Entry

Linux:Install: Bootdisk: Microsoft Windows: MSDOS: How create boot disk with rawrite.exe? [dd / cat]

Dec 15th, 2003 14:21
Knud van Eeden,

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--- Knud van Eeden --- 18 November 2003 - 04:27 pm -------------------

Linux:Install: Bootdisk: Microsoft Windows: MSDOS: How create boot 
disk with rawrite.exe? [dd / cat]

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What this program rawrite.exe does is to write an already existing 
floppy
disk image file (usually to be found on CD 1 of your Linux) to a floppy
disk.

If this image file happens to be a boot image file, then you should be
able to boot e.g. Linux with this.

Note:

It is equally possible to write non boot image files in the same way to
floppy disk.

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Steps: Overview:

 1. Go to the DOS prompt

 2. Insert a 1.44 megabyte floppy into your a: drive.

 3. Make sure you format this floppy disk for DOS

    1. Type

        format a:

       to format this floppy disk

 4. Make sure the Linux CD 1 containing rawrite.exe is inserted

 5. Change to the CD

     d:

 6. Go to the CD directory where the DOS utilities are located

     -If Linux Debian
       cd \install

     -If Linux Mandrake
       cd \dosutils

     -If Linux Red Hat
       cd \dosutils

     -If Linux Slackware
       cd \isolinux\sbootmgr

     -If Linux SuSE:
       cd \dosutils\rawrite

     -If Linux Turbolinux
       cd \dosutils

 7. Run the boot floppy boot disk create program

      rawrite.exe

      (or use rawrite2.exe in Debian)

    if you are using DOS

    or possibly

     rawwritewin.exe

    if you should be using Windows

 8. To find this file 'rawrite.exe' on your
    CD you can type:

     dir d:\raw*.* /s

 9. The source file should be a file called

     -If Linux Debian
       d:\isolinux\bf24.bin

     -If Linux Mandrake
       d:\images\cdrom.img

     -If Linux Red Hat
       d:\images\bootdisk.img

     -If Linux Slackware
       d:\isolinux\sbootmgr\sbootmgr.dsk

     -If Linux SuSE
       d:\boot\bootdisk

     -If Linux Turbolinux
       d:\images\boot.img

10. and for destination you would type:

     a:

11. You are then asked to insert a formatted disk in drive a:, and to
    press <ENTER>.

    This will start the copying of the boot image file to disk.

12. Restart your computer with this boot floppy inside,
    after the writing to floppy disk has finished.
    That should boot Linux from this floppy.

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Note:

In Linux to write the floppy disk image file to floppy disk:

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Method: use command 'cat'

 cat yourbootdiskfilename >/dev/fd0

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Method: use command 'dd'

 cd yourdirectorywheretofindthebootimagefile

 dd if=yourbootimagefilename of=/dev/fd0u1440

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