Article View: comp.sys.next.sysadmin
Article #2134Boot Floppy and stuff
From: Steven Kenneth Besler
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 23:45
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 23:45
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2496 bytes
I recall when I was trying to put as many 3.0 goodies as I could on
my storage-space-challenged (250 meg) NeXTSTATION Turbo, and I didn't know
what the hell I was doing. I just got my NeXT a while before and had borrowed
a CDROM drive to perform the deed, since the 3.0 installation on my hard drive
was totally minimal. I ended up corrupting the hard disk's file system
somehow so that it wouldn't boot. After much freaking, weeping, and gnashing
of teeth, I realised all I had to do was to boot from the CDROM. So I booted
from the 3.0 CD in single user mode, then completely rebuilt the hard drive.
Now the thing is that I only borrowed the CDROM, and no longer have it.
So if I do a Bad Thing (tm) that screws up my file system on my hard disk, I
want to be able to fix it. I am also not connected to an ethernet, so I cannot
boot from that either. So I want to construct a boot floppy, but I don't know
how. I couldn't find it in the Sysadmin book or the Sysadmin online docs.
Ok, so I noticed that I had an odmach (Optical) and sdmach (scsi), but
no fdmach for floppy. I also noticed that odmach was exactly the same as
sdmach (that is what diff said anyway) and mach which is some weird link to
something called $BOOTFILE (what is that?)
So I forked one of these on a ED floppy and booted from it. I
mounted the file system from the hard disk. How do I mount the file system
on the floppy? (just in case the hard disk's fs is hosed) What files does
it need? Can I bring it up in single user mode from a sole floppy? Multiuser
mode? can I fit the necessary utilities to fix the hard disk's file system
all on one ED floppy?
Oh, and if one forgets the Hardware password, what has to be done?
I think this might come in useful one day.
Steven Besler
CPSC Honours Coop Student
UBC, Vancouver, Canada.
PS. Respond to this group please. I don't get NeXTMail.
This will hopefully also stop 100 people from answering my question.
PPS. THANKS in advance to anyone who provides info...
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Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!sparky!uunet!destroyer!cs.ubc.ca!bowen.rick.cs.ubc.ca!not-for-mail From: x4y092@rick.cs.ubc.ca (Steven Kenneth Besler) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.sysadmin Subject: Boot Floppy and stuff Date: 16 Dec 1992 15:45:29 -0800 Organization: Computer Science, University of B.C., Vancouver, B.C., Canada Lines: 40 Distribution: world Message-ID: <1gof2pINNmsa@bowen.rick.cs.ubc.ca> NNTP-Posting-Host: bowen.rick.cs.ubc.ca