all I just want to that this is not a joke...
: We use a Unix system at work but I know absolutly nothing about the OS.
: I am presently reading The first book of Unix but was wondering how to
: copy a file from the HD to a floppy ?
Depends on the Unix. Normally, under Unix, there is only one filesystem
- no such things as drive letters, different physical disks are "mount"ed
on that filesystem as directory hierarchies. Usually you'll have to
"mount" your floppy drive, say by typing
mount -t msdos /dev/fd0a /mnt
copy files to and from the /mnt directory and then "umount" it with
umount /mnt
Alternatively, there's a package called "mtools" that allows you do do
things such as
mcd a:/
mdir
mcopy a:myfile /tmp
As I said, depends on the Unix - mtools probably ports.
: I am running W95 on my current system and I'm interested in maybe
: running a unix os under W95. Is this possible? Is there a real basic
: freeware version somewhere so I could learn the basics of the OS ?
You can either run some Unix utilities under W95 (not even close to
"running unix") or you can "run unix". Running unix cannot involve
W95 because W95 attempts to control the machine and inflict BIOS
routines containing non-reentrant 16bit code on all of its executables.
Unix is an operating system. It controls the computer. It is however
possible to "dual boot" your machine so that W95 resides on one section
of your hard disk(s) and Unix resides on another. When you boot your
machine, you get a choice of which OS to start.
The "freeware" version of Unix that I'd recommend is FreeBSD
(ftp.freebsd.org), but you also have the option of using Linux, NetBSD
or OpenBSD. I recommend FreeBSD because I know it. I think the rule
is: if you know someone else that runs one of the above, run the same.
After a while you'll think that whatever you choose is the best anyway.
If you want to order one of these OS's on CD (they're all free and
available for download, it just takes a long time to download. The
CD can get through the postal system faster than you can download
FreeBSD over a 28.8k modem !), have a look on http://www.cdrom.com/
--
Brian <brian@awfulhak.demon.co.uk>
Don't _EVER_ lose your sense of humour....