From owner-freebsd-questions Sat Aug 24 23:30:44 1996 Return-Path: owner-questions Received: (from root@localhost) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.5/8.7.3) id XAA11960 for questions-outgoing; Sat, 24 Aug 1996 23:30:44 -0700 (PDT) Received: from smtp1.interramp.com (smtp1.interramp.com [38.8.45.2]) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id XAA11953 for ; Sat, 24 Aug 1996 23:30:43 -0700 (PDT) Received: from pp002382.interramp.com by smtp1.interramp.com (8.6.12/SMI-4.1.3-PSI-irsmtp) id CAA26451; Sun, 25 Aug 1996 02:30:31 -0400 Message-Id: <2.2.16.19960825063018.49ef04e2@pop3.interramp.com> X-Sender: pp002382@pop3.interramp.com X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Pro Version 2.2 (16) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 23:30:18 -0700 To: rlyon@ozemail.com.au From: "John W. Rasins" Subject: Re: 2.1.5 - Floppy Installation Cc: questions@freebsd.org Sender: owner-questions@freebsd.org X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk >I recently decided to upgrade to 2.1.5. For various reasons I need to >do a floppy install. With previous versions this has been no big >drama. > >For version 2.1.5 the required floppy layouts is very strange. For >example: > > bin.inf must be placed on the first bin distribution disk > > info.inf must be placed on the last bin distribution disk > > manpages.inf must be placed on the info distribution disk. > >I don't want to mix distributions, so I have been extracting each >manually. I would prefer to be able to do it in one hit. > I offered to document the floppy install, but no one has sent me any information on whom to contact or where to look. But I do empathize with you. So here goes, and maybe part of this will make it to the docs. Floppy Install, 101 For anyone reading this, if you are installing pre-2.1.5-Release, the instructions in the FAQ work just fine. You need the boot.flp, the root.flp, and the appropriate distributions, and the install program will prompt for what it needs as it needs it. But for those of us who must stand by the floppy, here is the 2.1.5 way: Check the readme file in the floppies directory to make sure you take the correct boot.flp file. There is one called boot4.flp I believe, but I can't remember what it is for. In most cases, you need the boot.flp file. Use good floppy disks (not the thousands of AOL ones you've saved up) and format them yourself even if they come preformatted. May be a waste of time, but I've seen too many messages here to have a bad floppy pop up in the middle of the install. Use the rawrite program to put the boot.flp file onto a floppy disk. Boot up the designated PC with this floppy, and follow the on screen instructions for deciding your install/upgrade method, partition layout, file systems layout, etc. The FAQ covers these areas well enough, so I won't. 1. (Finally) A discussion of the new floppy requirements. For all distributions you are interested in, download the .inf file and the .aa through .?? files. Some cases there is only the .aa file. The new process uses the .inf file to determine that the distribution exists, how many .?? files there are, along with some other pieces of information. Therefore, the first floppy of any distribution must contain the .inf file. 2. The installation process doesn't prompt you for the next distribution set. It simply looks at the floppy in the drive after it has completed the install of the current set. If the next -- and this is important too, but I'll cover it in step 3 -- .inf file isn't on this floppy, the install puts up a message that the other distributions you selected were not found on the media and continues on its merry way. Bad move on the core architects part -- I suggest a fix here?! 3. You can't have just any .inf file at the end of a distribution, you must have the NEXT .inf file as expected by the install program. Which one is next? Who knows! But after painstaking trial and error, there is some order based on the order distributions are presented in the menus, and I'll note it here. 4. So you have two choices, use whichever you think is best. One, know the order, and make sure the .inf file for the next distribution is on the same diskette (but in its proper directory) as the last file of the distribution currently being handled. Second choice is to have all the .inf files, along with the last file, for all distributions you plan on installing sitting on one to two diskettes (depending on how many you choose). This is a little harder since you must know when the installation process is asking for the last file. And when it does, make sure you insert this ".inf" diskette. This is definitely a more painful way of doing the install, but it is what I ended up doing since I did not know the "order" at the time. 5. For example, the first set should be bin. So on the first floppy, in the /bin subdirectory, you would have bin.inf, bin.aa, bin.ab, etc. up to the capacity of the diskette (usually five complete distribution files). When you get to the diskette that will contain the last bin.?? file (bin.cn?), you also include the doc.inf file in the doc subdirectory. You can have just the .inf file on the diskette. You don't need the first (.aa) file if it won't fit. What is important is that the .inf file for the next EXPECTED distribution is on that diskette in its proper subdirectory. I used doc in my example, but you use whichever set is next based on what you selected and the order I present in the next step. 6. Here is the order of the sets. I did not choose to install the source for the games, so I don't have the position of the game set. I may also have other sets missing. But what I noticed is that the order is almost identical to the order in which the sets are presented on the menus. Look at my list, write it down, and as you make your selections, you will see what I mean. Any set you choose that is not on my list, should be easily inserted based on its menu presentation order. 1. bin 2. doc 3. games (binaries) 4. manpages 5. proflibs 6. dict 7. info 8. src/sbase 9. src/sgnu 10. src/setc 11. src/sinclude 12. src/slib 13. src/slibexec 14. src/slkm 15. src/srelease 16. src/sbin 17. src/ssbin 18. src/sshare 19. src/ssys 20. src/subin 21. src/susbin 22. src/smailcf 23. des/des 24. des/krb Well, that's my long winded documentation of the subject. Needs polish, but should get you through your install. Good luck. If any of the core FreeBSD people would like this cleaned up, and/or have suggestions, please let me know. As I said earlier, I'll be happy to document this piece for the FAQ, handbook, etc. John