SDB:Creating Boot and Modules Floppy Disks

Version: 8.0

Situation

You want to install SuSE Linux 8.0, 8.1,8.2 or 9.0, but you cannot boot from the CD or DVD. SuSE Linux 8.0, 8.1, 8.2 and 9.0 do not include boot or modules floppy disks. Create these disks manually.

Procedure

The necessary images are located in the directory boot on the first CD/DVD of 8.1 , 8.2 and 9.0 and in the directory disks on the first CD/DVD of SuSE Linux 8.0. If you are using SuSE Linux 8.2, consider the article SDB:Modules2 Floppy Is Corrupted. Also create at least the first and fourth modules floppy disk, modules1 and modules4 for 8.1, 8.2 and 9.0 and at least the first modules floppy disk for 8.0. These disks contain, for example, file system modules required for the installation, such as 'reiserfs'. To find out which modules are located on each of the modules floppy disks, refer to the respective .txt files in the directory boot or disks on the first CD/DVD.

Creating Boot and Module Disks in Linux

Boot the rescue system or log in to a Linux system as root. Open a console (in KDE: press Alt+F2, enter xterm, execute) and proceed as follows to create a boot floppy disk:

• Mount first CD (Disk 1) with mount /media/cdrom
• Under 8.1, 8.2 and 9.0 create the boot floppy disk with

dd if=/media/cdrom/boot/bootdisk of=/dev/fd0 bs=8k

• Under 8.0, create the boot floppy disk with

dd if=/media/cdrom/disks/bootdisk of=/dev/fd0 bs=8k

You can use a floppy disk image other than bootdisk if necessary. The procedure for the modules floppy disk is exactly the same except for the name, which is modulesx (where the x stands for 1, 2, 3, or 4).

Creating Boot and Modules Floppy Disks in DOS and Windows

Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, and XP users can find the program rawwritewin.exe in the directory dosutils/rawwritewin/ on the first CD/DVD. This program enables you to copy an image to a floppy disk.

This can be done by inserting a floppy disk in your floppy disk drive and starting the program rawwritewin.exe. Enter the directory from which the file will be read (CD-ROM drive in this case) as the source medium, for example: D:\boot\bootdisk
Consider that you must select "all files" in the mask, otherwise the appropriate files will not show in the directory D:\boot .
If your CD-ROM drive does not use the drive desgination D:, just change the value appropriately. To write an image from a SuSE Linux 8.0 CD, change the path to, for example: \disks\bootdisk. Confirm the selection with Enter. Now define the floppy disk drive as the write medium. By doing this, the image will be written to the floppy. The same procedure applies for the modules floppy disks.

Certainly, you can still do this under DOS as well using rawrite.exe. The procedure is mostly the same. Consider that the machine must be started with CD-ROM support. <keyword>boot,floppy,disk,modules,startdisk</keyword>