Knoppix 3.6 boot-from-floppy help.

[maltrecho]

I've used Knoppix since 3.1 and then I moved to 3.3 and I've never had major problems. I've just download 3.6 and surprise, surprise... It seems I cannot run any more versions of knoppix because I cannot create the floppy/ies to boot the cd.

I've got an old laptop with an external cd-player/burner and I cannot run Knoppix directly from the cd. I have not access to the bios neither. I just have windows as my main OS but I love to explore linux in my spare time (in the hope to change one day).

So please, could anybody explain in plain english the way to create the boot floppy/ies needed to run the cd, knowing that I can only use windows for the task and knowing also that I'm not a linux guru?

Thanks in advance.

[firebyrd10]

I've used Knoppix since 3.1 and then I moved to 3.3 and I've never had major problems. I've just download 3.6 and surprise, surprise... It seems I cannot run any more versions of knoppix because I cannot create the floppy/ies to boot the cd.

I've got an old laptop with an external cd-player/burner and I cannot run Knoppix directly from the cd. I have not access to the bios neither. I just have windows as my main OS but I love to explore linux in my spare time (in the hope to change one day).

So please, could anybody explain in plain english the way to create the boot floppy/ies needed to run the cd, knowing that I can only use windows for the task and knowing also that I'm not a linux guru?

Thanks in advance.I believe that knoppix now has 2 boot disks to cover the extra USB boot support.

I'm not exatcly sure where the images are though.

[shah]

Use this universal boot manager, Smart boot manager:
http://btmgr.webframe.org/index.php3?body=news.html
You can boot anything from your cdrom without going through your bios or create boot floppy for your particular cd.

[fabinho]

The definitive solution to your problem is here:

http://www.knoppix.net/docs/index.php/FaqBooting

The faq was updated. Just follow the step-by-step instructions!

Good luck!



.

[maltrecho]

Sorry people, but I can't get it to work. I tried the first link, Smart boot manager, after reading everything, I tried to install, access, start, read, understand, reinstall, restart... and nothing, sorry.

The second link explains how to do it with knoppix already installed, but, If I cannot run knoppix, I can I make the floppy?

I can't understand why the project has changed this way. With prevous versions we could run knoppix without accessing the Bios. Smooth and easy. What have happend? Do they really want Knoppix for everybody?

I would really appreciate if anybody could upload somewhere the floppies needed to run this version of knoppix or some instructions to make them by myself.

Thanks for the answers fellows.

[shah]

You don't need to install smart boot manager. Run it from floppy and choose to boot cdrom from menu.
Get sbm floppy image and write to floppy.
http://members.optusnet.com.au/atar/sbootmgr.img
http://slax.linux-live.org/dl/floppy.img.gz

To write to floppy in windows use this tool :
http://members.optusnet.com.au/atar/rawritewin.exe

To write img to floppy in linux:
dd if=image of=/dev/fd0
:D

[eco2geek]

The 2.6.7 kernel that Knoppix 3.6 uses is too big to fit on a 1.44M floppy, even compressed. (The /usr/sbin/mkbootfloppy script errors out with kernel 2.6.7 because the floppy disk is full.)

Anyone remember if Knoppix 3.4 used the same 2.4.27 kernel that Knoppix 3.6 uses?

[maltrecho]

Thanks shah for the instructions. Now I can access smart boot manager but it won't run from cd-rom. Probably because of the USB device?


The 2.6.7 kernel that Knoppix 3.6 uses is too big to fit on a 1.44M floppy, even compressed.
Why not to use 2 or more floppies then? (sorry for my ignorance).

[maltrecho]

Ok, I'm done. I used RaWrite for Windows (http://members.optusnet.com.au/atar/rawritewin.exe) to install Smart Boot Manager (http://members.optusnet.com.au/atar/sbootmgr.img) on a floppy under Windows. I ran knoppix using the floppy from other computer and not from my laptop (the program doesn't seem to read USB devices) and once in Knoppix I made the two floppies going to Knoppix -> Utilities -> Create bootfloppies for Knoppix. Finally I've got the floppies so I can run Knoppix anywhere (even form USB devices).

Hey, do you think this walk-around is worth? Wouldn't be easier to include two images of the floppies in the cd (removing some of the <lol>great</lol> games it comes with to make some room) ?

One more thing: how can I create images of the floppies?

