Bug#60576: Can't install from LS120 drives...
Package: boot-floppies
Version: 2.2.8?
Severity: Critical
Versions: Potato,
When I try to install on an ls120 only machine using 1.44 floppies, the
install will not get past loading the kernel off the intial boot disk.
It will not recognise the second floppy with the root file system image
on it used for the install disks.
This is quite critical as quite a number of the machines I know of now
only have ls120s in them and no floppies. The problem is due to the
device name that the linux kernel recognises the ls120 floppy drive as -
/dev/hd? rather than /dev/fd0. A good work around would be to add the
ability to use a ls120/zip disk as the install media. This could be
very similar to the msdod batch file install method as the media would
contain everything necessary. All that needs doing is to change this to
use syslinux to boot the kernel instead of running a batach file, add
the ls120 device to the install system setup files, and statically link
the IDE floppy driver into the kernel. There would be no capacity
diffculties with the media for the base system so the changes could
probably be made in a days work and would not need much testing.
I hope this helps. It will definitely get a lot of installs out of a
hole and make them a lot easier.
Cheers,
Matthew Grant
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Matthew Grant Email: matthewg@plain.co.nz
Network Manager, Plain Communications Phone: +64 3 3645888
PO Box 7578, Christchurch, New Zealand Fax: +64 3 3645835
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