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Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watnot!watmath!clyde!rutgers!husc6!seismo!vrdxhq!bms-at!stuart
From: stuart@bms-at.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: Re: 640K-360Kb Boots Everywhere?
Message-ID: <372@bms-at.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 10-Apr-87 18:52:48 EST
Article-I.D.: bms-at.372
Posted: Fri Apr 10 18:52:48 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 11-Apr-87 19:28:27 EST
References: <5420@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>
Organization: Business Management Systems, Inc., Fairfax, VA
Lines: 35
Summary: answers

In article <5420@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>, jimc@CS.UCLA.EDU writes:

> 1.  Will A 640K distribution boot on a 256K PC, and will there be enough

      You won't be able to boot because the root file system is too big.
      You need a minimal root file system from a friend.

> 2.  In DOS, an AT-type 1.2Mb drive can read (and sort of write) 360Kb discs.
>     Will the MINIX boot block do the same?  In other words, will a 640K
>     360Kb distribution boot in an AT?

      It would except that the hard disk driver won't work.

> 3.  Do I read kernel/floppy.c correctly, that if you do "mkfs /dev/fd0 720"
>     on an AT drive you will successfully get a 720 Kb filesystem (with auto
>     track spacing selection)?  And that, the NR_SECTORS being hard-coded at
>     9 sectors per track, you aren't going to get 1.2Mb unless you recompile
>     the driver -- which would be feasible?  It would seem prudent for AT-oid

      The actual floppy shipped keeps track of diskette type independantly
      for each drive and tries a new density after it gets a lot of errors.
      This results in automagically adjusting to whatever type of diskette
      happens to be inserted.

      It does support 15 sectors / track for the 1.2 Meg diskettes.

> 4.  Do I interpret C.3.2 correctly, that fsck can be run on any filesystem
>     during system boot, but it can't be run as a command once MINIX is up?

      Yes.  I would like an fsck that runs under MINIX, especially since fsck
      can't handle my 35M hard disk even though the MINIX driver works fine.
      This is because fsck uses BIOS, and there are more than 65535 sectors
      on my disk.
-- 
Stuart D. Gathman	<..!seismo!dgis!bms-at!stuart>