Re: Debian alpha install with reiserfs support

[Tyson Whitehead <twhitehe@uwo.ca>]

I'm running ReiserFS on my PWS500au.

I had quite a time installing, however, as there was some sort of ReiserFS  
bug in the Debian version of kernel 2.4.18 [or somewhere around there] that 
crashed or scrambled data or something.  I believe more recent Debian 
versions are fine (I'm currently running a stock 2.4.21 with no problem).

The easiest way to install it is to make 4 partitions.  Make the first a 20MB 
one or so (if you are using SRM to boot, remember to leave 512 sectors or so 
unpartitioned at the start for the aboot image).  Make the last a swap 
partition.  Split the remaining space between the second and third.

Format the third as an ext2 system and install a base system onto it.  Once 
installed, get the Reiser utilities and format the second as a ReiserFS.

Copy the /boot directory over to the first and reconfigure aboot to boot off 
of it (abootconf).  You need a copy of /etc/aboot.conf on it as well (I moved 
my /etc/aboot.conf to it and simlinked it backed). Copy the root file system 
from third to second (correct fstab and aboot.conf to set the second as 
root).

Reboot and you're done.

-T

PS:  If you don't want the third partition anymore (which you can now reformat 
as Reiser), remove it.  Take the boot floppies and erase stuff off them that 
you don't need (such as the ext2 utilities).  Copy the Reiser utilities onto 
it (this usually requires adding libraries as well -- check with ldd).

Boot off the floppy, switch to the console, resize the second partition and 
then use resize_reiserfs to extend the file system to fill it up.

-- 
 Tyson Whitehead  (-twhitehe@uwo.ca -- WSC-)
 Computer Engineer                        Dept. of Applied Mathematics,
 Graduate Student- Applied Mathematics    University of Western Ontario,
 GnuPG Key ID# 0x8A2AB5D8                 London, Ontario, Canada