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From: cmcmanis@pepper.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: PD Boot Disks
Message-ID: <19350@sun.uucp>
Date: Wed, 20-May-87 14:44:32 EDT
Article-I.D.: sun.19350
Posted: Wed May 20 14:44:32 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 22-May-87 00:45:47 EDT
References: <504@myrias.UUCP> <1868@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP> <1541@cadovax.UUCP> <2142@hoptoad.uucp> <709@unccvax.UUCP> <1549@cadovax.UUCP>
Sender: news@sun.uucp
Reply-To: cmcmanis@sun.UUCP (Chuck McManis)
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mountain View
Lines: 34
Keywords: boot copyright

In article <1549@cadovax.UUCP> keithd@cadovax.UUCP (Keith Doyle) writes:
>
>Except if you have to have the person RECEIVING the disk do the install,
>instead of doing the install BEFORE making the disk public domain, you
>lose all of the dumb users who don't know how to use the CLI.  And in other
>words, YOU CANNOT LEGALLY DISTRIBUTE A PUBLIC DOMAIN AMIGA DISK THAT
>WILL BOOT.  Even if all you want to boot to is your own little program
>that dosen't use any WB files.  At least until someone can come up with
>a PD version of 'install'.  Bah!
>
>Keith Doyle

Of course with the latency of netnews I am sure this will get bounced
around a few more times but what the heck. As Leo has pointed out 
(and I have verified) you can indeed format a diskette and run 
'install' on it and it will boot to the initial CLI and stop. Why
does it do this? Because AmigaDOS IS IN THE KICKSTART ROM NOT ON THE
DISK. All the install does is put about 32 bytes of object code into
the 'boot' sector to call the DOS IN ROM. There are NO COPYRIGHTED
FILES ON THE DISK AT ALL. Now we all know that a disk with nothing
on it is not very useful, however you could put your own startup
script, and some ARP command replacements on the disk. There is no
replacement for disk-validator yet so it had better not get corrupted
however it is also a simple matter to instruct the use in what to
do if it does get corrupted, "Boot your machine from your workbench
disk, stick the 'mumble' disk in any drive, after it stops grinding 
the disk will have been validated again and you can go back to using
it as before." I guess this probably points to some things that would
make good ARP projects...


--Chuck McManis
uucp: {anywhere}!sun!cmcmanis   BIX: cmcmanis  ARPAnet: cmcmanis@sun.com
These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.