Re: FLOPPY DISK INSTALLATION & RAWRITE
On Sat, 31 Oct 1998, Bill Miller wrote:
> Dear Friends,
>
>
> I have several problems with the file copying that I baaadly need help
> with.
>
> First, the instructions say to use the utility program, rawrite, to
> write the appropriate files to my 1.44 MB 3.5" floppy disks. As both
> rawrite and the other files are located on your server, how do I use
> rawrite on your server to access the files on your server and indicate
> the result should end up on my A: drive?
Presumably you have net access if you think you can access the debian
server: download the floppy images, download rawrite and follow the
instructions in that come with rawrite (I think it's available as a zip
file which comes with instructions). rawrite just copies files bit for
bit onto a floppy: it doesn't do anything fancy like download anything
from the internet.
> Second, when I format floppy disks in Windows 95 ( which exists on a
> system that is not the target Linux box), the format program says I have
> 1.45 MB free on each floppy. However, both the Windows Explorer and My
> Computer screens say I have 1.38 MB free. This makes a direct copy (ie.
> not run through rawrite) of the .bin files impossible as each file is
> 1.44 MB.
Yep, that's right. rawrite overwrites the formatting information on the
disk which is why you can fit more onto the floppy (exactly 1.44M in this
case). The other factor is that the first disk has to be bootable. I'm not
sure what's invovled here, but I'd wager you can't make a bootable floppy
by working within the confines of the FAT filesystem. Maybe there is a
Master Boot Record at the start which FAT ignores.
Andrew Tarr
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate"
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