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