Re: boot-floppies package

[Haines Brown <brownh@hartford-hwp.com>]

Carel,

Now I'm really getting worried, and trying to recall were I picked up
the suggestion to create a grub floppy (it wasn't my own idea). I was
from Linux Journal, but I can't seem to pin down the issue.

I also find a reference to doing so in the clone-HOWTO, section
5.3. Also
http://www.mathematik.uni-marburg.de/sys/os/linux/install/mkgrubfd.html 
here's another venture:
http://www.uruk.org/orig-grub/install.html
I find that the Linux Journal article was from the May issue:
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=4622
 
These discussions propose two or three somewhat different approaches
to creating the floppy, and I see that I didn't use the Linux Journal
method after all. But these methods would not see to have any bearing
on your concern about overwriting the floppy's filesystem.

> > > In other words, putting stage2 directly after the bootrecord
> > > destroys any filesytem on the disk, better use stage1.5 or do a
> > > true install on the floppy as I posted recently or as described
> > > in the FAQ (node FAQ).
 
> As stated before, there is really limited space on a floppy in
> between the MBR and the actual file system.  (Oh, and I'm not even
> sure there is enough room there on a floppy to stack stage1.5)
> Depending on the size of stage2 you're very likely to have
> overwritten part of the filesystem.  Whether you'll ever notice this
> depends on your usage, but to me it seems a disaster waiting to
> happen.  Whether the grub files are somewhere else on that disk
> really doesn't matter, you've ruined the filesystem.

If stage2 does intrude on the file system, what exactly do you mean by
the "file system?" The diskette's partition table? The 1_5 fs drivers?
 
> The ruined file system might lead to you overwriting part of stage2
> whenever you put something on the floppy, like changing menu.lst, or
> putting the other grub files on disk.

At least you suggest the floppy is in danger of failing. But beyond
ending up with a non-functioning floppy, are you suggesting it might
affect the file system on the hard disk? If so, how?

> Ofcourse if you first put those files on the flop, change menu.lst,
> and only then use dd to put stage1 and stage2 in place, you might be
> lucky and overwrite only some of those superfluous grub files.

I'm not sure what surperfluous files you refer to. I run multiple file
systems and so need some of the drivers, but, of course not all. But
since one can never know, you are implying that a grub floppy is a BAD
IDEA to begin with? 

Haines