Re: Windows multiboot (aaargh!)
On Tuesday 16 September 2003 12:19, Karsten M. Self wrote:
(much snippage for bandwidth)
> > What I was thinking of, solely for the purposes of quick swapping
> > between DOS and Linux, was a floppy with an absolutely minimal kernel
> > on it, to which I could add the one app I really wanted - cfdisk -
> > just to tweak the partition types. As it is, RIP boots reasonably
> > quickly and has fdisk which will do.
>
> There's a serious difference between GNU/Linux and DOS on size here.
>
> For DOS, you need the "kernel" (command.com) and statically linked
> executables. This combination is tiny, and you can pack a pretty
> impressive array of tools onto a single floppy disk.
>
> For GNU/Linux, you need:
>
> - The kernel.
> - Standard libraries (/lib).
> - init
> - control files (/etc)
> - Kernel modules
> - A shell
> - Binaries (/bin, /sbin)
>
> By the time you get to all of this, it's hard to pack it all onto a
> single 1.4 MiB floppy. In fact, Tom's Root Boot doesn't fit on a 1.4
> MiB disk, it formats the floppy to 1.7 MiB. Even then, it's using
> stripped versions of many utilities, and busybox (a sort of all-in-one
> utility application), a stripped-down shell (ash), and other tricks.
> And its still a pretty minimal system. But it works and it's useful.
Yes, I know that, and Tom's boasts that it's the most you can possibly get on
a floppy. I've made one and it works.
But what I wanted for quick swapping was just a floppy with cfdisk on it
(plus the minimum necessary to boot it). OK, this may not be easy to do.
> Again, a floppy is a bit thin for what you have in mind. I'd strongly
> recommend using the LNX-BBC (shell out to the EFF for one, and do a good
> deed as well as a favor for yourself).
I'll check it out.
> > Also of course, the images on all the rescue disks are much compressed
> > and unpack into far more space in the RAMdisk. DOS being a much smaller
> > and more limited OS, can easily be fitted onto a boot floppy.
> >
> > But because of that, the disks are full and I can't add anything else to
> > them.
>
> <sigh>
>
> I guess I don't expect anyone to atually research stuff before they make
> statements like this anymore....
>
> http://www.toms.net/rb/tomsrtbt.FAQ
>
> 7) Customizing
>
(snip)
Thanks, I've archived that for reference.
Actually, I *did* notice that tomsrtbt is customizable, just that the thought
of customizing a 82-track 1.7MB floppy full of compressed stuff and Busybox
seemed a little like overkill for the quick'n'dirty all-I-want-is-cfdisk
floppy that I had in mind.
Regards
cr
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