Re: A little further: Short newbie question
vw@geus.DK wrote:
> Ok, now I got a little further: I typed /dev/hda and dselect asks:
> Enter filesystem type for dev/hda:
> What's linuxian for a dos filesystem?
> Vitux
>
> > -----Oprindelig meddelelse-----
> > Fra: Wichmann, Viggo
> > Sendt: 8. juni 1999 16:24
> > Til: 'debian user'
> > Emne: Short newbie question
> >
> > Hi Debians
> > Whats the "partition's block device name"?
> > I'm trying to install Debian from the dos-partition using dselect.
> > I copied alle the files from the ftp(main, etc.)-archives and put them
> > into the dos partition.
> > I believe Linux should be able to "see" the dos-part., but I don't know
> > the path to it in linux-speak. (It worked fine a week ago, in my first
> > attempt, but that was only the "base" system).
> > I tried putting /dev/hda1/ but got the error: /dev/hda1/ is not a block
> > device.
> > What am I doing wrong? (Yes I did check the "Installing debian gnu/Linux"
> > manual, but found only basic inst. info., which I am getting familiar
> > with...)
> > Regards
> > Vitux
> >
> > "Error is human; complete disaster takes a computer."
Since it worked before during a base install, I about half-wonder if that partition
didn't get clobbered somehow during that base install. Can you still boot into
DOS/Windows okay? If so, then the partition is still fine. If not, then perhaps you
need to verify that you are using the correct specification.
To do this, get to a VT screen (if you're in the installer program, you can press
Ctrl-Alt-F2 to switch to the second virtual terminal). Then run cfdisk (or fdisk for
a more cryptic version); this program will show you what partitions you have where
(you've already run this once during the base install, so it should look familiar).
If everything looks fine, you might try mounting the partition manually. Again, from
a virtual terminal, as root, type something like this: "mount -t vfat /dev/hda1
/drivec"
You'll need to use whatever cfdisk showed as your dos partition in place of the
"/dev/hda1", and the "/drivec" directory must already exist. If not, you can create
it with "mkdir /drivec". (Alternatively, use "/mnt" instead of "/drivec"; it probably
already exists.)
One final idea; do an "ls -l /dev/hd* | more" command. This will list all the
hd* items in the /dev directory. You should see one named /dev/hda1 (or whatever your
dos partition is on) and the first character on the line should be a "b" (next to the
"rw-r-----" type stuff, which means it's a block device; c means it's a character
device, etc). If it's missing or doesn't have the "b", report it to this list so the
more experienced folks can help you out.
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