Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:42:13 -0600 From: Martin McCormick <martin@dc.cis.okstate.edu> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Trying to build 8.0 Headless Installation Disk Message-ID: <201001132142.o0DLgDCJ077793@dc.cis.okstate.edu>
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Tim Judd writes: > ^^^ mkisofs needs to have the boot record > -b boot/cdboot -no-emul-boot > > > And as another option, you might look at mfsBSD, it runs off mfs (RAM) > disks with sshd being enabled by default. Once it boots (kernel > starts probing), the cd can be ejected. This could be a game changer if I could somehow get the FreeBSD8.0 installation CD to run remotely via this method. The problem is that some of the systems that I am upgrading are 150 miles away. We have people there who are not comfortable with Unix but who are certainly able to install and remove CDROM's on request. If I could get the sysinstall application to talk to me over the network, I don't care if it is a serial line or not. If we could get this down to 1 or two CD's, a major millstone will be removed from my neck. As a computer user who happens to be blind, the serial console is extremely useful and I usually make whatever version of FreeBSD we are using in to a serial console disk so it comes up serial, even if it is right next to me. It just makes things go more smoothly if one doesn't have to hunt up a keyboard and hope this or that box still has a sounder so you can hear any beeps. I have even put a portable radio on top of a server and listened for activity because that was the only way to tell if it was booting or in Lala Land. Just for the record, a steady sound usually means Lala Land and a sound like whales competing FOR territory and female attention means something is happening. Anyway, not needing to modify the installation disk, itself would be nice. In closing, I love FreeBSD and nothing said here is a gripe or complaint. FreeBSD is Unix and therefore accessible. Utilities like installation disks and rescue applications are always a little tricky because they deal with the system at a very low level. Martin McCormick WB5AGZ Stillwater, OK Systems Engineer OSU Information Technology Department Telecommunications Services Group
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