Boot/Root discs loading modules.
Hello all,
[This is mainly for Bruce's benefit, but raises more general issues]
Well, following Bruce's advice on the modules being place in
'modules.tgz' on the boot floppy, I copied statically linked versions of
'mknod', 'tar', and 'gzip' from sunsite (Linux/Utils/Rescue/..), created
another RAM disc (/dev/ramdisk1 (1,1)) and untarred the modules on to
it, finally managing to insmod the DEC Tulip ethernet driver.
However, their are no SCSI drivers modules in that 'modules.tgz' file,
are they all compiled in to the kernel image? If so, then something
must be conflicting with the EATA_DMA driver. I managed to get my hands
on a 1.3.94 with EATA_DMA driver, and it recognised the card. Could
some kind soul email me the kernel configs again (I deleted them - no
disc space on this account right now - and now regret it) so I can
investigate further?
The box I'm installing on has 32Mb of RAM, so an extra RAM disc is no
skin off its nose. I wonder how many people out there will find their
HD subsystem unavailable from this boot floppy? Perhaps a mechanism to
allow the installer to mount the bootdisk and unpack the desired modules
from 'modules.tgz' could be squeezed in? Or is this what 'initrd' (?)
is supposed to do?
This is my first Debian installation when I haven't had another Linux
box around, or at least another partition with Linux on.
Keep up the great work, and I hope this experience has been of some help
to the real workers!
Kenny.
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