Thanks for your time.

[shah]

Yep, SBM cannot boot from usb and you don't have option in bios to boot from usb. Can't help anymore.

To create images from floppy in linux:
ex:
dd if=/dev/fd0 of=/home/usr/floppy.img


:D

[eco2geek]

Why not to use 2 or more floppies then? (sorry for my ignorance).

Because you'd have to somehow split the kernel binary ("linux26") up accross two floppies, then somehow put it back together in memory at boot time....which would be kind of complicated for bootloader software to do.

Fortunately, you can still run Knoppix with kernel 2.4, which is small enough to fit on a floppy. (Knoppix 3.4 uses kernel 2.4.26, and 3.6 uses kernel 2.4.27, so I'll put up boot floppies for 3.6 up on my website tonight...)

They ought to have the Knoppix 3.6/kernel 2.4 floppy images up on the Knoppix mirrors, if nothing else!

[maltrecho]

I've already got the images (for kernel 2.4) thanks to the code shah wrote and thanks to the other messages (you could upload them anyway for other users), but knoppix didn't let me make the boot disks for kernel 2.6 (even though I ran this version too) probably because of what you say.

Does this mean that in future versions of knoppix (with newer versions of the kernel) it will not be possible to boot the cd from floppies anymore?

I still think it's better this way rather than modifying Bios settings... and for example in my laptop I cannot get access to the Bios and the Cd-rom plugs via USB, so if I cannot use the floppies.... well... you know...

[eco2geek]

Does this mean that in future versions of knoppix (with newer versions of the kernel) it will not be possible to boot the cd from floppies anymore?

It sure looks that way! Someone else just mentioned that Fedora Core 2 no longer allows you to make boot floppies when you install it due to the same issue.

People have been talking about how 1.44MB floppy drives are useless for a while now, but until there's another reliable way to boot computers, they really aren't.

For those who need them, here's Knoppix 3.6 (& 3.7 PC-Welt edition) boot floppy images, using kernel 2.4:
http://www.angelfire.com/ultra/eco2geek/knx-boot-disks/knx-36-floppy-1.img
http://www.angelfire.com/ultra/eco2geek/knx-boot-disks/knx-36-floppy-2.img

[maltrecho]

Great stuff eco2geek! Thanks all. :wink:

[shah]

This is something that might be interesting for you all that using grub (I believe can used by lilo too) and don't want to poke your bios just to use your cdrom(ide) to boot knoppix.. It using combination of grub, memdisk and smart boot manager. I tried it and it work.
http://www.lrz-muenchen.de/~bernhard/grub-chain-cd.html
:D :D :D

I wonder , is it possible with some twist if it can be used to boot using knoppix floppies image then make it boot other device, like usb cdrom which our friend here has difficulty.

[bobn]

The definitive solution to your problem is here:

http://www.knoppix.net/docs/index.php/FaqBooting

The faq was updated. Just follow the step-by-step instructions!

Good luck!



.

The very first instruction FAILS. It says "copy boot.img from the CD. There is NO boot.img on the Knoppix 3.6 CD.

So could we have WORKING instructions, please?

[firebyrd10]

One more thing: how can I create images of the floppies?

Thanks for your time.

Rawrite can make images in windows and for linux just issue this command
dd if=/dev/fd0 dd of=/folder/floppy.img
Like stated before, you can also use rawrite to write images and to write in linux, basicly issue the above command backwards.

dd if=/folder/floppy.img of=/dev/fd0

I believe you could need root privalges to do the linux commands though.

[RoyalMail]

The 2.6.7 kernel that Knoppix 3.6 uses is too big to fit on a 1.44M floppy, even compressed. (The /usr/sbin/mkbootfloppy script errors out with kernel 2.6.7 because the floppy disk is full.)

Anyone remember if Knoppix 3.4 used the same 2.4.27 kernel that Knoppix 3.6 uses?
My version of Knoppix3.4 installed kernel 2.4.26 with 2.6.6 as an option.

Regds, RM

[RoyalMail]

People have been talking about how 1.44MB floppy drives are useless for a while now, but until there's another reliable way to boot computers, they really aren't.
Modern machines will boot from a USB thumb-drive, and others will boot from a CD.

Actually I must have missed something - why couldn't the OP boot from his CD? That's what Knoppix is supposed to be about isn't it?

Regds, RM.