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So I'm a bit behind the times with my distro... and I'm trying to create a boot disk, but the Mandrake 9.2 kernel is too big for a floppy. Read on the mandrake website that there's a way to get around this using a command line. I'M SCARED OF COMMAND LINES! Anyone want to talk me through how to re-format the floppy to give the kernel more room? I got as far as typing "fdformat", then realised I had no idea how to specify the size or anything else. Thanks!
OK, so what is it you wont or would like to do. Is it just a boot disk that you would like to make incase your system dies? If so do you use GRUB or LILO. (LILO is default with mandrake)
never mind just type away.....
fdformat /dev/fd0H1440
mkfs -t minix /dev/fd0 1440
mount /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
cp -p /boot/chain.b /mnt/floppy
cp -p /boot/boot* /mnt/floppy
lilo -v -C /etc/lilo.floppy
umount /mnt/floppy
see not to hard.
followed the instructions but it wouldn't do it for me. To the first line [fdformat /dev/hd0H1440] it claimed "no such file or directory". To the second line [mkfs -t minix /dev/fd0 1440] it said "command not found", and I'm not sure even if this did work that the changes would give me the 1.7MB I need... where do I tell the computer that bit?
Any thoughts are greatly appreciated... the manuals do so scare you into thinking you're a fool if you don't create a boot disk!
(Oh, and I'm using Lilo, seeing as you asked)
Cheers
do you know your kernel version? If not try this...
fdformat /dev/fd0
mkfs -t minix /dev/fd0
mount /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
cp -p /boot/chain.b /mnt/floppy
cp -p /boot/boot* /mnt/floppy
lilo -v -C /etc/lilo.floppy
umount /mnt/floppy
If the first line does not work use this
fdformat /dev/fd0u1722
mkfs -t minix /dev/fd01722
syslinux -s /dev/fd0u1722
mount /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
cp /boot/vmlinuz /mnt/floppy
cp /boot/initrd.img /mnt/floppy
cat > /mnt/floppy/syslinux.cfg "note: make a file"
default linux
prompt 1
timeout 10
label linux
kernel vmlinuz
append root=/dev/hd?? initrd=initrd.img quiet devfs=mount acpi=off
"note: change /hd?? to what yours is ie: hda1 or hdb1"
press ctrl+D
umount /mnt/floppy