🚀 go-pugleaf

gallsup@whoi.edu (Geoff Allsup) writes:

 >In article <33310521.87639@news.cuug.ab.ca>, lok@cuug.ab.ca says...
 >>
 >>Hi,
 >>
 >>        I sucessfully installed Red Hat Linux on my system, but LILO was not
 >>installed since my primary Windoze95 partition contains a 32 bit FAT.  
 >Therefore
 >>LILO could not even touch the master boot record let alone installing itself.

 >2> You can copy vmlinuz and the 'loadlin' package (usually loadlin-????.zip) 
 >to a DOS partition and use loadlin to start Linux from an MSDOS prompt (not a 
 >DOS window - you must shutdown Win95 to a DOS prompt).  Read the loadlin docs 
 >for info - it's reasonably painless.

I installed Linux on my work machine.  The sysadmin's here are
MSDOG/Windoze-centric & frankly don't like dealing with Linux.
However I do almost all my work on/for Unix & Unix-like platforms &
using the Xceed X client just isn't good enough!!!  Since Win95 wants
to monopolize the boot record, I let it & sysadmins remain relatively
clueless about my Linux install.

A quick, easy non-LILO multiboot method for Win95 & Linux is readily
available using loadlin.

First, copy loadlin's DOS executable (lilod.exe?) & a suitable kernel
image (zImage or vmlinuz or vmlinux) to your DOS partition.  I changed
the of my image to zi1_3_20.exe -- loadlin doesn't seem to care.  (I
may have changed the name of the loadlin executable to
lilod.exe...can't remember for sure.  You can start Linux by exiting
Win95 do DOS & running loadlin, but that's inefficient.

Second, program yourself a multi-config MSDOG/Win95 boot capability
using config.sys & autoexec.bat.  I've included my files below, tho I
removed several statements required by my workplace network.  You can
find info on config.sys "menu" in Win95's help or DOS 6.xx "help".

The final coup de grace is to unhide the file msdos.sys in c:\.  Edit
it [very carefully!] to change the line BootGUI=1 to BootGUI=0 so
Win95 must be started using the "win" command.

BTW, my lb.bat file calls DJGPP's sync.exe command.  It really isn't
necessary when called from DOS...don't know what would happen if
lb.bat was called directly from Win95.  I'm sure Linux would be
perfectly happy, but not sure Win95 wouldn't implode next time it was
booted up...:-)

Hope this is useful t'y'all!



lb.bat-----------
REM MSDOG batch file to start Linux.

REM I don't know what all Win95 shutdown does, but a disk sync
REM first shouldn't hurt:
c:\gnu\bin\sync.exe

REM It's now or never...:-)
c:\bin\lilod c:\bin\zi1_3_20.exe ro

config.sys-----------
[Menu]
menuitem=Linux,           Anti-Gates
menuitem=Win95,           Windoze 95 (original  configuration)
menuitem=MSDOG,           Gates DOG
menudefault=Linux,5
menucolor=14, 6

[MScommon]
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\SETVER.EXE
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
DOS=HIGH

[Linux]
REM Needs nothing special!

[MSDOG]
include=MScommon

[Win95]
include=MScommon

autoexec.bat-----------
REM Go to the startup we want:
GOTO %CONFIG%

:Linux
PATH c:;c:\bin;c:\gnu\bin;c:\gnu\emacs\bin;c:\dos
REM Start lb.bat (Linux boot)
lb
GOTO End

:Win95
[Whatever's already in your autoexec.bat for Win95 goes here]
win
goto End

:MSDOG
[Whatever you'd like before starting MSDOS...like maybe loading MSCDEX]
GOTO End

:End
-- 
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