Re: Hurd CD scripts
On 17 Feb 2001, Adam Di Carlo wrote:
> Philip Charles <philipc@copyleft.co.nz> writes:
>
> > It seems unlikely that a complete HURD installation package could be built
> > on the HURD platform for a good six months. IMHO a good interim step
> > would be to aim for a HURD version of boot-floppies for woody. This would
> > be (I blush with embarrassment) a Linux package.
>
> I don't really follow you. Can you explain this? How would the user
> take this package and install from it? What would the package contain?
>
Being lazy, I took this from some documentation I am working on.
******
How the Installation Disc works.
The standard Debian GNU/Linux installation CDs uses the cross install
method to install the base system. A ram-disk is created in memory and a
mini GNU/Linux system installed into this disk. This mini system is used
to partition and format drives, and to prepare the target machine for the
main installation. The final phase is to unpack a tarball with the
essential base packages onto the drives of the target system. The new
system is then rebooted using the packages installed onto the HDD.
Further packages are then installed and configured to create the desired
system.
As the HURD also uses the cross install method, this meant that the
scripts to build the HURD installation CDs could be adapted from the
Debian GNU/Linux boot and CD scripts.
******
The Linux ramdisk is still used for the HURD. Marcus Brinkmann's HURD
tarball is substituted for base*.tgz. Of course there is a lot of other
changes that need to be made, eg making certain that the HURD partition(s)
are formatted with the right options, and fiddle, fiddle ....
Once the alterations have been made to the b-f scripts then a HURD set of
boot-floppies can be built with the usual plethora of rescue and root
floppies all capable of setting up a HURD system. At this stage these are
built on a Linux system. The HURD does not have all the tools needed
to enable b-f to ported to the HURD yet, so the HURD b-f have to be built
on a Linux system.
I hope this makes sense.
Phil.
-
Philip Charles; 39a Paterson St., Dunedin, New Zealand; +64 3 4882818
Mobile 025 267 9420. I sell GNU/Linux CDs. See http://www.copyleft.co.nz
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