Re: Handing over boot sequence from one drive to another
On Sun, Jan 28, 2007 at 12:54:46PM +0100, MeneM wrote:
> Dear List,
>
> Could anyone tell me how to copy my current debian installation to a
> different external iomega jazz drive, and be able to boot from it in
> case of emergency?
>
> I'm figuring; reading some articles after some merry googling, that I
> need to copy /boot /etc /usr/sbin /usr/bin /sbin /dev and a bit of /usr
> to it and then make it bootable with fdisk right?
>
> Does this mean it also takes with it all the program's / servers I've
> currently installed? Like mysql and bacula?
>
> A restore would then be insanely easy if it ever came to that.
>
> You see I'm trying to go down this route, but I cannot get the jaz drive
> to boot. There's no BIOS option for it. So I have to boot off CD or
> something and then hand the boot process over to the jaz drive. but _how_?
>
> Hoping someone can help me on a. more easily preparing a hard drive with
> files needed for booting, including all the programs currently installed
> and b. handing over the boot sequence from the cd to a SCSI attached drive.
>
> Thanks in advance even if you are only reading this ;-)
>
A pre-requisite to booting the kernel on the jazz drive is that the jazz
drive be bootable. So what __will__ your bios boot?
Some suggestions for testing.
Get the hd-media kernel and initrd.gz from Etch.
Format the whole jazz drive.
Put the hd-media directory on it.
Now set up your boot loader (I use Grub). If you have a floppy and can
boot from it, then get the grub-disk package and make the grub floppy.
Get the grub manual since it will be usefull.
Boot grub and go to the grub command line.
Try to boot the hd-media kernel and initrd using the parameters from the
installation manual.
If this works, then you're home free.
Don't worry about what else to put on the drive until this works.
My guess is that at the end of all this, you'll need the grub-disk to
boot from and have it point to your /boot partition on the jazz drive.
However, you may find that you need something somewhere to hold the
kernel and initrd (and grub) to boot, pointing at your jazz drive for a
root directory (e.g. root={jazz}). I don't have any experience making
bootable CDROMS. If your MB will boot a USB stick you can use that
(just like the USB-stick installer boot).
This also assumes that your kernel has the necessary module built-in or
in the initrd so that it can find the jazz drive (which would otherwise
have the /lib directory with the module for the jazz drive).
Good luck.
Doug.
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