🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1170@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov> raymond@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov (Eric A. Raymond) writes:
>Is it possible to run OS/2 from a floppy?  I saw in a recent PC mag
>directions for creating a bootable diskette, but me thinks you still
>need a hard disk for all sorts of wonderful (?) support files.
>
>Any of you OS/2 owners have an answer?
>
>If so, are you forced to leave the disk in the unit (or swap the
>system disk back in/out) if you want to run a program from another
>disk?

	Yes you can. But!

	The only reason you would boot OS/2 from a floppy is
	to install something or run chkdsk. Other than those
	I can't think of any productive reason for doing so.
	You would not have any swap space, could not run PM, or 
	DOS Box(I think), like I said, nothing productive.
	You might be able to run some programs, depends on memory,
	it would have to boot from 1.2 or 1.44 meg floppy, you
	couldn't load very many DLL's,forget about development.
	You could squeek by with a 20 meg, 40 meg is usable,
	>60 meg for productive development, I use 115 meg with
	40 remaining.


-- 
Classic Quotes from STNG: "Pen Pals"
Picard: Her society is aware .. that there is intersteller life?
Data:   No Sir.
Picard: Oooops..

In article <1170@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov> raymond@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov (Eric A. Raymond) writes:
>Is it possible to run OS/2 from a floppy?  I saw in a recent PC mag
>directions for creating a bootable diskette, but me thinks you still
>need a hard disk for all sorts of wonderful (?) support files.
>
>Any of you OS/2 owners have an answer?
>
>If so, are you forced to leave the disk in the unit (or swap the
>system disk back in/out) if you want to run a program from another
>disk?
>
>-- 

I am user of OS/2 and NO you cannot yet run OS/2 off of a floppy.  This is
because, OS/2, unlike say MS-DOS, is implemented by Dynamic Link Libraries
(DLLs).  A DLL is loaded only when it is needed so that more memory is
available to do multitasking and such.  You might want to read Gordon Letwin's
book - Inside OS/2 - published by Microsoft Press. Letwin is the Chief 
Architect of OS/2 in Microsoft.

The main reason why floppies aren't viable at present is that the amount of 
space these DLLs occupy far exceed the current capacities of floppies.  When 
we get say 5 MB on a 5.25 floppy, then we should see the possibility of 
running OS/2 off floppies.  Then again, in a multi-tasking environment it is 
not advisable to run a machine WITHOUT a hard disk.  You might still get to 
run OS/2 on a bernoulli box - provided you can get the necessary OS/2 device 
drivers for the bernoulli box.  But if you are prepared to go to bernoulli 
box extent, you might as well get a harddisk!

Hope that answers your questions.

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Harish Pillay                               Internet: harish@ece.orst.edu
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I am in the process of setting up a motor-control experiment which
needs exact delays in the millisecond range. The TURBOC manual says
that the delay() procedure may not always be accurate to the millisecond.
If this is so, when is it not? Secondly, how is an accurate delay
on the order of milliseconds generated if the timer clock only clicks
about once every 57 milliseconds?

-- Josh