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From: User Rdkeys <rdkeys@seedlab3.cropsci.ncsu.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: I MUST have a Floppy (yech) FreeBSD install --- anyone ever done one?
Date: 16 Jul 1997 14:24:34 GMT
Organization: North Carolina State University
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Message-ID: <5qilj2$j07@uni00nw.unity.ncsu.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: seedlab3.cropsci.ncsu.edu
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Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:44554
I would like to install FreeBSD on a lowendian home box (8 megs ram,
200 megs IDE HD, mono (yup mono) monitor, unfortunately NO CDROM).
This machine is going to be a dedicated TeX/LaTeX/troff writing box,
and nothing more!
Thus, a minimal install with a few packages is all I would seem to need.
OK, Laughs over now? Thanks....... I really am serious about this, OK.
1. I did test drop in a preinstalled IDE drive with 2.1.5-snap something
or other, and it came up fine. SO, it should be possible to build
a low endian box to be a plain writing box.
2. I need to do a floppy install --- sorry no CDROM available, and I don't
plan on one for now. I have tons of floppies and only one install will
be required for a long time, right? (pending power line nukes...(:+{{....)
3. I tried the 2.1.5 stable disk set from a few months back and the install
came up fine, but the part of the script that actually does the floppy
install is broken --- it merely circled back to itself and then said
that it could not get the full bin in one piece and died.
That sounds like a broken install script to me, since everything else
in my disk set seems to work, and it knew what it was looking at on the
disks, but just failed to bring the pieces over onto the hard drive
for extraction.
4. HAS ANYONE EVER done a floppy install of FreeBSD????? Everyone does
the ftp or nfs or cdrom install that I have ever heard of. Has anyone
actually ever tested the floppy install? If so, I need to find out
the particulars therof. My install scripts on 2.1.5 worked fine, except
for the actual reading of the disk, and sure feels untested or broken
to me. My office FreeBSD boxes came up fine, so I don't think it is
my inexperience at the installs (done about a dozen installs now, yup
yup yup, and just love that FreeBSD install simplicity.....(:+}}.....).
5. Is there a particular version later than my ancient 2.1.5 that I should
be using for a working floppy install? It is no problem to nuke the
existing disk set and reload them with whatever version works from
the primary ftp site, or wherever. I may need some pointers, here.
OK, now that we are all having a good laugh, me included, I would really
like to do a floppy install set on the toy home writing box, OK, but just
need any particular pointers to the best version to use, and any possible
experiences of others on this ``old fashioned way'' of bringing up baby.
Thanks
Bob Keys/rdkeys@seedlab3.cropsci.ncsu.edu